Gaza: South Wales shows its anger

Saturday 17th January witnessed demos for Gaza in Newport, Cardiff and Swansea, each of them several hundred strong, vocal and determined. In Cardiff a spontaneous march down Queen Street left shoppers in no doubt about the anger protesters felt at the brutal onslaught of the IDF on Gaza. Despite the pro-Israeli bias in much of the mass media, including the continual repetition of the lie that Hamas broke the ceasefire, there are no shortage of people who understand exactly what the Palestine conflict is all about: Zionism – a racist ideology which justifies each and every effort to ensure that the Palestinians cannot create a stable state of their own, leave alone return to their original homeland.

There are differences on the left regarding Palestine, most notably over the question of whether there should be a one-state or two-state solution to the continuing crisis. However, the weekend’s demos were notable for their spirit of unity.

This site is dedicated to bringing about the greatest possible unity on the left, not through ignoring our differences, but through debating them in an open and comradely fashion. With Palestine very much on everybody’s minds, the next meeting of the socialist forum will look at the national question: how should socialists relate to struggles of national liberation? Is there a parallel between the struggle of the Palestinians for self-determination and the struggle of Welsh nationalists for devolution?

The forum will meet on Weds 11 Feb, 7.30, at the Model Inn, Quay St – all welcome.

Other upcoming events include:
Wednesday 21 January – Lobby & Demonstration in advance of Welsh Assembly debate on Gaza. Assemble 1 pm, Senedd.
Thursday 22 January – Stop the War Activist Meeting. Come & Get involved! 7.30 pm, Cathays Community Centre, Cathays, Cardiff.
Saturday 24 January – National Demo for Gaza. Coaches from Cardiff/Newport.
Wednesday 4 February – Guantanamo Bay Conference, 7 pm, Great Hall, Cardiff Student Union.

Thanks to BEPJ for photo.

Cops club Ray Davies unconscious at Gaza protest

The Daily Mail and other right-wing media love to specialise in pictures of mugged pensioners – but when the pensioner in question is a veteran activist and the muggers are the police, you can bet no outraged articles will be forthcoming.

Ray Davies, 79, is a familiar figure on the South Wales political scene whose commitment to the rights of Palestinians is unquestionable. On Saturday’s march against the invasion of Gaza he was amongst those protesting at the Israeli embassy when the police, for the second week running, launched a brutal attack on demonstrators. Having perhaps unwisely tried to reason with the boys in blue, Ray was hit by truncheons and riot shields then kicked while on the ground, losing consciousness. Fortunately he was able to recover sufficiently to travel home with other demonstrators, but this hardly excuses the savagery of the police’s actions.

Ray commented: “I have experienced the war zones in the Occupied Territories; I have been shot at, teargassed and beaten by the Israeli Defence Force; but I never expected such abuse and brutal treatment in Britain from our own police force.”

The truth is, however, that the police who attack our demonstrations are no more ‘our own’ than if they were the Israeli Defence Force. Their loyalty is to the British ruling class and its allies, whose interests it will stoutly defend even if it means breaking the law themselves. The present conflict in Gaza reveals with absolute clarity how Israel remains the most vital ally for Western imperialism in the oil-rich Middle East, and how even its attacks on UN outposts can escape censure from the likes of Bush, Brown or president-elect Obama. Protesters venting their justified anger at the Israeli embassy in London must therefore be seen to be hammered by the UK authorities.

Clearly however outrage at the Gaza atrocities is growing. The first London demo attracted at least 30,000 and the second was far larger, with even the BBC scorning the police’s estimate of 20,000 and claiming 50,000 – still a conservative estimate.

Ray Davies will clearly not be dissuaded by his brutal experience and nor should any other activist. With a public meeting this Weds in Cardiff and the probability of more UK and local demos to come, we should take the violence of the state’s henchmen as a sign of their weakness and redouble our efforts to oppose the obscenities taking place in Gaza.

Fuller accounts of the events at the Israeli embassy can be found here and here. Links to other articles may be posted in the comment section below.

There is a Gaza Action in Wales page on facebook.