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Palestine Action protests come to an end with 636 arrests over 12 days in over 20 towns and cities

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Over 250 people took action today (Saturday 29 November) against our government’s complicity in genocide and against the ban on Palestine Action in ten towns and cities across the UK. They were all peacefully holding signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.

Yet police only arrested 164 of them as police forces in Edinburgh and Exeter decided not to make arrests of the 55 and 35 sitters there respectively.

Today’s action brings the total of arrests to 636 in the ‘most widespread wave of civil disobedience in modern UK history’ with many more people sitting with signs that police failed to arrest. This brings the total number of Lift The Ban sign-holding arrests since the proscription to 2717.

The day of action come in the middle of the Judicial Review – which is now due to end on Tuesday 2 December – and which has been plagued by allegations of a last minute ‘stitch up’. It also comes as a second hunger striker is hospitalised and as the genocide continues in Gaza with Isreal killing at least 345 Palestinians and wounding 889 since the “ceasefire”.

The Lift The Ban actions started at 1pm and the number of sitters and arrests in each town were as follows according to on the ground observers:

📍31 – Bristol
📍25 – Birmingham
📍0 of 35 – Exeter
📍15 of 16 – Cambridge
📍18 – Sheffield
📍26 – Lancaster
📍0 of 55 – Edinburgh
📍8 – Caerdydd (Cardiff)
📍31 – Manchester
📍10 – Norwich
📍2 – Newport (Gwent)
📍2 – Presteigne

A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said

“Yet again the ban has proven unenforceable, with police forces in Belfast, Derry, Edinburgh, Totnes and now Exeter choosing not to arrest peaceful sign-holders under ‘terror’ laws, while other forces have given up making arrests half way through.

“This historic wave of action has seen people of courage and conscience taking action to resist the government’s clampdown on our fundamental rights to protest and free speech.

“In the face of our government’s steadfast support for Israel as it carried out crimes against humanity, collective punishment and genocide, Palestine Action were the one group who made a material impact by hitting the profits of companies supplying hardware to Israel’s killing machine.

“In court this week the government has had to try and defend the proportionality of the ban. Yet it hasn’t been able to offer any argument that proscription was in the public interest. Repeated statements by government barristers make it clear that it was simply to protect the profits of arms companies.

“The ban was never in the public interest as Palestine Action never posed any threat to the public. Conflating property damage with terrorism, as the Terrorism Act 2000 does, is an insult to everyone who has lost loved ones through acts of genuine terror.

“The proscription of Palestine Action was an act of authoritarian overreach whose only purpose was to protect Israel, the arms companies supplying its genocide, and the government ministers who have been so shamefully complicit in that genocide.”

UPDATE ON THE JUDICIAL REVIEW

Avaaz launched a petition yesterday demanding an explanation from Justice Secretary David Lammy MP as to why the judge overseeing the case was removed just days before it was about to begin. The last minute switch has meant that the Judicial Review has been dogged by allegations of a ‘stitch-up’ with questions about the suitability and independence of the three replacement judges demanding to be answered. A former British ambassador suggested the result had been to “load the dice for Israel”.

On the opening day of the Judicial Review, Raza Husain KC, representing Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, noted that the group was the “first direct-action civil disobedience organisation that does not advocate for violence ever to be proscribed as terrorist.” He said the ban was an “ill-considered, discriminatory, due process-lacking, authoritarian abuse of statutory power … that is alien to the basic tradition of common law and the European Convention on Human Rights.” Defend Our Juries’ Lift The Ban campaign was cited as evidence of mass civil society disagreement with the proscription.

Intervening in the Judicial Review, United Nations Special Rapporteur Ben Saul warned the ban makes the UK “out of step with comparable liberal democracies” and “sets a precedent” for further crackdown on other protest movements in the UK such as climate protesters. Amnesty International UK said it represented a substantial departure from established responses to protest movements which use direct action tactics and that it breached our fundamental rights to protest and free speech. Liberty argued the ban was disproportionate because counter-terror powers have historically been directed at groups whose modus operandi includes intentional violence against people

Best-selling author Sally Rooney told the hearing how she might no longer be able to sell or publish her books in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action. The court also heard how Keir Starmer discussed Palestine Action with Donald Trump in two phone calls before the ban after Palestine Action painted “Gaza is not for sale” on his golf course in Scotland.

The Judicial Review concludes on Tuesday 2 December when the government will present part of its defence using the secret court system known as Closed Material Procedure which has come under criticism for allowing evidence to be presented without challenge and has been described as being a system “in meltdown”. A judgement will be given at a later date. Skeleton arguments for the applicant are available on request.

SECOND HUNGER STRIKER HOSPITALISED

28 prisoners are currently being held in UK prisons without trial for allegedly taking part in actions claimed by Palestine Action known as the Filton 24 and the Brize Norton 5. Most will be held for two years without trial – exceeding the six month pre-trial custody limit – because the Crown Prosecution Service is claiming there is a “terrorist connection” on the basis of criminal damage. However no charges have been brought under the Terrorism Act against these prisoners and the actions took place before Palestine Action was proscribed by the government.

Six prisoners are now on a rolling hunger strike, some will today enter their fifth week. The hunger strike started on Saturday 2nd November – Balfour Day – with two people after the Home Secretary failed to respond to their demands including immediate bail, access to documents necessary for the right to a fair trial and the de-proscription of Palestine Action. The strike is “rolling” because more people continue to join the strike as their demands remain unmet. The conditions of their detention have been criticised by UN experts in a letter to the UK government.

It was revealed yesterday that Teuta ‘T’ Hoxha is now the second prisoner on hunger strike to be hospitalised. She was moved to the healthcare wing on Thursday, due to her rapidly deteriorating health after 20 days on hunger strike. Kamran Ahmed was hospitalised on Tuesday after collapsing on Friday 21 November.

In August of this year T Hoxa of the Filton 24 went on hunger strike for 28 days, eventually winning most of her demands. For more information on the hunger strikers see Prisoners for Palestine.

NOVEMBER WAVE OF ACTIONS

The November wave of action has seen 636 people in ten towns and cities arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for peacefully holding cardboard signs.

Across the UK the ban has been shown unnecessary and unenforceable as police forces in Derry, Belfast, Edinburgh and Exetert chose not to make arrests, while several local police forces in England and Wales were overwhelmed and gave up on arresting everyone.

On Wednesday 26 November, police confirmed 143 arrests outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the first day of the Judicial Review.

On Monday 24 November, around 50 people were arrested outside the Home Office where Yvette Cooper made her ill-fated decision to proscribe Palestine Action. Met Police have not publicly released a number of arrests for the action.

On Saturday 22 November, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) made no arrests of 21 people in Derry and 20 in Belfast who held the same signs as people in a London Peace Garden where the Met Police made “at least 90” arrests for terrorism offences, making a mockery of the proscription.

On Thursday 20 November, police confirmed 47 arrests outside the Ministry of Justice, where the Attorney General resides, who has approved the charges of hundreds of peaceful protestors for terrorist offences despite there being no public interest in doing so.

On Tuesday 18 November, local police forces arrested just 142 of the 237 people who took action in ten cities across the UK. After several hours forces in Aberystwyth, Truro and Oxford confirmed they would not be returning to arrest the remaining sign-holders. Police Scotland made no arrests of the 49 people who took action in Edinburgh. The police therefore failed to arrest 95 sign-holders – a full 40% – showing once again the ban is both unnecessary and unenforceable.

Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Continue ReadingPalestine Action protests come to an end with 636 arrests over 12 days in over 20 towns and cities

Cop30: five reasons the UN climate conference failed to deliver on its ‘people’s summit’ promise

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Andre Borges / EPA

Simon Chin-Yee, UCL; Mark Maslin, UCL, and Priti Parikh, UCL

As the sun set on the Amazon, the promise of a “people’s Cop” faded with it. The latest UN climate summit – known as Cop30, hosted in the Brazilian city of Belém – came with the usual geopolitics and the added excitement of a flood and a fire.

The summit saw Indigenous protests on an unprecedented scale, but the final negotiations were once again dominated by fossil fuel interests and delaying tactics. After ten years of climate (in)action since the Paris agreement, Brazil promised Cop30 would be an “implementation Cop”. But the summit failed to deliver, even as the world recorded a devastating 1.6˚C of global warming last year.

Here are our five key observations:

1. Indigenous groups were present – but not involved

Located in Amazonia, this was branded the summit for those on the frontlines of climate change. Over 5,000 Indigenous people were there, and they certainly made their voices heard.

However, only 360 secured passes to the main negotiating “blue zone”, compared to 1,600 delegates linked to the fossil fuel industry. Inside the negotiating rooms it was business as usual, with Indigenous groups remaining as observers, unable to vote or attend closed-door meetings.

