SOCIALIST UNITY

In a fine example of internationalism the Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza set off from London on Saturday, February 14. Led by George Galloway and Yvonne Ridley, and comprising 110 vehicles including a fire engine, over 20 ambulances, and a boat, the convoy is carrying over £1 million pounds’ worth of medicines, clothing, and other humanitarian supplies for the Palestinians of Gaza, victims of the ongoing crime against humanity that is Israel’s blockade and its recent massacre of men, women, and children.

Sadly, celebrations of the convoy’s departure were marred by news of the arrest of 9 men, along with the seizure of two vehicles, who were making their way to join the convoy from the North West of England on the night of Friday February 13 by counter-terrorism police. At time of writing six of the men have been released and three remain in custody, as yet to be charged with any offence, whilst a number of homes in the Burnley area are being searched.

It has been stressed by the police that they do not believe the organisers of the aid convoy knew the men involved or were part of the investigation resulting in their arrest.

So far this all seems well and good, just your everyday story of yet another counter-terrorism operation by the police involving the arrest of Muslim males suspected of terrorist activity.

But can we be satisfied with this state of affairs, which smacks of an ongoing politically motivated campaign to keep the Muslim community in its place, cowed and depoliticised?

Just consider the difference in approach of the police when it comes to the arrest of Muslims on suspected terrorism offences (which by the way could mean anything from voicing support for Hezbollah or Hamas on a demo, to donating money to a charity deemed off limits by the government), and the carrying out of an arrest warrant on Israeli military personnel for suspected war crimes, involving the slaughter of civilians and the demolition of civilian houses.

Back in September 2005 an El Al flight touched down at Heathrow Airport carrying one Major General Doron Almog. Arriving in the UK to attend various charity functions, Mr Almog refused to leave the aircraft after having being tipped off that a warrant had been issued for his arrest over allegations that he had ordered the demolition of over 50 Palestinian homes as part of an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.

The police arrived to arrest the General, but refused to board the aircraft citing ‘security concerns’. Subsequently, the aircraft was allowed to take off back to Israel with the general on board, thus allowing a suspected war criminal to escape justice. Moreover, the then British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, issued an apology to the Israeli government for any embarrassment caused, as if the arrest of a man suspected of war crimes could ever be construed as embarrassing. That is, unless of course, you happen to consider the targeting of civilians in a military operation acceptable.

The incident described serves to illustrate more than just the usual double standards we’ve all come to expect on the part of the British government when it comes to the application of international law. It  also illustrates the extent to which the British government is complicit in the oppression suffered by the Palestinians. Moreover, as brutal as the state of Israel is and has always been in its treatment of the Palestinians, the brutality of our own government has been unmasked in recent years in its support of the aims and objectives of the daddy of them all, that beast otherwise known as US imperialism.

Recent revelations concerning the involvement of British intelligence in the torture of British Guantanamo detainee, Binyam Mohamed, must be viewed as constituting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the crimes committed at the behest of Washington in recent years. They follow what we already know of the use of British airports to help facilitate the passage of rendition flights, involving the kidnap of nationals of one country and their transport to a third country to be tortured. Indeed they fall into a pattern of an immoral and illegal foreign policy refracting back to corrupt the entire legal and political system at home.

Which brings us back to the police. Experience has taught not only the Muslim community, but everyone who’s been active in the antiwar movement and Palestine solidarity movement that the police in Britain are politicised, corrupt and racist, engaged in a continuing campaign to stifle dissent through intimidation, smear, and brutality where necessary. It is a campaign designed to isolate the Muslim community and sow division in society. It is a campaign that can and must be defeated.

The Viva Palestina aid convoy is exactly the kind of initiative that will defeat attempts to divide us, as well as offering much needed support to the Palestinian people, whose cause is surely the cause of humanity in our time. As such all those taking part deserve our support and respect, and none more so than Respect MP George Galloway, who continues to be an anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist thorn in the side of the British, Israeli, and US governments.

Let’s hope the convoy reaches its target and gives people in this country something to be proud of. The Arab and Muslim world already know of the huge demonstrations and actions undertaken in this country in solidarity with Gaza. They know of the huge disconnect that exists between the government and the people when it comes to Britain’s role in the Middle East. The Palestinians know that they do not stand alone.

In the year 2009 internationalism in Britain is alive and well.

Viva Palestina!

End.