A Paradox for All to See
ROD WEBB
The National March for Palestine in London on 9 August was clearly going to be different from others. Alongside this march, over 500 people had pledged to defy the proscription of Palestine Action at a protest organised by Defend Our Juries in Parliament Square. I attended with someone else from Hastings who was supporting a friend taking an active part in the protest, 78-year-old Jane Carey.
Halfway down Parliament Street, where we had stopped to hear some of the speeches, we noticed the first signs of outrage, contrasting with the peaceful energy of the march. The disturbance was at the entrance to Downing Street where police were taking an elderly protester following her arrest, this area being used for processing those detained. There were emotional scenes from protesters enraged by this action.
The police were clearly struggling to deal with the dilemma facing them, perhaps sensing for the first time the paradoxical nature of what they were doing: arresting seemingly law-abiding citizens for terrorist offences. The embarrassment was exacerbated by protesters pointing out that individual members of the police were not obliged to take part in policing such events but had chosen to do so – as confirmed when I questioned one of the policemen.
The scene that greeted us in Parliament Square was much more complex. We first came across a serene group of protesters sitting under the statue of Ghandi. In fact, apart from the police presence, the atmosphere was more akin to a rather laid-back festival. This atmosphere was briefly interrupted each time an arrest was made with cries of “Shame on you!” aimed at the police making the arrests.
We made our way to the centre of the square where the majority of protesters were sitting waiting with their signs “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” which they had all unveiled simultaneously at 1pm.
It was probably the peaceful nature of the protest and the extraordinary mix of protesters – including elderly and infirm – which helped to circumvent the usual ‘them and us’ conflict, despite the flare up around each arrest. The paradox of the situation played out in front of thousands of onlookers.
After finally finding Jane at around 4.30 and making sure she was OK, we returned to Hastings. On the train home, we tried to process what we had witnessed.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply