“To be fair she did not take
history”
Oxbridge educated Baroness Carr attacked
for her ignorance
Twice arrested now, Steve S, a great
long standing friend of mine, has been good enough to offer his thoughts on whether
the comparison between the Suffragettes and Palestine Action is seemingly distasteful.
Readers can make up their own minds. Directly below this interview is an
earlier one with Steve from last year and for reasons unknown which I did not put
up on this blog at the time.
Things were not auspicious. On Friday at Woolwich Crown Court Justice Johnson
used his sentencing powers to commit some of the `Elbit` activists as though
they were terrorists. This was novel and unprecedented.
So, despite no accusation of
terrorism, no CPS charge of terrorism, no trial based on terrorism - and
without the jury being aware of his intentions. The judge had earlier cited a
defence barrister for contempt for telling the jury they can make a decision
based on their conscience (jury equity). This was unprecedented. Subsequently the Appeal Court ruled that to be ultra
vires.
Judge Johnson refused the defendants
permission to explain their motivations to the jury, yet he went to great pains
to interpret (and opine on) their motivations himself, when sentencing.
Back to Monday: I was amongst approximately 120 `sitters`. Ready should the
court uphold the government appeal. Craning to hear the loudspeaker, I could
hear a number of references to Palestine Actions violence, covert operations,
its opaque organisational structure etc. But the most galling were the comments
which said that the PA cultivated this idea that they were the modern-day
equivalent of the Suffragettes (the Women’s Social and Political Union) and how
in their Justices opinion that was both incorrect and, seemingly, distasteful.
The Suffragettes were celebrated
by female MP`s, in the Commons, on the very day that Yvette Cooper announced
the proscribing of Palestine Action. Was this intentionally cynical or ironic?
The Suffragettes, have been canonised,
in the same way that that `terrorist` Nelson Mandela came to
be several decades later.
I was brought up in the East End
of London. I don’t have a degree. I did not go to a posh school or have an
Oxbridge education. Baroness Carr of Walton went to Trinity College Cambridge. However she has put on record, in a
landmark case, her ignorance of British history. I would be embarrassed.
Well, to be fair she did not take history!
These are the facts:
The militant phase of the WSPU
(1912–1914) involved:
"Cat and Mouse" and "Torching" Campaigns: Targeting infrastructure,
including post offices, railway stations, and private residences (the
firebombing of David Lloyd George’s country house in 1913, to point).
The WSPU manufactured and deployed devices that encased shrapnel (nuts and
bolts) designed to maim or kill. In 1914 such a bomb was left at of Westminster
Abbey. It did not ignite. It was a device intended to cause terror in a public
space. Today called an Improvised
Explosive Device (IED).
Physical Violence: Beyond throwing a hatchet at Asquith (hitting Irish MP John
Redmond), there were numerous assaults on the police and public officials and
window-smashing campaigns that frequently escalated into violence against
disagreeing members of the public.
It is believed that four people died as a result of their campaign. They were
not only violent, but were indiscriminate as to whether innocent members of the
public would be injured.
The judiciary is perpetuating a
"Whig interpretation of history"- where the Suffragettes are viewed
only through the lens of their eventual success (the vote), stripping their
methods of their violent, dangerous, and "covert" realities.
The Suffragettes are now canonised as heroes of British democracy, the court-
and the public tends to treat them as the "gold standard" for civil
disobedience.
The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, made much of Palestine Action being
"covert" because they use cells and try to avoid arrest. For her
information WSPU also used highly secretive, decentralised cells (the
"militant" wing) specifically to evade the police.
It is so obviously logical that any
activists taking direct action will be covert. None would want to be discovered before carrying out their action.
However, overwhelmingly, once `achieved` the activists remained, or were
detained, `on site`. By being apprehended, they could explain their motivation
to a jury.
Far from revelling in their
achievements the aim was to get as much publicity for the least `cost`. The
damage to each `target` being mostly symbolic and imaginative. The publicity to
the cause, priceless.
Food for thought - had those activists
really wanted to stop production at those factories would they not have set
fire to them. They did not do that. No person has been targeted by
Palestine Action. Any injury caused was accidental and unintentional.
No Justices, the aim was to
publicise the cause, to get public support and to inform.
In my 67 years I have been on countless marches, lobbies, demonstrations for,
or against, something. Overwhelmingly they have been aimed at changing, or
stopping a change to, government policy. Now is any dissent now to be classed
as terrorism - as the government of the day sees fit. The `Junior` doctors
become `a threat to national interests` when picketing a hospital. Will they be
`terrorists` next?
Contrast this to last summer; `asylum hotels` were targeted by organised right-wing
groups (funded from abroad) who damaged property, assaulted staff, residents
and the police, racially abused them, set fire to bins and attempted to set
fire to at least one hostel. The same has happened in Southampton and in
Belfast very recently. None of those incidents or organisers has been classed
as `terrorism` and yet it would appear to meet the criteria. So this is two
tier policing.
