Green Party politicians rally behind people arrested at Saturday’s pro-Palestine march

Two Green Party politicians have hit back at the Met Police over the arrests of peaceful protesters on Saturday 18 January at the Palestine March in London.

‘It’s about choices’

Following this weekend’s disgraceful policing tactics from the Met Police against protestors organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) to urge the British government to stop arming Israel, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett issued the following statement:

“I’m outraged at the way the Met handled this weekend’s protest. Policing is about choices, and it was the Met’s choice to arrest peaceful protestors at such unnecessarily high rates.

“The Met cannot have it both ways: repeatedly changing where and how protests can occur, arresting people for breaching overly complex protest restrictions, and posting misleading public statements after the fact is not the way to facilitate protest.

“The Met complains when protest groups don’t engage with them, yet when groups like Palestine Solidarity Campaign do work with them in good faith, it seems the Met can’t do the same.

“I plan to confront the Met Commissioner directly over this weekend’s events the next time he sits before the Assembly. Londoners deserve to know exactly who their police officers are protecting and serving.”

Meanwhile, deputy Green Party leader and AM Zack Polanski wrote to home secretary Yvette Cooper.

The Met Police issuing ‘false’ statements

He said the following:

“I am a London Assembly member who attended and spoke at the peaceful Palestine Solidarity rally this weekend.

“The police were informed of our intention to protest against the decision to ban the march to the BBC. It was announced that a small delegation would walk silently and peacefully towards the BBC and lay flowers to commemorate the deceased if and when we were stopped by the police. Among our group were parliamentarians Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, along with many community organisations.

“As shown in many videos, police had agreed through negotiation that the delegation could pass through and lay flowers. However, they subsequently allowed a much larger group into Trafalgar Square. It is concerning to see Metropolitan Police tweets falsely stating that people were “forcing through.”

“Such language feeds false and often racist narratives about the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s protests that have been peaceful.

“I’m also disturbed by your own communications suggesting there was an intention to disrupt a synagogue. Many Jewish participants, including myself, find this accusation offensive. The goal was to protest the BBC’s failure to report the genocide accurately, and this was planned quite some distance from the synagogue and way after services had ended.

“Public trust in our institutions is already fragile. Politicising the police and smearing innocent people only worsens this. I urge you to review the evidence including footage from body worn cameras from the event, retract your comments and clarify the situation with the Metropolitan Police.

Featured image via the Canary