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Category: Protest

  • ‘Blood on all your hands’: four arrested as BP AGM thrown into chaos amid climate and Palestine protests

    Climate crisis campaigners have been arrested after disrupting BP’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday 25 April at the BP International Centre for Business and Technology, London; accusing shareholders of having blood on their hands, and demanding an end to fossil fuel extraction and ‘profiteering from genocide’.

    BP: blood on your hands

    Organisers from Fossil Free London disrupted the BP AGM to demand shareholders stop investing in BP given the company’s role in climate breakdown and fuelling the war in Gaza:

    Despite being shareholders, two people were refused entry to the meeting by the company after getting through an intense security check and were escorted off the premises, after which they had photos taken of their faces from various angles.

    Four others began to disrupt inside the security and lobby area, lifting reddened hands to chant ‘blood on your hands’ and ‘Shut down BP!’ They were then carried off to a protest area inside metal railings on a lawn outside where they were seemingly allowed to continue with a peaceful protest:

    Fossil Free London protesters were then given no opportunity to leave the premises and arrested by police.

    Climate criminals

    BP’s emissions rose for the first time since 2019 in 2023. The same year BP admitted it would be scaling back its climate targets despite posting record profits.

    In 2024, they are pressing ahead with oil and gas expansion plans; despite warnings from the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that new oil and gas sites are incompatible with the Paris Agreement.

    BP has been further controversial since Israel granted twelve licences for gas exploration off the coast of Gaza to BP and five other companies in October; a few weeks after Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

    They are also the main operator and largest shareholder of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline which has provided Israel with more than 1,440 kilotonnes (kt) of crude oil since October 2023. Crude oil that has gone on to fuel Israeli jets and tanks bombarding Palestinians, following research conducted by Oil Change International. Following ICJ’s recent ruling on Israel; human rights experts have warned that countries and corporations supplying oil to Israeli armed forces may be complicit in war crimes and genocide. 

    Organisations receiving sponsorship money from BP have also come under widespread criticism for their role in greenwashing BP’s reputation, leading to the resignation of board members of the British Museum & the Science Museum. Both have also become sites of repeated public protests resulting in museum closures.

    BP: shame on you and your shareholders

    Joanna Warrington, a spokesperson for Fossil Free London which organised the disruption:

    Shareholders should be hiding their bloody hands in shame today, not lifting them to vote for more ecocide and genocide.

    Listen to the cries of a generation, of humanity, and stop investing in BP. Shareholders: you have blood on your hands.

    Commenting on the securitisation of the AGM she said:

    There was intense security, at least 60 police officers and security, maybe more, around the entire site, our phones were taken and put inside bags that had seals like you had on security protected items in supermarkets so you couldn’t undo them if you wanted to.

    This was done for everyone and they put stickers on the front facing camera and the back camera was against an opaque bag. When we were escorted out they took photos of our faces from multiple angles.

    Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by military scale security at the BP AGM when their business and profits are going towards financing war in Gaza. There’s a pipeline that BP is the main operator of that supplies oil to Israeli fighter jets. Meanwhile they explore for more deadly fossil fuels off the coast of the occupied land. They are breaking international law but we get the penalty.

    Featured image and videos via Fossil Free London

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Hundreds Arrested: Students Across U.S. Protest for Palestine as Campus Crackdown Intensifies

    Campuscrackdowncredit reuters

    Student protests calling for university divestment from Israel and the U.S. arms industry have rocked campuses from coast to coast. The nonviolent protests, which have been characterized as “antisemitic” for their criticism of Israel, have been met with an intensifying police crackdown as university administrators threaten academic discipline and arrests. On Wednesday, local and state troopers violently arrested dozens at the University of Texas at Austin. Meanwhile, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University in New York City, the site of a high-profile student encampment and one of the first to be met with police action, where he called on university president Minouche Shafik to resign. We hear from two Jewish students involved in protests at their schools. Joshua Sklar, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin and an organizer with Jewish Voice of Peace Austin, says concern over campus antisemitism is insincere, and that, in fact, “The people who are being targeted are Muslim students, Arab students, and especially Palestinian students.” Sklar and Sarah King, a member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest who was arrested at the campus’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, also point out that a large percentage of protesters are Jewish anti-Zionists concerned about their safety from state repression. “The threat is really coming from Columbia University, which has set the police on hundreds of its students who are entrusted to its care,” says King.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Greek students are set to protest in solidarity with their US comrades under attack

    Greek students are set to protest in solidarity with their US counterparts on Friday 26 April – as the situation in America intensifies.

    US students: not having it

    Ninety-three people were arrested Wednesday 24 April at the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Los Angeles campus for “trespassing”, police said, after pro-Palestinian protests erupted across US campuses this week.

    As USC, footage on social media showed cops being violent:

    Loads of campuses across the US were involved:

    State troopers arrested students in Texas:

    USC said on X at around midnight that the protest had ended and the campus would remain “closed until further notice”:

    Students, faculty, staff, and people with business on campus may enter with proper identification.