The Justices comments in handing
down their ruling were factually inaccurate. They were not legal opinion, they
were political.
It is no coincidence that Gaza
and the plight of Palestinians; Israel’s continuing genocide; the British
Government complicity in aiding and abetting; war crimes; did not get an airing
at the Appeal Court. It was the Elephant in the room that Judge Johnson, and
now the Chief Justices have chosen to turn a blind eye to.
The Appeal Court decision bears no relationship to justice. We all know that Israel
is getting away with mass murder. Early on the state attempted to smear
Palestine Action by seeding stories that Iran was funding it. The truth is that
it is Israel and its arms affiliates that have manipulated, influenced and
lobbied, in all areas of the British establishment.
Thousands of us will continue to
fight for justice for Palestine, for our own political prisoners, for
accountability from our politicians and the denunciation of the state of
Israel, to whom they are beholden.
Dear Lord Walney,
I am writing to you after reading the Hansard report of the debate Palestine Action: Protest Arrests, held on Wednesday, 23rd
July 2025.
I am 66 years old. I had never been arrested in my life. I had not
been on a march nor joined a protest for decades.
On Saturday, 19th July, I was arrested in Parliament Square. I was taking part
in a silent, peaceful protest at the foot of the Gandhi statue. My `offence` -
wearing a t-shirt which read "I oppose genocide”, “ I support Palestine
Action” and on the back "Why is Israel getting away with murder?"
I wish to address each of these points directly.
On the accusation of genocide:
That Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank is not a radical,
alternative, outlandish theory. Independent bodies and individuals, armed with
empirical evidence, have concluded that genocide and war crimes are and have
been committed. These figures include a former Israeli Prime Minister, Chief of
Staff, former Defence Minister and Israeli human rights organisations. All have
reached the same conclusion that millions of people watching the daily news
have done.
You will be aware that Israel’s finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have openly stated their wish to `eradicate`
Gaza and its population. Just yesterday, at the `Temple Mount`, Ben-Gvir
reiterated this intention.
When these ministers openly declare their Genocidal intentions; are in charge
of the means of implementing them; then enact them, what other conclusion can
be drawn?
The current Israeli government, with cheerleaders like Daniella Weiss, long
dropped any pretence of respectability. Its hatred for Palestinians is extreme,
its actions obscene. Its sense of impunity manifest.
The starvation of Palestinians, the daily massacres of those queuing for `aid`,
the demolition of neighbourhoods, the bombing of hospitals, the abduction,
torture, and murder of detainees - these are not random acts. They are
systematic expressions of a country consumed by anger and grief, extracting
revenge for the horrific murders of October 7th, by
collectively punishing the entire population of Gaza. This is not war. It is a
"final solution" being carried out before our eyes, in real time.
On supporting Palestine Action:
I had never heard of this organisation prior to the Brize Norton incident. This
act put it in the news. The subsequent proscription turbo-charged it from a
news item to international notoriety. My support for Palestine Action is a
moral and political one. Palestine Action is bringing attention to genocide and
to my country`s complicity in genocide.
I am not in favour of silence dissenting voices. I am not in favour of
draconian measures. In this case an organisation - which may have committed
crimes against property - silenced with the use of terrorism legislation. This
is a political action. I consider proscription to be anti-democratic,
oppressive and unjust.
As a citizen, am I able to protest against the proscription of a nonviolent
organisation - irrespective whether I support its aims or tactics - without
falling foul of the law myself? If the answer is no, then my freedom of speech
and peaceful assembly may no longer exists.
On the charge of "murder":
I do not flinch from calling out the state of Israel for committing murder. We
see the evidence every day on our screens: bombing, shelling, strafing.
Shooting civilians "like fish in a barrel". Arbitrary detention,
torture and death. Israeli soldiers have been gleefully recorded carrying out
these actions. Others, horrified by what they have witnessed - and taken part
in - have become `whistleblowers`. Mass, hateful, debased hysteria has gripped
some parts of Israeli society, unchecked and actively goaded on by some of
those in power.
I pose the same point to you that I have put to Members of the Commons: When a
foreign state seems to have more influence over my government's legislation and
policies than I do, as a citizen, what does that say about democracy? Israel,
as you are well aware, uses funding, lobbying, and patronage, which I consider
has corrupted our politicians, political discourse and Parliament.
I do not belong to any group. My decision to demonstrate was driven by my
profound frustration that genocide is being committed on yours and mine watch -
while we appear to be doing nothing.
The people I met on Saturday 19th at the foot of Ghandi`s statue were silent,
humble, stoic and courageous and soaked!. I was deeply moved by their dignity
and honoured to be amongst them, however briefly. The sleeping British lion has
stirred from its slumber. Now awake it may prove to be a force to be
reckoned with. The prisons may not be big enough.
I hope that you find my experience, not a unique one, to be a meaningful
contribution to your deliberations. Even if you disagree with it, it is the
lived experience of a growing number of people.
Sincerely,
No comments:
Post a Comment