The choice of location was nicely symbolic but logistically tough. Hosting the conference in the Amazon cost hundreds of millions of dollars in a region where many still lack basic amenities.

A stark image of this inequality: with hotel rooms full, the Brazilian government even docked two cruise ships for delegates, which per head can have eight times the emissions of a five star hotel.

2. The power of protests

But this was the second largest UN climate summit ever, and the first since Glasgow Cop26 in 2021 to take place in a country that permits real public protest. That mattered. Protests of various sizes happened every day during the two-week conference, most notably an Indigenous-led “great people’s march” on the middle Saturday.

Indigenous protesters scored some small wins – but weren’t involved in the main talks. Fraga Alves / EPA

The visible pressure helped obtain recognition of four new Indigenous territories in Brazil. It showed that when civil society has a voice it can secure wins, even outside of the main emissions negotiations.

3. US absence creates a vacuum – and an opportunity

In Donald Trump’s first turn as president, the US sent at least a skeletal group of negotiators. This time, in a historic first, America did not send an official delegation at all.

Trump recently described climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, and since returning to power the US has slowed renewables and expanded oil and gas. It even helped scuttle plans for a net zero framework for global shipping last month.

As the US is rolling back its ambition, it is allowing other oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia to ignore their own climate pledges and to try and undermine others.

China has stepped into the void and become one of the loudest voices in the room. As the world’s largest supplier of green technology, Beijing used Cop30 to promote its solar, wind and electric vehicle industries and court countries looking to invest.

But for many delegates, the absence of America came as a relief. Without the distraction of the US attempting to “burn the house down” as it did at the shipping negotiations, the conference was able to get on with the business at hand: negotiating texts and agreements that will limit global warming.

4. ‘Implementation’ through side deals – not the main stage

So what was actually implemented? This year, the main action happened through voluntary pledges, not the binding global agreement.

The Belém pledge, backed by countries including Japan, India and Brazil, committed signatories to quadruple sustainable fuels production and use by 2035.

Brazil also launched a major trust fund for forests, with around US$6 billion (£4.6 billion) already pledged for communities working to protect rainforests. The EU followed by pledging new funds for the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest rainforest.

These are useful steps, but they highlight how the biggest advances at UN climate summits now often happen in the margins, rather than in the main talks.

The outcome of those main talks at Cop30 – the Belém package – is weak, and will get us nowhere near the Paris agreement’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5˚C. Most striking is the absence of the words “fossil fuels” from the final text even though they were central to the Glasgow climate pact (2021) and the UAE consensus (2023) – and of course they represent the main cause of climate change.

5. The Global Mutirão text: a missed opportunity

One potential breakthrough did emerge in negotiating rooms: the Global Mutirão text, a proposed roadmap to “transition away” from fossil fuels. More than 80 countries signed it, from EU members to climate-vulnerable Pacific island states.

Tina Stege, climate envoy for one of those vulnerable states, the Marshall Islands, urged delegates: “Let’s get behind the idea of a fossil fuel roadmap, let’s work together and make it a plan.”

On the final Thursday, a small fire broke out in the pavilion area of the summit. Brazil Photo Press / Alamy

But opposition from Saudi Arabia, India and other major fossil fuel producers watered it down. Negotiations stretched into overtime, not helped by a fire that postponed discussions for a day.

When the final deal was agreed, key references to a fossil fuel phase-out were missing. There was a backlash from Colombia, due to the lack of inclusion of transition away from fossil fuels, which forced the Cop presidency to offer a six-month review as an olive branch.

This was hugely disappointing, as earlier in the summit there seemed to be huge momentum.

A widening gulf

So this was another divisive climate summit. The gulf between oil-producing countries (in particular in the Middle East) and the rest of the world has never been wider.

One positive to come out of the summit was the power of organised people: Indigenous groups and civil society made their voices heard, even if they weren’t translated into the final text.

With next year’s summit to be held in Turkey, these annual climate summits are increasingly migrating to nations with authoritarian leanings where protests are not welcome or completely banned. Our leaders keep stating that time is running out, yet negotiations themselves remain stuck in never ending circles of delays.