    The pro-Palestinian demonstration at USC was among the latest to involve a confrontation between law enforcement and students angry at the mounting death toll in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It had killed over 34,000 people as of Thursday 25 April.

    The protests began at Columbia University in New York. Cops made dozens of arrests last week after university authorities called in police to quell an occupation. Predictably, some Zionist students said the protest was threatening and antisemitic. Demonstrators, including a number of Jewish students, have disavowed instances of antisemitism.

    On social media, uproar had been erupting over cops and national guards’ treatment of the young people:

    Authorities were even arresting journalists:

    So, in Greece students are going to be protesting on 26 April in solidarity.

    Greece: solidarity protests with US students

    A statement by organisers was given to the Canary. It read:

    The students of Athens we express our solidarity with the students of Columbia, Yale and dozens of other universities in the USA who are demonstrating against the massacre of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel. At the same time, we denounce the unacceptable repression of the students and the hundreds of arrests that the police have made.

    Students are facing a modern-day witch hunt, facing persecution, the suspension of their student status by the supposedly ‘progressive’ Biden administration, which at the same time funds the occupying state of Israel with billions to continue the massacre.

    These “values” are shared by both the so-called “progressives” in the US and the governments of the European Union (EU), including the New Democracy (ND) government in Greece, but also by the other parties that support the EU, which absolves the crimes of the murdering state of Israel by baptizing the genocide of the Palestinian people as a “right to self-defence”. On the responsibility of all of them, our country is actively involved in the wars and the slaughter of the Palestinian people, even sending frigates to the Middle East!

    The developments in universities that are considered world-leading confirm that in the university-business the owners are in charge, who do not even hesitate to arrest students when they get in the way of their business. At Columbia, the University administration suspended (!!!) 2 Student Associations for holding events about Palestine, “repeatedly violating the rules of the Institution’s operation”. In October 2023 Harvard published the names and photos of students of the Institution who signed a petition condemning Israel and supporting Palestine!!!

    Stop the genocide

    It continued:

    However, the youth and peoples of the whole world have proven that they are on the right side of history, they have consistently expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people! It is this message sent by the peoples that frightens governments and all those who participate and/or support imperialist crimes! Justice is not silenced, no matter how much they try to suppress it!

    We join our voice with the students in the US, who continue their struggle despite threats of expulsions and sanctions, who stand smiling and holding their heads high despite arrests. We are strengthening the struggle through our Student Unions against our country’s deepening involvement in wars and slaughter. We do NOT accept to pay HALF A MILLION EUROS a day for the frigate “Hydra” to sail to the Middle East to participate in the crimes!

    Students all over the world, we are united against the imperialist plans – the genocide of the Palestinian people!

    Because we know that “if you want to call yourself human, you will not stop fighting for justice for a single moment”.

    We demand:

    Stop now the arrests and repression against students in the US

    Stop the involvement of our country in the wars and the massacre of the Palestinian people!

    Stop the genocide of the Palestinian people!

    Additional reporting via Agence France-Presse

    Featured image via Guardian News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Jeremy Corbyn has a message for the anti-Palestine protest lobby ahead of Saturday’s march

    On Saturday 27 April, there will be another national march for Palestine in London. However, this one comes against a backdrop of increasing propaganda against the protests and their supporters. So, some of those involved – including Jeremy Corbyn – have a message for these ‘bad faith actors’.

    Israel: its killing in Gaza continues

    On 27 April, the latest march from Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Friends of Al Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, and others, will take place in central London:

    As of Thursday 25 April, Israel had killed at least 34,305 people in Gaza. The tally includes at least 43 deaths in the past 24 hours. 77,293 people have been wounded, and the majority of people Israel has killed have been women and children.

    Yet arms from the UK to Israel are still flowing. On Wednesday 24 April, PSC was in parliament lobbying MPs to try and stop weapons exports:

    As the Canary previously reported, the UK government is facing a legal challenge over this – with a judicial review happening in October. However, that is too late for the countless people Israel has already killed – and will continue to kill.

    So, 27 April’s march is as important as ever.

    Corbyn: we must keep going for Palestine

    Jeremy Corbyn said:

    This Saturday we will once again march in London to demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – and for the UK government to stop selling arms to Israel.

    Please join me and thousands of others marching from Parliament Square to Hyde Park this Saturday…

    We must keep doing all we can in our communities, on our streets and at our workplaces.

    On 1 May – May Day – we celebrate the achievement of workers and their unions. We must heed the calls of Palestinian trade unionists issued earlier this month under the umbrella of Workers in Palestine and organise in our own workplaces for a free Palestine. Our friends at Stop the War are organising a workplace day of action…

    All over the world, people are coming together in support of Palestine. In the US, over 150 students have been arrested for peacefully protesting their universities’ complicity in the Israeli war machine. Demonstrators here have continued to shut down Elbit Systems, with Somerset Council yesterday voting to explore ways to evict the company from its factory in the area.

    It has been inspiring to see so many people join the demonstrations – many for the first time. We must keep protesting and keep remembering why we are doing this: for an end to the occupation, for the right of return for refugees and for a free Palestine.

