Anthony McIntyre ☠ When we gather at noon today in West Street, the activists of Drogheda Stands With Palestine can derive some consolation from living in Ireland rather than the UK.
While the Irish government has unpardonably not yet enacted the Occupied Territories Bill, at the same time it has not sought to introduce the Starmer-type legislation which saw Greta Thunberg arrested last week in London outside the offices of Aspen Insurance. The company is subject to ethical action because the people protesting claim it:
Ms Thunberg has since been released on police bail until March.
Her 'act of terrorism' which prompted the police to grip her was to hold up a placard proclaiming "I support the Palestine Action prisoners" and "I oppose genocide". I doubt there is anyone who has been turning up on West Street every Saturday since the onset of the genocide who does not support the hunger strikers who belong to Palestine Action. Yet, we would end up in the Joy were the Starmer legislation to apply here.
provides financial services to Elbit Systems. Elbit is known as Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer and has several operations within the United Kingdom.
Ms Thunberg has since been released on police bail until March.
Her 'act of terrorism' which prompted the police to grip her was to hold up a placard proclaiming "I support the Palestine Action prisoners" and "I oppose genocide". I doubt there is anyone who has been turning up on West Street every Saturday since the onset of the genocide who does not support the hunger strikers who belong to Palestine Action. Yet, we would end up in the Joy were the Starmer legislation to apply here.
While that type of draconian repression remains unleashed in Ireland, it is incumbent to use the space currently available to fill it with noise of support for people who are in prison because of their opposition to genocide and who have felt compelled to resort to hunger strike over their incarceration.
Not only that, it is vital to protect the right to simply mobilise against genocide even in circumstances where no support for groups like Palestine Action is expressed. Der Starmer and Despicable Dave Lammy are intent on not just suffocating expressions of support for Palestine Action, they are also determined to smother any fair and accurate coverage of the genocide. Jonathan Cook warns that reporting facts under the Starmer regime could lead to a fourteen year jail sentence.
Asking government if it wishes for more repressive legislation is like asking a child if it would like more sweets. If on offer it will be grabbed. Which makes the task of remaining vigilant here in Ireland all the more of imperative in order to prevent any slide which sees the rule of law further becoming the rule of law enforcement, causing the fog of hush to envelop protestors and media outlets alike.
There has not been a hunger strike this large within the British penal system since the 1981 H Block hunger strike. Yet for the most of the prison protest, that fog of hush has cultivated a media blackout. BBC News At Ten only covered it as the strike entered its seventh week. Although it would be a stretch to claim that the BBC is not complicit in stifling the news, and is the mere victim of an authoritarian government policy. Jonathan Cook has argued that:
There are clear political reasons why the BBC had avoided this topic for so long. It prefers not to deal with matters that directly confront the legitimacy of the government, which funds it. The BBC is effectively the British state broadcaster.
The BBC will not address the fact that Greta Thunberg has been wilfully targeted by the Starmer legislation. A police statement said:
She has been arrested for displaying an item [in this case a placard] in support of a proscribed organization [in this case Palestine Action] contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Her placard did not express support for the activities of Palestine Action. She merely supported their prisoners on hunger strike. The British state is now trying to label the act of hunger striking - one of the most passive forms of resistance known - as terrorism. In Ireland where it has become a cultural pastime for the political class to behave as mimic men, bowing and scraping to British monarchy, one task of activists is to prevent that class going further and mimicking the Starmer silencing strategy.
In this country I am free to fully support Greta Thunberg in her protest and the Palestine Action prisoners in their hunger strike without being jailed for terrorism. Let us strive to ensure it stays that way.
Hail, Hail Palestine Action.
Jail, Jail the IDF.
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