Simon Chin-Yee, Lecturer in International Development, UCL; Mark Maslin, UCL Professor of Earth System Science and UNU Lead for Climate, Health and Security, UCL, and Priti Parikh, Professor of Infrastructure Engineering and International Development, UCL

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Orcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Orcas comment on killer apes destroying the planet by continuing to burn fossil fuels.

Continue ReadingCop30: five reasons the UN climate conference failed to deliver on its ‘people’s summit’ promise

Lift The Ban promises “most widespread civil disobedience across the UK in modern British history”

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Defend Our Juries announce the locations of the 20 UK-wide local actions in their Lift The Ban campaign against the ban on Palestine Action and against the UK government’s complicity in genocide.

The actions are intended to restore fundamental rights in relation to protest and freedom of expression in the UK ahead of and during the judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action (25–27 November).

Local police forces are operationally independent of central government so have to make their own choices about how to react to Lift The Ban protests. Police forces have chosen not to arrest sign-holders at previous actions in Derry, Edinburgh, Totnes, Norwich and Kendal – choosing instead to respect their right to protest and to freedom of expression.

Ordinary members of the public will be taking part in acts of dangerous sign-holding at 1pm in the following locations on Tuesday 18 November:

  • Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth House, 1 Sibbald Walk, EH8 8FT
  • Caerdydd (Cardiff), Senedd
  • Oxford, Clarendon Building, OX1 3AZ
  • Newcastle, Civic Centre
  • Leeds, Dortmund Square
  • Aberystwyth, location to be announced
  • Nottingham, Green Heart (paved area near the new central library)
  • Northampton, The steps of Guildhall, St Giles’ Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE
  • Gloucester, Cathedral
  • Truro, Meet in the square outside front entrance of Truro Cathedral, High Cross

Then again on Saturday 22 in Belfast at The Square between the courts on Chichester Street.

And on Saturday 29 November in these locations:

  • Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth House
  • Caerdydd (Cardiff), location to be announced nearer the date
  • Manchester, location to be announced
  • Birmingham, Chamberlain Square, B3 3DH (opposite Museum and Art Gallery)
  • Cambridge, Guildhall, opposite the market: Guildhall Place, Market Hill
  • Bristol, College Green, BS1 5TJ
  • Sheffield, Cathedral
  • Exeter, outside Central Station, Queens Street
  • Lancaster, outside Lancaster Castle

And (as announced previously) in London at:

  • The Ministry Of Justice (Thursday 20th)
  • The Peace Garden in Tavistock Square (Saturday 22nd)
  • The Home Office (Monday 24th) and
  • The Royal Courts of Justice (Wednesday 26th)

The action in Belfast on Saturday 22nd November will be the first Lift The Ban action in the city. There have been regular independently-organised sign-holding actions in Derry but no arrests or charges have been brought to date in the north of Ireland. Legal experts say that Police Service Northern Ireland need the proscription “like a hole in the head” and they suspect that PSNI were not consulted on the proscription by the Home Secretary.

Police Scotland have so far made no arrests at Lift The Ban actions in Edinburgh, although they have subsequently arrested and charged a seemingly random ten people from the 85 who took action in September. The Scottish Counter-Terrorism Board CONTEST has concluded that Palestine Action “has not been close to meeting the statutory definition of terrorism.” Earlier this month former diplomat Craig Murray filed a legal challenge against the ban in Scotland meaning there is the potential for a constitutional crisis if Scottish and English courts reach different decisions.

In Cardiff when people sit outside the Senedd building they will do so knowing that at the last Lift The Ban action there in July Welsh police arrested sign-holders under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. They also held people in custody while raiding their houses and testing their food with geiger counters. However the same sitters were subsequently charged only with lesser section 13 offences (maximum penalty of six months in prison).

Leigh Evans, retired Emergency Nurse with extensive experience of working in the West Bank and Gaza, who took part in the Global Flotilla, and who will be taking action in Cardiff said:

“Protest and direct action are prerequisites for democracy in the face of fascism. Direct action is the only thing that has ever been proved to work against oppression and apartheid. Every right we have has been won for us through protest and direct action from the Levellers in the 17th century to the suffragettes in the early 1900s. Direct action and protests give us our human rights.”

Elle Miller, Railway Maintenance Worker, age 43 from Glasgow, explained why she will be taking part in both Edinburgh actions as well as the action in London on 26th:

“In today’s politics, it feels like the only way to influence decisions is to have millions in the bank. Without protest, slavery would still be legal, women couldn’t vote, and same-sex marriage would still be illegal. We know protest works precisely because successive governments are trying to criminalise it. If sitting peacefully with a cardboard sign makes me a terrorist, then I hope my great-grandchildren will be as proud of me as relatives of the suffragettes are today.

