7th March Day of Action in Bristol

BRISTOL STOP THE WAR & PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN

CALL TO ACTION!

We who are concerned with the situation of our brothers and sisters in Palestine are urgently issuing this call to all concerned and conscious people in Bristol to gather for a Mass Rally and Day of Action in Support of the People of Gaza on Saturday 7th March 2009. In view of the ongoing situation in Gaza, so dreadful that words cannot be found, made worse by the ongoing blockade, even of UN relief or any humanitarian and civilian goods being allowed into Gaza, we must surely agree that this onslaught on the Palestinian people is unbearable. We are able to, must do something, we must respond.

Two volunteers from Bristol left with a donated ambulance and a 4X4 vehicle loaded with humanitarian aid for Gaza to join the VIVA PALESTINA convoy on 14th February. The humanitarian convoy is headed by a red fire-truck and now includes 16 ambulances and a boat and is currently travelling with more than 200 heavily laden vehicles, carrying more than a £1 million of aid through north Africa to the border of Rafah in Egypt. Already they have made history in passing through the Moroccan Algerian border which has been closed for more than fifty years. The Libyans have opened their country to the British volunteers and have prepared around 100 vehicles to join the convoy.
The current situation with regard to the border of Gaza in Egypt though is that only a small trickle of aid is being allowed through on occasion and there is a strong possibility that the British column marching now through the desert towards Egypt will be blocked and refused entrance. Ongoing bombardment of the border area throughout February also makes the journey perilous. The border crossing must be opened immediately to allow for humanitarian relief and the free movement of people and goods. The suffering of innocent people will surely intensify in what has already been described as a hellish situation, unless the borders are opened. Because in contravention to the Geneva accords the civilian infrastructure, including water, sewerage and electrical supply have been destroyed, there is therefore a growing threat of diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and worse, which means that the continued blockade will result in many more dying as a result of the biological impact of the bombing and therefore the war continues by other means as, coupled with widespread malnutrition, the epidemiological threat rears its head. This is an element of biological warfare. Everyone knows now that the Gazans are trapped in an open air prison and are living in a disaster zone, but are being denied any respite, even of necessary chemicals to treat the water supply. No thinking person can nor should accept this. As much as we do not have the right to murder an innocent person, we do not have the right to allow an innocent to be murdered. We are obliged to oppose it.
What we are therefore proposing is a Day of Action on Saturday 7th March, with revolutionary music, dramatic street theatre, poetry, powerful speeches and then some … We are determined to focus public and media attention on the situation in Gaza and to ensure that through the weapon of mass action we can and will pressure the powers that be, to open the borders of Gaza to the free movement of people and goods and to allow the safe passage of the 200 British volunteers on the VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY whom we have sent to Gaza.
We are calling on you, the people of Bristol, to be counted on this day in history, 7th March, to come in numbers and in all your colours, to bring your righteous fury to the Centre of the City and to bring your banners, let us come together for a Day of Action led by the friends of Palestine, by the workers, students and concerned people from all parts of Bristol, to show our solidarity with the besieged people of Palestine. United we can never be defeated. We will force open the borders by the pressure of mass action. Our success on this Day of Action depends mostly on your support and presence.