A PROTEST at this weekend’s Labour conference against the ban on Palestine Action as a terror organisation will go ahead after more than 100 people committed to risking arrest, organisers have said.
Defend Our Juries said those taking part will hold “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” signs on Sunday in Liverpool as part of a campaign to end the proscription of Palestine Action.
The ban has been met with opposition by trade unionists, Labour members and even MPs.
Backbencher Kim Johnson, for example, said it was an “authoritarian attack of the right to protest”.
She added: “It's absurd, it's unworkable, and unsustainable."
Hundreds have been arrested so far, including in several mass protests in London.
“Labour members and trades unions are against their party’s complicity in genocide and the ban on Palestine Action. Yet party officials have shut down all the debates that members wanted to have on these issues during their conference,” a Defend Our Juries spokesperson said.
“Defend Our Juries will bring the “Lift The Ban” campaign to the door of the party that continues to deny genocide and has banned the direct action group that was trying to prevent it.
“The action will pose a dilemma for the Merseyside Police: prioritise human rights and community relations like Police Scotland and other forces around the UK, or trample over fundamental rights to protest and free expression like the Met Police by arresting over 100 peaceful sign-holders under this ridiculous ban.”
They added: “The Government has misled the public and MPs about why Palestine Action was proscribed. Instead of shutting down protest, it’s time the Labour Party took the responsibility to prevent genocide seriously and impose blanket sanctions on Israel including stopping the flow of arms from factories in this country.”
