Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Parisians, Londoners March for Gazans


Thousands of demonstrators have marched in Paris for a fourth straight weekend to show their support for Palestinians, following Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Organisers say nearly 20,000 protesters marched towards the presidential Elysee Palace on Saturday, police sources put the number at a little under 10,000.

A heavy police presence surrounded the rally, called by the National Collective for a Just and Durable Peace to pressure France's government.

The marchers carried Palestinian flags, chanted "resistance, resistance" and waved banners like "Israel assassin" and “Shame on Israel” written in English.

Thousands of marchers have poured onto Paris' streets on each of the last four Saturdays in response to the Israeli offensive on Gaza that began on December 27.

Israel announced a cease-fire on January 17, and Hamas followed suit a day later.

In London, around 400 people gathered for a rally outside British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices to protest the media giant’s refusal to broadcast a charity appeal to raise emergency funds for people in Gaza.

The crowd was addressed by speakers including Tony Benn, a former Labour cabinet minister, and George Galloway, an MP, who accused the BBC of bias against the Palestinians.

The protesters chanted "BBC, shame on you" and a few threw shoes at the BBC office.

The numbers later swelled to at least 5,000 for a march through central London.

The ‘Stop The War Coalition’, which organised the march, estimates that the ban on broadcasting the appeal could cost up to $14 million in donations.

The group had organised big rallies opposed to the violence in Gaza in London over the past few weekends.

Around 5,000 people also took to the streets of Birmingham, Britain's second biggest city, for a pro-Palestinian demonstration, while around 100 Cambridge University students have occupied the law faculty there in protest at Israel's attacks on Gaza.

(Excerpted from Internet Reports and Al-Jazeera Website)

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