“The decision to proscribe Palestine Action was driven by corporate interests profiting from arms sales to those committing atrocities in Palestine and beyond. It is not illegal to challenge those interests or to campaign to change unjust laws. The Scottish Government has recognised the genocide in Palestine – so why are Police Scotland arresting peaceful protesters? Who do they serve: the UK Government, or the people of Scotland who oppose this ban?”

Oliver Baines OBE, 74, a farmer and retired charity CEO from Grampound Road who will be among those holding signs in Truro on the 18th, said:

“Devon and Cornwall Police pride themselves on their community policing, so a group of local residents sitting in silent vigil opposing genocide was always going to create a dilemma for them. When eight were arrested in July, the police were courteous and, in many cases, clearly uncomfortable. Their subsequent change of policy was typified by one officer who described the October protest as ‘lovely and peaceful’.

“Our argument was never with the police but with the UK Government, with its shameful attack on our civil liberties, and with its appalling record of complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. Equating solidarity with Palestine and opposition to genocide with being a terrorist is a gross insult to all peace-loving people.”

LIFT THE BAN CAMPAIGN

So far over 2,000 people have been arrested under terrorism legislation for taking part in these now famous actions in which people sit silently holding handwritten cardboard signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Around 170 of these have so far been charged with section 13 offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, offences which carry a maximum six month prison sentence.

The demands of the Lift The campaign are firstly to lift the ban on Palestine Action and secondly to name the ongoing Israeli assault on the Palestinian people as a genocide and comply with the resulting legal obligations, including by ending all military trade and other military cooperation with Israel.

At the Court Of Appeal ruling on 15 October, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori won two more grounds for her Judicial Review at the same time as the government lost their attempt to block the legal challenge of the ban, making

Last month the UN issued its draft report Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime detailing the complicity of states including the UK in the destruction of Gaza. Amongst other things, the UK continued to supply arms including components for F-35 stealth bombers, undertook daily surveillance flights over Gaza for Israel, maintained normal trade relations, and allowed Israel to undertake international crimes with impunity.

The genocide continues to unfold in Gaza. Since October 11, the first full day of the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 245 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 627. Israel continues to attack Gaza, with at least three airstrikes on Wednesday. The UN says Israel is blocking vaccines and baby bottles. More than 1,500 buildings beyond the “yellow line” have been destroyed. And in the West Bank yesterday settlers set fire to vehicles, including dairy trucks.

CHORUS OF CRITICISM

This week the government’s proscription of Palestine Action has come under fire yet again from expert bodies both in the UK and internationally with the release of three separate reports. On Tuesday a panel of experts including a former MI6 director said terrorism laws needed rewriting as they had become too broad to keep the country safe, hitting out at the ‘serious property damage’ clause” which has resulted in a nonviolent domestic direct action group being designated as terrorists for the first time.

Later that same day it was revealed that an advisory body had told ministers that banning Palestine Action could backfire by ⁠inadvertently raising the group’s public profile, ⁠becoming “a flashpoint for significant controversy and criticism” of the government, heightening Muslim-Jewish community tensions, and being seen as evidence of bias towards Israel.

On Wednesday morning five UN experts published their letter to the UK government saying the ban is unjustified, unnecessary and a move more associated with authoritarian states.

PRISONERS’ HUNGER STRIKE

28 prisoners are currently being held in UK prisons without trial for allegedly taking part in actions claimed by Palestine action. They are known as the Filton 24 and the Brize Norton Five. Most will be held for two years without trial – exceeding the six month pre-trial custody limit – because the Crown Prosecution Service is claiming there is a “terrorist connection” on the basis of criminal damage. However no charges have been brought under the Terrorism Act against these prisoners and the actions took place before Palestine Action was proscribed by the government.

Six of these prisoners are now on a rolling hunger strike. The hunger strike started on Saturday 2nd November – Balfour Day – with two people after the Home Secretary failed to respond to their demands including immediate bail, access to documents necessary for the right to a fair trial and the de-proscription of Palestine Action. The strike is “rolling” because more people continue to join the strike as their demands remain unmet. The conditions of their detention have been criticised by UN experts in a letter to the UK government.

