Organised by the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign,
Aberdeen Trade Union Council and other local groups, these numbers have swollen
tenfold over the past two weeks as more and more people from the North East
raise their voices in condemnation at the Israeli policy of collective punishment
and the failure of the international community to put a stop to this.
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| Kate "ordinary people raising our voices" |
ATUC Vice President, Kate Ramsden, welcomed the protesters
and thanked them for turning out in such numbers. She reminded us that in the
dark days of South African apartheid, the voices raised in protest were not
those of governments but those of ordinary people like ourselves, of trade
unionists, of activists and of citizens who just knew apartheid was wrong.
“That is why we are here today, ordinary people raising our
voices because we know that the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the brutal
oppression and repression of the Palestinian people, and in Gaza, the killing
of Palestinian civilians, including so many children, is just wrong.”
Members of the public, out shopping stopped to listen and to
lend their support as the speakers gave moving testimony of the impact on the
Gazan people of occupation, oppression, and now out and out assault by Israel.
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| Ibrahim "Palestine must be free" |
Ibrahim, who grew up in Gaza thanked the protesters for
standing with the people of Gaza, with the bereaved families, the orphans, the
widows and the widowers, as well as all those made homeless by the bombardment.
He reminded us that Israel’s “collective punishment of Gaza”
is in breach of international law.
“Gaza is like a big prison,” he said, “There is nowhere for
people to run to.”
The bombing has targeted public buildings as well as
people’s homes, leaving countless numbers homeless. Even the hospitals have been bombed. “Why?”
asked Ibrahim. “These are seriously ill people not terrorists.”
He spoke of the history of the conflict and told us that
this is not just about Gaza but about the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a
whole and will only be ended when Palestine is free.
Ibrahim closed by sharing a story about his father. He had
asked him if Palestine would be free. His father said, “Palestine will be free
in my time, or if not in my time in your time, or if not in your time in your
children’s time.” That time must come, said Ibrahim.
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| Jonathan "fight back against tyranny" |
Jonathan Russell, Chair of Aberdeen CND warned that Israel
is the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons and a world leader
in security and defence equipment.
“We are told that (Israel) is targeting military targets.
However, they are not only murdering women and children, they are destroying
what’s left of Gaza’s water infrastructure,” slammed Jonathan, calling for us
to bring pressure on our own government to stop buying and selling arms to
Israel.
“It is time for all good people across the globe to fight
back against tyranny.”
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| Maryam |
Maryam, an Aberdeen student spoke movingly of the situation
in Gaza and condemned the coverage of the situation in Gaza by the BBC and
other mainstream media outlets.
Sean McVey from the
Radical Independence Party slammed the “latest brutal and bloody assault
against the people of Gaza by Israel” but added that this is one of countless
horrific attacks in a brutal and relentless oppression which has lasted over 65
years.
“But none of the weapons in the Israeli arsenal can ever
break the will of the Palestinian people to be free,” said Sean, calling on all
the people of Scotland to stand on the side of the Palestine people and to take
whatever action we can to end the occupation.
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| Brian "criminal genocide" |
Brian Carroll, speaking on behalf of the Aberdeen Trade
Union Council said that this was one of many protests across the UK in condemnation of the “criminal genocide” being perpetrated by Israel. He spoke about the
killing earlier in the week of four Palestinian children, boys playing football
on the beach.
“I had tears in my eyes when I heard of their killing. In
fact I have tears in my eyes now. That could have been four little boys playing
football on Aberdeen beach, and how would we feel then?” he asked, bringing
home the suffering of the people, people like all of us, who happen to live in
Gaza.
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| June "a war on children" |
This was echoed by June McGuire of Scottish Palestinian
Solidarity Campaign, who pointed out that children have been killed and injured
and will go on being killed, injured and traumatised by the Israeli assault,
because half of those who live in Gaza are children.
“This is a war on children,” slammed June, finishing with an
extremely moving poem written a few days ago by a woman, a mother in Gaza.
SPSC’s Fiona Napier called on all of us to carry on
protesting but also to take practical action to boycott Israeli goods, and to
bring pressure on Sainsbury’s to stop dealing with suppliers complicit in the
Israeli occupation of Palestine. She also called on us all to support actions
to stop councils outsourcing to companies with links to Israel. Protesters
signed a petition to ask Aberdeen council to rethink commissioning G4S, Eden Springs and
subsidiaries of Veolia.
Click here to see the report of the Glasgow and Aberdeen protests on STV
Click here to see the report of the Glasgow and Aberdeen protests on STV