    ‘Bad faith actors’

    Of course, the state, Zionists, and the far-right have been painting the pro-Palestine marches as antisemitic – something which is demonstrably false. As the Canary previously reported, right-wing agitator and co-founder of Zionist lobby group Campaign Against Antisemitism Gideon Falter recently tried (and failed) to paint the marches as antisemitic and a threat to Jewish people – despite Jewish people attending them every week.

    So, Stop the War Coalition addressed the issue of people smearing the marches directly. It said:

    While bad faith actors try to defame the movement, our answer to them is to redouble our efforts to mobilise. As an attack on Rafah looms, we urge all our supporters to organise transport from every corner of the country, to share the details on social media as regularly and as widely as you can and to organise leafleting sessions in as many places as possible.

    The attacks on us are a product of the fact that we are winning the argument. 58% are now calling for an end to arms sales to Israel with only 18% opposing. We must make sure Saturday is another massive display of support for ending the genocide.

    If you can, get to the march on 27 April. More details are here. Details of 1 May’s workplace action are here.

    Featured image via the Peace and Justice Project

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action just forced ANOTHER company to cut ties with Elbit Systems

    Palestine Action has just secured another victory in the fight against Israel’s arms trade from the UK. This time, the group has forced a law firm to cut ties with Elbit Systems.

    Palestine Action: lawyers now moving away from Elbit

    In an email to Palestine Action on 23 April, MLL Legal’s partner Dunja Koch confirmed the law firm is no longer working for Elbit Systems and will not do so in the future. This came after a two year direct action campaign which involved repeatedly spray painting the law firm’s London office.

    MLL Legal formerly listed Elbit Systems as a client of their ‘merger and acquisition’ services. This makes the law firm the fifth company in recent months to end associations with the Israeli weapons maker. The increasing number of firms refusing to work with Elbit and the recent sale of Elbit’s Tamworth subsidiary signifies the downfall and isolation of the Israeli weapons maker.

    In February, transportation giants Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) declared it had ended all ties with Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, and would not be working with the company again in the future. It is one of only six companies licensed for the secure collection, delivery, and disposal of firearms and weapons in Britain.

    So, K+N’s decision to cease its relationship with Elbit will significantly hinder the company’s ability to complete its weapons exports to Israel.

    Shutting down Israel’s arms supply chain

    This came off the back of other victories for Palestine Action. Its sole recruiters, iO associates, the property managers of Elbit’s Shenstone factory Fisher German, and the website hosts for Elbit’s Leicester factory also dropped all ties with the Israeli weapons maker.

    And just this week, Lib Dem-led Somerset Council declared that it would be evicting Elbit from the property it owns.

    Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm, manufacture 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as bullets, munitions and missiles. Their weaponry is used to commit genocide in Gaza, as stated by the CEO Bezhalel Mechalis.

    At Elbit’s 2024 annual investor conference, the company also stated the current genocide is the ‘first digital war’ as they are deploying and experimenting with new technology which connects the different weapons used by the Israeli military.

    Palestine Action remain committed to taking direct action against Israel’s weapons trade and those who enable and profit from it.

    Featured image via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Khmer Krom protest in Phnom Penh | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Khmer Krom protest in Phnom Penh | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Seder in the Streets to Stop Arming Israel”: 100s Arrested at Jewish-Led Protest Near Schumer’s Home

    Seg1 jvp arrests 3

    Hundreds of protesters were arrested in Brooklyn on Tuesday when Jewish New Yorkers and allies gathered for what they called a “Seder in the Streets to Stop Arming Israel” on the second night of Passover. The demonstration, held one block away from the home of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, came just hours before the Senate overwhelmingly approved a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes about $17 billion in arms and security funding to Israel. “At the core of the Passover story is that we cannot be free until all people are free,” Beth Miller, the political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, told Democracy Now! “The Israeli government and the United States government are carrying out a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, over 34,000 people killed in six months in the name of Jewish safety, in the false name of Jewish freedom.”


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Cops nick MORE people out supporting Palestine Action (like that will stop them from disrupting Israel’s weapons supply)

    Cops have arrested four more people out supporting Palestine Action, trying to stop the UK supply of arms to Israel which is continuing its genocide in Gaza.

    Palestine Action: stopping the arms trade in Leicester

    Four locals were arrested during a blockade of Leicester’s Elbit drone factory, UAV Tactical Systems, on Monday 22 April.

    As Palestine Action shared on social media, people came out to support the group in its action against the factory:

    The group and local people stopped workers getting into the factory:

    However, without any substantial basis cops arrested four people for an array of offences including criminal damage, obstruction of the highway and threatening words or behaviour:

    Palestine Action

    So, others responded to arrests by blockading the police van with those arrested inside.

    Elbit: shut it down

    UAV Tactical Systems is majority owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm. The factory’s flagship product is the Watchkeeper drone, modelled on Elbit’s Hermes 450 after it was “battle-tested” on the Palestinian people. The Watchkeeper drone has been used during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as over the English channel to stop migrants seeking refuge.

