Rallying Call for Solidarity with Palestine

by Peadar de Bluit

Last Saturday 12 a march in Solidarity with the people of Palestine, commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the massacre of Deir Yassin, and the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip, was held in Dublin. The march organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign saw a host a different groups come together, among them several Sinn Féin activists, and partake in the march through the capital city. Despite the torrential rain well over a hundred people arrived the Central Bank on Dame Street where the march began.

At the Central Bank, the first speaker, Senator David Norris addressed the crowd. From there the march continued up to Leinster House. Outside Leinster House Labour TD Michael D. Higgins, and Sinn Féin’s MEP for Dublin, Mary Lou McDonald spoke to the rally.

Urging people to support the cause of the Palestinian people, McDonald said;

“An injustice never goes away and the consequences of an injustice need to be dealt with. They need to be conquered. And I think that our political class domestically and at a European level need to understand that they need to confront the issue of Palestine with integrity and with truth, and with determination. Michael has referred, to all the buzzwords that are used, all the cloaks for evading responsibility: terrorists, we’re told. Terrorists; those that call for justice for Palestine. We have revisionism, we know all about that in Ireland.”

Speaking about the upcoming Lisbon Treaty she said;

“If we’re serious about the values that the EU claim are quintessentially European, the values of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, if those things were real, and held as the baseline values of that union the Euro-Med agreement would by suspended. We’re told by people in this house that Ireland’s independence and integrity on issues foreign policy is beyond question, well I beg to differ. It is not good enough for our Minister for Foreign affairs to play games on this issue. We’re going through an important phase of Irish political life over the next nine weeks. Some people who argue for the great Europe throw Palestine in your face and they say: Do you not want a common approach to Palestine? Do you want a common and powerful approach to Palestine? I have to say that on the basis of evidence to date, I do not want the European approach on Palestine a policy that is about cover-up and lies.”

From Leinster House the march continued to the GPO in spite of the miserable conditions. Coming down Dawson Street and crossing O’Connell Bridge, the march attracted a lot of interest and support from the public. Outside the GPO the final speakers of the day addressed the resilient crowd. Bassam Nassar the spokesperson for the Palestinian community in Ireland.

Passionately addressing the crowd about the ongoing situation in Palestine he said;

“I would like to thank you all for being here with us commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the massacres of Deir Yassin. In 1948 groups of militias came along and killed 100 people in cold-blooded hands, over night. 54 of those were innocent young people under the age of 21, with no reason but the fact that the Palestinians, innocent civilians, inhabitants of Deir Yassin little town, that wanted to defy the existence of Israel. They didn’t consider that these people were innocent, they were civilians they took their lives away because they were just Palestinians. These massacres have been conducted by Israel on and on and on, over the last 60 years and the great evidence of what they are doing now in the Gaza Strip, is just the continuation of these war crimes, and Israel, Israel has the perpetual habit of continuing and carrying it out under the supervision of the Hague, United Nations, and the world. We as free nation, as free loving people, we have to do something to stop all these war crimes, not in the name of hating the existence of the state of Israel. It’s not just the Israelis who have the right to exist, we the Palestinians and according to the Oslo accord have the right to exist; in peace in dignity and in honour. The people in Gaza Strip are under tremendous suffering they do not have the basic human rights to live. It’s a human catastrophe. What’s happening in the Gaza strip is an actual catastrophe, being witnessed by all of us, and we’re doing nothing. I’m pleading with all of you here, with the people of the Irish Republic North and South, we have to stand together against all these punishments and crimes against humanity, against the Palestinian people. We have to start showing the principle of our humanity. We want to live in peace, we demand to live in peace. Please help us to free Palestine, help us to allow these people their humanity.”