Protest is a civil right, so why are the British Government planning to proscribe Palestine Action? Critic Aimee Walsh argues that the Labour government is weak on what matters: the genocide in Gaza
Protest is a civil right. It’s enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights, which the UK law adheres to. Peaceful resistance is a necessity to democracy, as hearing the voice of the marginalised, the under-represented, the actively oppressed is not always accessible. As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words.
But still language matters. On June 23, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, confirmed that the activist group Palestine Action will be proscribed as a terrorist organisation. Cooper said that a draft proscription order will be brought before Parliament next week.
This means that supporting or being a member of that group will be an offence. Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton on June 20, where they entered the Ministry of Defence site and sprayed red paint into the engine of an Airbus Voyager.
The pro-Palestine group accompanied the footage with a statement condemning the government, saying: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets.”
Here’s the rub: this is a pattern with the current British Government, where symbolism seems to matter more than lives lost. Calling a direct-action protest group terrorists, while also being mealy-mouthed about the mass-murder of Palestinians by Israel sends a clear message.
Outrage directed towards spilled paint on a RAF plane or even towards Mo Chara, a Kneecap band-member, holding a Hezbollah flag makes one thing blatantly obvious: Sir Keir Starmer is interested in tackling symbolic images.
To my view, Keir seeks to appear tough on dissent on home soil. But, to me, the PM is lacking in moral fibre, specifically on Gaza. To be clear: Amnesty International called what is happening in Gaza a genocide.
As of June 22, Al Jazeera reported that at least 55,998 people have been killed in Gaza, with at least 17,400 of that number being children. Another 131,559 people have been injured.
Are the enactors of this mass death not terrorists? How does a splash of paint on an inanimate object give you rise while blood shed does not?
All of this is in addition to the frankly bizarre calls from the PM to have the Irish rap band Kneecap pulled from the Glastonbury line up. He told the Sun: “I think we need to come down really clearly on this. I won’t say too much, because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate.” The band are scheduled to perform on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival on June 28.
Kneecap via Instagram responded: “You know what’s “not appropriate” Keir?! Arming a f–king genocide…” The treatment of both Mo Chara and now Palestine Action lays this government’s intentions bare.
Speaking of symbolism, I think of the recent naming of the Overground Line in London after the Suffragette movement. In 1912, 150 women smashed windows across the capital in a form of direct action that lobbied for votes for women. Under Starmer’s Government, I daresay that the Suffragettes would be a proscribed organisation too, if they hadn’t named public transport after them.
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