    In addition, previous export licenses show drone technologies worth over £5million being sent from the factory to Israel. Two of the board members of UAV Tactical Systems are listed as being Israeli nationals, one of which, Vered Haimovich is the Vice President of Elbit’s whole UAV division.

    Elbit Systems provide 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet, which is routinely used to surveil and massacre the Palestinian people. One such drone, Elbit’s Hermes 450, was used in a calculated killing of seven aid workers, including three British nationals.

    The campaign to shut Elbit down in Leicester has involved direct action from Palestine Action and community mobilisation, causing regular disruption to the Israeli weapons maker. As reported by Companies house, UAV Tactical Systems has been making a loss since the collective campaign begun in 2021.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Holocaust survivors expose pro-Israel lobbyist Gideon Falter’s smearing of pro-Palestine protestors

    Speaking to BBC News, Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) chief Gideon Falter branded people protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine “lawless mobs”.

    And in a statement, Gideon Falter appeared to suggest protestors and those opposed to Israel’s conduct were “racists, extremists, and terrorist sympathisers”. He’s also said that “central London is a ‘no-go zone’ for Jews”.

    But a group of Holocaust survivors challenged such an account:

    Our group was ‘openly Jewish’ in that we all wore placards saying that, as descendants of Holocaust survivors, we oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    Every major pro-Palestine demonstration in London has included a large Jewish bloc which has received nothing but support and warmth from their fellow demonstrators.

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it “plausible” Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. And Israel has now killed over 14,500 children.

    CAA openly equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism on its website. It brands former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as antisemitic for part of a clarification he attempted to issue to the party’s adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

    Specifically, CAA said the following amendment was antisemitic:

    It cannot be considered racist to treat Israel like any other state or assess its conduct against the standards of international law. Nor should it be regarded as antisemitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact, or to support another settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

    In 1948 Israel established itself through colonising 78% of Palestine. It has occupied the rest of the nation since 1967, as well as Syria’s Golan Heights.

    Corbyn sought to protect the right of free speech on colonisation, which the IHRA text questioned.

    A parliamentary report in 2015, meanwhile, stated:

    it is important that the (CAA) leadership do not conflate concerns about activity legitimately protesting Israel’s actions with antisemitism, as we have seen has been the case on some occasions

    A Met officer earlier in April prevented CAA chief Gideon Falter from moving through the anti-genocide and anti-occupation crowd at a London protest because he looked “openly Jewish”.

    The notion is bizarre given openly Jewish people attend the marches consistently. The Black Jewish Alliance, part of the Jewish bloc at the London protests, has described the demonstrators as part of an “eclectic and diverse movement of concerned citizens”.

    Israel’s apologists would rather smear people than politically engage in constructive discourse. We must uphold freedom of expression over colonialism in the face of those who want to silence us.

    Featured image via Sky News – YouTube

    By James Wright

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Enough is enough. Australia is in a crisis of violence against women

    This post was originally published on IndigenousX.

  • Just Stop Oil just exposed the greenwashing at Earth Fest for all the world to see

    Just Stop Oil fundraisers were kicked out of greenwashing Earth Fest for doing anti-capitalist fundraising. Ironic, really, considering the group was one of the few things that was actually addressing the climate crisis properly at the sham Earth Fest.

    Just Stop Oil: showing up Earth Fest

    Two Just Stop Oil supporters were forcibly ejected from Earth-Fest whilst collecting donations for the group. The supporters were asking attendees to financially support effective direct action whilst donations to Just Stop Oil are doubled for the next three days:

    Earth Fest has been criticised for being a ‘greenwashing’ event with sponsors including AutoTrader and attendees including JP Morgan, Jet 2, Tesla, and Drax.

    Peak greenwashing

    For example, as the Canary previously reported Drax is the UK’s single largest carbon emitter, and world’s biggest tree burner. The company currently receives around £1.7 million per day in renewable subsidies from UK energy bills to burn wood – some of which comes from protected forests.

    Meanwhile, Tesla has also come under repeated fire for its “capitalist sham solutions” to the climate crisis. As the Canary previously detailed, the extractive mining and manufacture of electric vehicles is a carbon-intensive and exploitative process:

    There’s still the not so small matter that producing vehicles to replace the entire existing petroleum fleet will generate a lot of emissions. On top of this, you have the pollution and ecological destruction of extracting the multitude of critical minerals required for their manufacture. Not to mention the labour violations, rights abuses, and land-grabbing linked to mining for these materials.

    Mack Preston and Isla Greenwood, a former Greenpeace fundraiser, carried buckets asking for donations at Earth Fest whilst wearing Just Stop Oil t-shirts. The pair took to a megaphone and could be heard saying “Are we really going to sit here and talk about electric cars? We need radical action!”

    Give us your money (but not in the Bob Geldof way)

    For the next three days, until Earth Day, all donations to Just Stop Oil will be doubled by a group of generous donors.

    You can donate to the campaign and have your donation doubled here – money better spent than at Earth Fest.

    A spokesperson for the group said:

    We’re out of time. It is no longer appropriate to be sitting in endless conferences that achieve nothing. We need radical action now and we need system change to avoid the worst effects of ongoing climate breakdown and societal collapse.

