"I've been to peaceful protests for 60 years and this is the first time I've been afraid". A retired doctor speaking to NovaraMedia
I have not been so angry nor so traumatised since I was in Sarajevo at the height of the siege and bombardment of that city in 1993. After I returned to London I could not understand why the latest football scores were more important to so many of my friends than the death ‘score’ in that city. I began to realise that our political leaders and corporate media were not intent on telling the truth.
And here we are again. I woke up this morning to Sky News quoting Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who led the police operation in Parliament Square. "In carrying out their duties today, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on and had objects thrown at them by protesters."
In the six hours I was there I agree with the Defend Our Juries spokesperson who said the afternoon had been "the picture of peaceful protest" and that the Met Police's statement about its officers being abused was an "astonishing claim. I've been here all day and I haven't seen any violence or aggression from anyone. I've only seen aggression and violence from the police."
Me, Jan Woolf & Allen Jasson,
Allen arrested two minutes later
Handicapped woman arrested soon after
85 year old priest, Sue Parfitt, arrested for 2nd time
woman arguing with police
woman waiting to be arrested
women terrorising with their words
They only want to respect the dead
Did they arrest these Quakers?
Blind man, Mike Higgins just before his arrest
Not in My Jewish Name
Disabled retired RAF pilot being arrested
Fascist photographers at work
Got them to turn round and say 'cheese'
Raphael Prais, me and Jan Woolf
A Sufi putting it all in perspective
We must continue our despair for the victims of the genocide but let it act as the catalyst for our actions. With Joe Hill, ‘Don’t mourn, organise’. So make sure you continue to demonstrate. Solidarity with the 40 boat flotilla making its way to Gaza and support for the Italian dockers who have pledged to bring European sea trade to a standstill within 20 minutes of any Israeli attempt to board or attack the boats.
And our police? Yes, they were out in brutal force on 6 September in Parliament Square, but my own experience allows for optimism, at least for some of them. A police ‘gang’ of 7 or 8 were dragging an old man to his arrest and ploughed through us. I was pushed against a metal barrier and was doubled up over it in panic. A policewoman helped me stand and then placed herself between me and the thugs. She then led me to a safer place. I thanked her and said ‘you are doing your job’.
