THE full line-up of speakers has been announced for a national pro-Palestine demonstration taking place in the capital this weekend.
The protest on Saturday, organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) and the Edinburgh Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee (GGEC), was called in response to reports that the UK is continuing to send spy flights over Gaza and sharing information with Israel.
Campaigners will assemble outside St Giles' Cathedral at Parliament Square at 1pm on Saturday.
The march route will go down the Royal Mile to Queen Elizabeth House, which is the UK Government's headquarters in [[Edinburgh]].
Campaigners will then head along Market Street before crossing over Waverley Bridge onto Princes Street, then South St David Street, before going down George Street and ending outside Bute House, the First Minister's official residence.
On Friday, the SPSC announced the full list of speakers for the protest.
Those set to speak include journalist and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, former SNP MP Tommy Sheppard, Alba leader Kenny MacAskill, and lawyer Aamer Anwar.
Full list of speakers at Saturday's pro-Palestine Edinburgh protest:
- Doha Abu Amer, who has family in Gaza
- Aamer Anwar, lawyer
- Colin Brown, FBU Scotland
- Billy Hendry, Scottish ex-Royal Marine
- Lesley Riddoch, broadcaster and journalist
- Kenny MacAskill, Alba Party leader
- Tommy Sheppard, former SNP MP
The protest was initially set to assemble at the foot of the Mound. Organisers changed the start point to the top of the Mound, but they said "safety concerns had been raised", leading them to change the meeting point to Parliament Square.
Ahead of the protest on Saturday, a spokesperson for SPSC said: “Israel is planning the end game – the complete ethnic cleansing of the whole of Palestine.
“Israel is escalating its massacres in Gaza and attacks across the West Bank. Israel is designating Rafah as a concentration zone under the sick label of ‘humanitarian corridor’.
“Children are starving to death in Gaza due to blocked aid and targeted food distribution points. Civilians attempting to access food are being ambushed and killed in huge numbers.
“The West Bank is seeing a surge in settler violence, with Palestinian homes and lives under daily threat."
The spokesperson added: “The RAF has flown over Gaza at least 518 times during the genocide, providing intelligence to the Israeli military below.
“Despite the scale of the atrocity, UK political and institutional leaders remain largely silent.”
The National previously reported that a group of protesters at Saturday's demonstration are set to defy the Labour Government's proscription of the group Palestine Action.
After a man in Glasgow was charged last week with terror offences for allegedly wearing a T-shirt in support of Palestine Action, The National understands that activists will now also don the same piece of clothing in protest.