    We need to be funding effective direct action that gets the headlines and forces this issue up the news agenda and to the forefront of the public consciousness. History has shown over and over that disruptive civil resistance gets the goods. Donate to Just Stop Oil and have it doubled at Just Stop Oil.org.

    Featured image and additional images via Just Stop Oil

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • ‘Funeral for Nature’ taking place globally this weekend – with one UK city set to be ‘bathed in blood’

    A dramatic street theatre performance ‘Funeral for Nature‘ will take place throughout the streets of Bath on Saturday 20 April to mark the devastating decline of the natural world in the lead up to Earth Day on 22 April, an annual event which engages up to a billion people around the world each year.

    Funeral for Nature: worldwide events

    The Funeral for Nature procession includes 400 Red Rebels dressed in their distinctive red outfits and hundreds of mourners in black. They will be accompanied by drummers playing a single funeral beat as they make their way through the city’s historic streets, culminating in a dramatic finale in front of the Abbey.

    This will be the largest global assembly of Red Rebels ever seen, 400 in total. This is five times more than ever before, with people travelling from all over the UK and joined by groups from the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

    Funerals for Nature will be taking place simultaneously in Boston, Sydney, Gothenburg, and Lisbon. The Gothenburg event will be a ‘Nordic Funeral for Nature’ with groups joining from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

    Bath: raising awareness of nature depletion

    The procession has been designed to raise awareness of the UK’s position as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with 43% of UK bird species in decline, and 97% of wildflower meadows disappearing since the second world war. The organisers say statistics like these have motivated the group to take action, flooding the city in red and declaring ‘Code Red for Nature’.

    Thousands of ‘Orders of Service’ will be given out to onlookers, containing information about the crisis and what they can do about it.

    The Bath procession will be joined by nature campaigner Chris Packham who will deliver a ‘eulogy’ to the crowd at the finale of the event when it arrives in front of the Abbey. This will follow a flashmob performance by the West of England Youth Orchestra.

    The centre-piece of the procession will be a beautiful funeral bier, constructed from willow, with a ‘Mother Earth’ figure created by renowned artist Anna Gillespie. It will lie on a naturalistic bed of planting staged by Chelsea award-winning landscape designers Dan Pearson Studio, followed by mourners in black hats and veils.

    The sixth mass extinction event

    The event has been planned to coincide with Earth Day, happening just two days later on 22 April, to highlight that we are at ‘CODE RED’ for nature and that around the world, biodiversity is being annihilated at a terrifying rate.

    Organisers say that we are entering the ‘sixth mass extinction’ event and the consequences could be catastrophic if we do not act swiftly, and that in spite of promises from governments, biodiversity loss shows no sign of slowing.

    Rob Delius, head of sustainability & architect at Stride Treglown – one of the organisers and the person who put forward the Funeral for Nature idea – said:

    The intention is to send a powerful SOS message for nature by creating a visual spectacle, that will in equal measures shock and inspire onlookers. The UK has sleepwalked into this nature crisis and the fact that we are now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world simply isn’t being talked about enough.

    We want the processions to create a talking point and for the public to be moved to demand that Government, Local Authorities, landowners and businesses urgently do more to restore biodiversity.

    Funeral for Nature – we must act now

    Doug Francisco, creative director and founding member of The Invisible Circus, said:

    There is no better time to act than right now. It is clear that we are in a crisis and there are no second chances – we have to do something immediately. We hope that this demonstration, in its beauty and urgency, will incite action in more cities across the world. We want to see Red Rebels on streets across the globe, spreading the message that if we don’t act now, we won’t be able to act at all!

    Anna Gillespie, artist, said:

    Unlike conventional protests, the procession will be free of banners or placards. Instead we are relying on the strong imagery of the huge assembly of Red Rebels and the impact of the figure of Mother Nature on a funeral bier carried by mourners to get the message across.

    Everyone participating has a powerful desire to express their desperate feelings of loss and fear as the natural world struggles to survive in the face of our human onslaught.

    Featured image via Code Red for Nature

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The fight against Israel’s genocide machine takes another inventive turn

    UK-based arms manufacturer Elbit Systems has been repeatedly targeted by pro-Palestine activists for years. It’s over its supplying of weapons to Israel – which end up killing Palestinian people. However, amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza activists have stepped up their campaign. Now, one group has turned to ‘subvertising’ to raise awareness of just what Elbit do.

    Subvertising to stop Israel’s genocide

    This week, activists from Extinction Rebellion Youth Bristol (XRYB) opened bus stop advert frames and replaced the adverts with anti-Elbit designs that they made. The designs tell you how many bus stops from the Elbit Systems in Bristol you are:

    Elbit Israel

    In addition XRYB fly posted around the city with two other poster designs:

    A QR code on the posters allow people to further find out about Elbit Systems, XRYB, and how to get involved in protests for Palestine.

