On Wednesday 26th November, Derry City and Strabane District Council voted to pass a motion to express solidarity with the hunger striking Prisoners For Palestine. The motion reads:
“In line with Council’s corporate position of opposition to the British Government’s authoritarian proscription of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” (sic) organisation, Council is concerned regarding the decision made by political prisoners imprisoned as a result of Palestine Action activism to embark on a hunger strike.
Council expresses our solidarity with the prisoners and their families;
Council further agrees to a cross-party and independent delegation to meet with prisoner families and representatives to assist efforts to bring this to a resolution.”
The motion had an amendment proposed by People Before Profit Councillor Sean Harkin that:
“Council will circulate this motion to all councils across Ireland and Britain for their consideration.”
The motion, which passed with 31 votes in favour and 7 against, will now be circulated with District Councils in the United Kingdom, forcing consideration and acknowledgment of the ongoing hunger strike, which has lasted 26 days today.
Derry City and Strabane District Council has previously passed a motion in the same Council to oppose the British Government’s proscription of Palestine Action. Yesterday’s motion was tabled by independent Councillor Gary Donnelley. After the vote was recorded Councillor Donnelley stated: “I’d like to thank all those who voted in favour … people who voted for this are on the right side of history.” When proposing this motion he stated “These [hunger striking] prisoners have been subject to systematic abuse … psychological and physical mistreatment and a result of that they’ve began a prison protest. We have our own experiences of the British states treatment of prisoners … over a century many Irish prisoners have used hunger as a means of resistance and many have lost their lives.”
Actions coordinated by the group Defend Our Juries in Belfast and Derry, in which participants hold signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, did not result in arrests on the 22nd of November. Patrick Corrigan, the Northern Ireland Director of Amnesty International said:
“The differential approach by police forces to identical protests held simultaneously in different parts of the UK underlines the utter absurdity of UK terrorism law and the disproportionality of proscribing a group like Palestine Action.
“This proscription not only undermines people’s right to peaceful protest, it has proven to be a huge waste of police time where Chief Constables have chosen to enforce the ban. Previous arrests now need to be rescinded, charges dropped and prosecutions ended.“
Prisoners for Palestine spokesperson Francesca Nasin said, “The campaign welcomes the strong solidarity from Ireland, particularly the North, where the British state have been oppressing the people for centuries, just as they doing to our hunger strikers now. This is an opportunity for every council in the land to vote for justice for the hunger strikers, and we urge them to do so.”