March & Rally for Palestine: I discover it attention-grabbing to look again on the march and rally in assist of Palestine which befell in London on Saturday thirteenth April 2002 for a number of causes.
The march was organised by the Muslim Affiliation of Britain and got here after the beginning of the massive scale Israeli Operation Defensive Protect in cities and villages throughout the West Financial institution and battles in opposition to Palestinians in Jenin and Nablus in early April.
Operation Defensive Protect was aimed toward at halting Palestinian suicide bombings in opposition to civilians in Israel which have been happening throughout the Second Intifada.
Round 30,000 folks, primarily Muslims, had gathered at Hyde Park to march to the rally at Trafalgar Sq. (police estimates of the quantity at 10-15,000 have been clearly too small.) In line with CNN “they clambered on to Nelson’s Column chanting slogans earlier than burning and tearing Israeli flags.”
Nicely, a number of of them did burn flags, although not in my sight, however fairly extra joined within the chanting of ‘”Down with Israel,” “Down, down U.S.A.” and “Jihad!” or holy struggle.’ Later of their article CNN do quote a MAB spokesman telling them that jihad “means ‘wrestle', it doesn't imply struggle“.
Additionally they quote the MAB spokesman telling them that the youth “tfinish to get a bit excited simply as a big crowd does at a soccer match” and making clear that the MAB “don’t imagine within the burning of any flag.”
I feel you may see from my footage that this protest had a really completely different ambiance from the present protests calling for a ceasefire and the top of the massacres of the Palestinian folks. The present protests contain the entire vary of the British inhabitants – together with many Jews – and are largely about ending the mindless wholesale killing and destruction whereas many in 2002 have been clearly displaying assist for the actions of Palestinian militants together with suicide bombers. There are a variety of posters and placards in my footage which might now end in arrests.
Tony Benn was one of many audio system on the rally and is after all not with us, however Jeremy Corbyn nonetheless speaks at in the present day’s protests. CNN quotes him in 2002 as saying:
“This can be a demonstration by hundreds of British folks, Muslim and non-Muslim, demanding peace and the institution of a Palestinian state and withdrawal by Israeli forces. And the message to Tony Blair is now clear, he should cease talking on behalf of George Bush and as a substitute on behalf of peace and justice within the Center East.”
Substitute Blair by Sunak, Bush by Biden and it nonetheless is sensible.
This was additionally I feel the primary time I had posted color footage of a protest on My London Diary. Again in March 2002 I used to be nonetheless working with movie, each black and white and color unfavourable.
After all movie doesn’t include EXIF information, however I feel the color footage have been in all probability made utilizing a Konica Hexar F, with numerous Leica M becoming lenses, with these within the crowd utilizing a 15mm Voigtlander. They have been scanned with the primary movie scanner I purchased, a Canoscan which had simply come out in 2002, and neither {hardware} or software program have been actually as much as the job. The ultimate image shouldn’t be one I posted in 2002, and I’ve improved the scan made then a little bit in Photoshop.
A number of extra footage on the April 2002 web page of My London Diary.
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Tags: glags, holocaust, hyde park, Intifada, Israel, Jenin, Jihad, London, MAB, march, Muslim Affiliation of Britain, Nablus, Nelson’s column, Operation Defensive Protect, peter Marshall, protest, rally, suicide bombers, Trafalgar Sqaure, West financial institution
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