    This kind of direct action is called subvertising:

    Subvertising (a portmanteau of subvert and advertising) is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. The cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term in 1991. Subvertisements are anti-ads that deflect advertising’s attempts to turn the people’s attention in a given direction. According to author Naomi Klein, subvertising offers a way of speaking back to advertising, ‘forcing a dialogue where before there was only a declaration.’ They may take the form of a new image or an alteration to an existing image or icon, often in a satirical manner.

    Subvertising against Elbit is a crucial part of the fight against it – for good reason, too.

    Elbit: a national and international disgrace

    Elbit is Israel’s largest privately owned weapons manufacturer. They manufacture bullets, drones, combat vehicles, electronic warfare systems and missiles. They produce 85% of the land based equipment and drones used by the Israeli military. Less than three weeks ago, one of its Hermes 450 drone was used to target cars taking food to Gaza, killing seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.

    Despite Elbit Systems UK being wholly owned by its parent company in Israel, the company often attempt to disassociate themselves from their parent company and global brand.

    However, during Elbit’s annual investor conference 2024 in Israel, CEO Bezhalel Machlis stated that all Elbit companies in the UK are a significant part of the Israeli weapons firm who frequently work with their counterparts in Israel and share technology.

    In the same conference, a video was displayed of workers saying they feel like ‘civil soldiers’ and regularly engage in ongoing debriefs with the Israeli military during the use of their weapons in Gaza.

    A spokesperson for XRYB said:

    These weapons are being used for genocide in Palestine and being made so close to us. We need to remind people of this and sit in the discomfort of that because that is the first step to changing things.

    Featured image and additional images via XRYB

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Canadian journalist detained during Israel-Gaza war protest

    Washington, D.C., April 18, 2024—Canadian authorities must allow journalists to do their jobs and cover protests without fear of being detained or arrested and make public whether journalist Savanna Craig is facing charges following her arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. 

    Craig, a reporter with the Montreal news program Local 514, was covering a pro-Palestinian sit-in on private property at a Scotiabank branch on Monday when she was detained by local police and told that she was being arrested and charged with “mischief,” the journalist told CPJ. 

    Police provided Craig with a document affirming her right to remain silent and stating that the evidence gathered against her will be submitted to a criminal and penal prosecutor for analysis. The document, which was reviewed by CPJ, also stated that the prosecutor will decide whether Craig will face charges and be prosecuted.

    On Tuesday, Craig confirmed with local law enforcement that she was facing charges though, as of publication, had not received a charging document. 

    When contacted by CPJ for comment, the Montreal police communications department said that they are in the process of investigating the circumstances around Craig’s arrest and were unable to provide more details.

    “We are concerned that reporter Savanna Craig was detained and faces possible charges simply for doing her job and covering a matter of public importance,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Law enforcement in Montreal needs to make clear whether or not Craig is facing charges of mischief, and if she is, the charges should be dropped immediately. Journalism is not ‘mischief.’” 

    Craig told CPJ that police arrived at Scotiabank at approximately 10:30 a.m. She introduced herself as a journalist and showed them her press pass shortly after. She then complied with police orders in French, which she does not speak fluently, but which she understood to be asking her to move to a certain area of the bank to observe the protest. 

    Craig continued documenting until noon when the activists stood up, linked arms, and tried to leave. Police then came forward and told the group that they were all being charged with mischief. Following this announcement, Craig said that she approached police to ask for comment but was told that she was being arrested. She reiterated that she was a journalist there documenting but was again told that she was being arrested.

    Craig was then processed with the protesters inside the bank. During processing, Craig presented her press pass, equipment, and told them the name of her news outlet, again informing officers that she was there as a journalist. Craig told CPJ that the officers made critical comments that she didn’t look like a journalist and questioning why she wasn’t wearing a press vest.

    Officers then confirmed that Craig was under arrest, read her rights, took photographs of her equipment, took her mugshot, and provided a piece of paper with her case number. 

    The officers informed her that a prosecutor will decide whether to move forward with the charges. CPJ has reached out to the prosecutor’s office and has not received a response.

    Local 514 is a local news program focusing on municipal issues in Montreal and is run by CUTV, a television station that is affiliated with Concordia University that also receives grant funding. Craig has worked as a host and producer for the program since November 2020, and previously worked as a freelancer and with Ricochet Québec.

    CUTV has also released a statement condemning Craig’s arrest. 

    Editor’s note: This alert was updated to clarify that Craig was processed with the protestors inside the bank.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Photojournalist arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in NYC

    Neil Constantine, a photojournalist for the monthly newspaper The Indypendent, was arrested by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.

    Constantine told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived to document the protest as demonstrators gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan at around 2 p.m. Protesters then made their way toward City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times reported.

    Police had blocked most entrances to the bridge, Constantine said, but a group of at least 100 protesters found a way onto the roadway at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic. Constantine said he followed the demonstrators to continue his coverage and was toward the back of the group.

    Bicycle officers with the Strategic Response Group followed the protesters as they marched across the bridge, and when protesters began running to evade arrest, Constantine said he remained behind.

    “Two officers on bikes pulled up and told me to stop and that I was under arrest,” Constantine said. “I wasn’t given an order to get off the bridge or disperse or anything, I was just arrested.”