In August of this year T Hoxa of the Filton 24 went on hunger strike for 28 days, eventually winning most of her demands. According to Prisoners For Palestine, most of the 33 activists are expected to join the strike in coming weeks, in what could become the largest coordinated prisoners’ hunger strike since the 1981 Irish hunger strike led by Bobby Sands. For more information on the hunger strikers see Prisoners for Palestine.

Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Continue ReadingLift The Ban promises “most widespread civil disobedience across the UK in modern British history”

Protests erupt in Tanzania amid disputed elections, internet shutdown, and curfew

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Original article by Nicholas Mwangi republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

The Tanzanian Government has shut down internet services in the country and denied access to foreign reporters during elections The people are out in the streets protesting the “ceremonial” elections. Photo: X

Protests erupted as Tanzania went to the polls on October 29, 2025. With opposition leaders jailed, Internet access cut, the election has been criticized as ceremonial for President Samia Suluhu Hassan to get back to power.

Some of the regions in Tanzania descended into chaos following the country’s general elections on Wednesday, October 29, which many observers described as “ceremonial” rather than a contest. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who became Tanzania’s first female head of state in 2021, was already the overwhelming favorite to win in an election devoid of meaningful opposition.

According to reports, the vote was marred by a nationwide internet shutdown, curfews, and unrest after protests broke out in parts of Dar es Salaam, reflecting widespread discontent over what citizens and regional observers have called a sham election.

Internet shutdown and curfew

Live network data from the internet observatory NetBlocks confirmed that Tanzania imposed nationwide internet restrictions early Wednesday morning, severely disrupting mobile data services and blocking access to social media platforms. The blackout coincided with the start of voting, signaling a deliberate move to suppress the flow of information.

By evening, the government imposed a nationwide curfew, urging students and civil servants to remain indoors for the following day. The restrictions came as images and reports of protests spread, despite the blackout, with demonstrators denouncing the exclusion of opposition parties and the continued detention of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is currently on trial for treason.

Opposition barred, democracy in decline

Both CHADEMA, the main opposition party, and ACT Wazalendo were barred from participating in the elections. Lissu, who had called for electoral reforms, was arrested earlier this year on what human rights groups have called trumped-up charges. His arrest, coupled with the systematic oppression and media censorship, has deepened fears of an authoritarian turn in Tanzania’s politics.

Reports from human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, describe the political climate as one of “repression, intimidation, and fear.” Amnesty’s recent publication titled “Wave of Terror Sweeps Across Tanzania” documents cases of enforced disappearances, torture, and unfair trials, primarily targeting critics of the regime. Opposition leaders and activists have also faced severe restrictions on their freedom of movement that have effectively prevented them from conducting normal political activities.

Targeting of religious leaders and civil society

The crackdown has extended to religious leaders who have spoken against government abuses. In June, the regime deregistered the Ufufuo na Uzima Church, led by Bishop Dr. Josephat Gwajima, citing alleged violations of the Societies Act. The move came just days after the bishop publicly condemned abductions and enforced disappearances.

Other clergy, including Bishop Benson Bagonza of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Bishop Dickson Kabigumila, have reported threats or fled the country. Several religious figures, journalists, and political activists remain missing, with families demanding justice.

Regional reactions

The Kenya Human Rights Network issued a statement on Thursday, condemning the ongoing violations.

“We stand here as East African citizens, mandated by the fact that Jumuiya ni yetu (the community is ours). The tragic occurrences we are witnessing in Tanzania go against the very principles that underpin the East African Community,” the statement read.

“Borders will not limit our brotherhood and sisterhood. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The group also noted that no credible international observation missions were allowed into Tanzania. Countries, including Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Ireland withdrew their participation, while the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is also not engaging in the electoral process. The African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC) sent only symbolic delegations, drawing criticism for “legitimizing repression”.

Earlier this year, a delegation from Kenya that included Boniface Mwangi of Kenya and Agather Atuhaire of Uganda, were detained and later deported from Tanzania after attempting to go to Tundu Lissu’s trial. Mwangi and Atuhaire were later assaulted and subjected to torture during their detention.

A regional warning

There are concerns across East Africa that the Tanzanian crisis reflects a broader pattern of shrinking democratic space across the region.