    Constantine told the Tracker that he identified himself as a journalist to the officers and that both his city-issued and National Press Photographers Association credentials were visible. One of the officers told him that he didn’t care and that he was trespassing.

    The photojournalist was placed in zip-tie cuffs and loaded into a van with eight demonstrators. Two other photojournalists, Jon Farina and Olga Fedorova, were briefly detained by police after the majority of protesters had been arrested or had successfully climbed over a fence to the bike lane.

    Constantine said he was then taken to police headquarters in Manhattan for processing. Throughout his booking process, he identified himself as a member of the press, which he said seemed to surprise some of the officers, one of whom asked, “Wait, really? Was your pass visible?”

    “I ended up being let out first, or close to first, even though I wasn’t the first one in,” Constantine told the Tracker. “At the summons desk, when they were trying to get my paperwork in order, one of the officers told a higher-up, ‘Oh, he’s the one.’ And the other said, ‘He’s that one? He needs to go. You need to get him out of here now.’”

    The photojournalist was released at approximately 7:30 p.m. with a summons for walking on the roadway. His initial appearance hearing is scheduled for May 3. Constantine said he was able to resume his coverage, filming as demonstrators were released and began protesting again.

    Constantine told the Tracker that police aggression toward protests and the journalists covering them has ramped up in recent months.

    “Since January, they’ve started cracking down on many aspects of protesting. They’ve started going after you if you don’t have a permit and start using a microphone and now also for being in the street,” Constantine told the Tracker.

    The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Status Coup photojournalist briefly detained while covering NYC protest

    Status Coup photojournalist Jon Farina was briefly detained by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.

    Farina told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he documented the protest as demonstrators made their way from Wall Street in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge, shutting it down. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times reported.

    Police had blocked most entrances to the bridge, Farina said, but a group of approximately 100 protesters found a way onto the roadway at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic. Farina said he and freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova followed the demonstrators to continue their coverage.

    Bicycle officers with the Strategic Response Group followed the protesters as they marched across the bridge, then began to arrest them one by one.

    “I stayed behind with Olga to document as the rest of the protest continued forward,” Farina said. “The officers started telling us to move along, and they were in Olga’s face trying to prevent her from documenting the arrests.”

    In footage captured by Farina, he and Fedorova can be heard identifying themselves as press, and an officer responds that he understands but orders them to keep moving across the bridge. A few moments later, another officer orders Farina to climb over the fence to the pedestrian side.

    Farina said he responded that he had too much equipment and that he didn’t want to risk damaging it, so he told the officer that he’d walk to the end of the bridge. When Fedorova saw that he wasn’t climbing over she also stayed to walk with him, Farina told the Tracker.

    As they neared the end of the bridge, officers boxed in Fedorova and handcuffed her, despite her protestations that she was a member of the press documenting the demonstration. Moments later, Farina was detained and cuffed with zip ties as well.

    “We’re in the street documenting because there’s action happening — officers are making arrests or protesters are marching. We’re not there for no reason,” Farina told the Tracker. “If we can’t be there to properly document the arrests, then people aren’t going to see the truth of what’s happening on the ground.”

    In an interview with the Tracker, Fedorova said the two of them were detained for approximately 10 minutes. The officers called the department’s Legal Bureau, she said, which advised them to release the journalists without charge.

    Farina contended that the lack of charges shows that they shouldn’t have been detained in the first place and that such actions are part of a larger problem with the NYPD’s response to demonstrations.

    “This is an issue and it’s been growing each week, every protest. The police, the violence and the chaos they cause, and the assaulting of journalists and the detaining of journalists, it’s just been getting worse,” Farina said. “I’m hoping we can fight back against this because it’s getting out of control.”

    Farina told the Tracker he was assaulted while covering a separate pro-Palestinian protest on March 28. The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Photojournalist shoved by police twice while documenting NYC protest

    Status Coup photojournalist Jon Farina was shoved multiple times by a police officer while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on March 28, 2024.

    Farina told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was reporting live on the demonstration held outside Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, where Democrats were holding a reelection campaign fundraiser for President Joe Biden.

    Demonstrators were marching in the street and blocking traffic, Farina said, when police began making arrests, targeting one of the organizers.

    “I’m in the street documenting, my credentials are out and I’m obviously filming,” Farina told the Tracker. “A cop grabs me by my jacket and shoves me back. I tell him that I’m press and that I can be here to document. And he just kept screaming in my face, ‘Get on the sidewalk!’”

    As the march continued, Farina said he looked for the officer in order to obtain his name and badge number. Once he saw him, the photojournalist said he walked into a crosswalk that the officer was nearing and filmed his badge.

    “He grabbed me again by my shirt, by my jacket, and lifted me up off the street and pushed me all the way back onto the sidewalk,” Farina said. “He bruised up my arm from that.”

    In Farina’s footage of the second encounter, the officer can be heard threatening the photojournalist with arrest the next time he steps foot in the street.

    Farina told the Tracker that the incident was symptomatic of a police crackdown on protests and the press that covers them.