The KHRC statement concluded – “Africans are rightfully outraged that the African Union, an institution meant to defend human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, has chosen silence over principle. It increasingly resembles a club of presidents shielding each other rather than protecting the people they claim to serve. The same betrayal is evident in SADC and the EAC. We are coming to the defense of Tanzanians and hereby give notice to Tanzania and all authoritarian regimes in the rest of East Africa and Africa. As despots regroup to oppress citizens, we, as the citizens, are similarly regrouping to reclaim our countries and our inherent freedoms.”

As of Thursday evening, Dar es Salaam remained tense under heavy police presence, with sporadic protests continuing despite the curfew. The official election results are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Original article by Nicholas Mwangi republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingProtests erupt in Tanzania amid disputed elections, internet shutdown, and curfew

Peru’s latest president José Jerí faces mounting pressure after killing of protester

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Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Police shoot at protesters in Lima, Peru. Photo: Juan Mandamiento / Wayka

Protests have not subsided despite Boluarte’s removal from office. Now, Jerí’s newly formed government faces an attempt at censure just days after he accepted the position.

Peru’s right-wing Congress gambled that their removal of highly unpopular Dina Boluarte and the subsequent swearing in of José Jerí as President of Peru would perhaps bring down the intensity of the protests in the country and ultimately lead to their dissipation.

However, in Lima (the capital) and other cities such as Arequipa, Cusco, and Puno, protests have continued and even grown in strength. The state repression of the protests also appears to be a constant, as this too has persisted and intensified. According to human rights organizations and local media outlets, the latest protests have been met with heavy repression by Peruvian security forces resulting in the death of 32-year-old hip hop artist Mauricio Ruiz on October 15. Dozens have also been injured.

The National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH) denounced the violent repression and return of killings of protestors by police: “The field monitoring team of the National Human Rights Coordinator has confirmed the death of young Mauricio Ruiz Sanz during the day of protest … We express our deep outrage and solidarity with his family, and we demand an immediate, thorough, and independent investigation to clarify the facts and determine who is responsible.”

According to the CNDDHH, the perpetrator of the murder was an undercover police officer who, upon being discovered by protesters, attempted to flee and shot Ruiz, who died a few minutes later at Loayza Hospital in downtown Lima, very close to the epicenter of the demonstrations (around the National Congress).

In the aftermath of Ruiz’s death, artists collectives, student organizations, and progressive movements have organized vigils and recommitted themselves to the struggle against the repressive and corrupt Peruvian state.

Peru faces a deep structural crisis

The continuation of protests following Boluarte’s removal from office confirms that the crisis facing the country goes beyond one leader. Before Boluarte’s removal, protesters were demonstrating not only against her government (the most unpopular in Peru’s recent history), but also against a political structure and system that does not meet the needs of the Peruvian people.

Read More: Peru after the soft coup

The serious security crisis and increasing social inequalities, in addition to the radicalization of the neoliberal program that shows no signs of reversing, are factors that have led thousands of Peruvians, especially young people, to demand a complete overhaul of Peruvian politics, which seems unable to break out of its current cycle of instability.

The recent Peruvian government is faltering

As the protests show no signs of letting up and outrage has intensified following the violent repression, the administration of controversial right-wing President Jerí is already on unstable ground. Amid the outcry over the killing of the young artist, President Jerí wrote on X: “I mourn the death of 32-year-old citizen Eduardo Ruiz Sanz. My thoughts are with his family at this time. May the investigations determine the facts and responsibilities objectively.” Notably, most of Jerí’s other posts in the last several days are focused on condemning protesters and highlighting the toll the protests have taken on law enforcement.

And yet, just a few days after accepting the position, Jerí is facing a motion of censure by the very Congress that elected him president a few days ago. According to several legislators, the alleged killing of protester Ruiz by security forces is a sufficient reason to demand Jerí’s censure, which requires 66 votes to be carried out.

Read More: José Jerí: Peru’s eighth president in a decade

If Jerí is removed from office, congressman and former army general Roberto Chiabra would assume the presidency. Chiabra was a significant military figure during the internal armed conflict of the 1990s and the war with Ecuador in Cenepa in 1995. He later served as commander-in-chief of the army during the administration of Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) and subsequently as defense minister in that administration.

At the moment, there is maximum tension in Peru, where news of the rapid succession of presidents seems to be repeating itself due to the inability of the political forces to sustain a government. In addition, demonstrations seem to be increasing in intensity and the number of participants, so the coming weeks are not expected to be easy in the South American country.

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingPeru’s latest president José Jerí faces mounting pressure after killing of protester