    “This is just getting worse. NYPD is getting worse. Attacks on journalists are getting worse,” he said. “It’s the same strategy to eliminate the witness so that there’s no documentation, no proof of crimes being committed.”

    At a protest a few days later, Farina said he approached a police captain to identify himself as a journalist and “set some ground rules” for covering the protest, telling the officer that he had been assaulted a few days prior.

    “He kind of just said, ‘Oh, when things are getting crazy and chaotic, we don’t know who’s who, and we can’t distinguish who’s press and who’s not,’” Farina recounted. “I said, ‘Well that’s why we have our credentials out. Once you see these and our cameras, you should know we’re there documenting and just leave us alone.’”

    The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Photojournalist detained while documenting NYC protest

    Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly shoved and briefly detained by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.

    Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was on assignment for FreedomNews TV covering a protest that shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times reported.

    Protesters and police were engaged in what Fedorova described as a game of cat and mouse, as officers attempted to prevent the demonstration from moving onto the bridge. Fedorova said officers repeatedly pushed her as she was filming while walking backward, nearly knocking her over.

    As a group of protesters made their way onto the bridge at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic, Fedorova told the Tracker she and fellow photojournalists Jon Farina and Neil Constantine followed in order to continue their coverage.

    “The protesters were being chased by cops on bicycles, and a group of them climbed over to the pedestrian side in order to evade the bicycle unit,” Fedorova said.

    In footage captured by Farina, he and Fedorova can be heard identifying themselves as press. An officer responds that he understands but orders them to keep moving across the bridge.

    After most of the protesters had climbed the fence or been arrested, Fedorova said she decided to climb over the fence as well.

    “As I approached the fence and had my back turned to the cops — on my backpack I have a patch that says ‘PRESS’ — one of them grabbed me and pulled me by the hair backwards,” Fedorova said. “I identified myself as press and showed him my press badge, but they cuffed me and then cuffed Jon Farina.”

    Fedorova said both she and Farina identified as press multiple times, but were detained in zip-tie cuffs for approximately 10 minutes. The officers called the department’s Legal Bureau, she said, which advised them to release the journalists without charge.

    “There’s a pattern of what seems to be ignorance or lack of understanding of what the press does or the rights of the press,” Fedorova said. “Sometimes it’s like some of the officers have never seen a press badge before or haven’t been educated as to what that is.”

    She told the Tracker she plans to file a complaint with the deputy commissioner of public information. The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Who’s Leading The Growing Protest Movement Against Hungary’s Orban?


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel genocide-supporting Lib Dems just got a wake up call as protesters hijack meeting to read out names of dead Palestinians

    On 15 April, several residents and supporters of Palestine Action disrupted Lib-Dem led Somerset Council’s ‘Property and Investments Sub-Committee meeting’ for over 30 minutes, before the councillors closed the meeting to the public. It was over the council’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza – via Elbit Systems.

    Palestine Action: Lib Dems must evict Elbit now

    During the meeting, a local resident submitted a question demanding the immediate eviction of the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems from the council’s property Aztec West 600 in Bristol:

    This was followed by locals handing out pictures of injured and killed Palestinian children during the ongoing Gaza genocide:

    Residents also held a banner with the names of dozens of Palestinians who’ve been killed by the Israeli military using Elbit’s weaponry, whilst taking it in turns to disrupt the meeting to make their demands heard:

    Over the past three months, residents have disrupted three council meetings in total over the council’s continued complicity in the Gaza genocide. Locals have also twice sprayed red paint across the council’s town hall – on one of such occasions, they also locked on to blockade any access to the premises.

    Somerset Council are the landlords of Aztec West 600, the headquarters of Elbit Systems UK. Due to financial concerns, the council have made plans to sell Aztec West 600 as part of a wholesale move to dispose of their commercial investments.

    However, residents have repeatedly demanded the council follow their legal and moral obligations to immediately evict Elbit from the property before disposing of the site.

    Elbit: propping up Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    Elbit Systems is Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, who supply 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land-based equipment in addition to missiles, bombs and bullets. As part of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Elbit “ramped up production” for the Israeli military who use the company’s services “extensively”.

    Since 7 October, the Israeli military has killed over 33,207 Palestinians have been killed (40% of whom are children), 75,933 injured, and the majority of Gaza has been displaced.

    The council have said they will meet with Elbit Systems UK to discover what is happening at Aztec West 600 before taking any further moves to evict the company. During a court case, Alan Wright, VP of Sales at Elbit Systems UK, revealed that the premises is used for “systems integration” of weaponry for their customers.

    Despite Elbit Systems UK being wholly owned by Elbit Systems Israel, the company often attempt to disassociate themselves from their parent company and global brand.

    However, during Elbit’s annual investor conference 2024 in Israel, Elbit Systems CEO Bezhalel Machlis stated that all Elbit companies in the UK are a significant part of the Israeli weapons firm who frequently work with their counterparts in Israel and share technology.

    In the same conference, a video was displayed of Elbit workers saying they feel like ‘civil soldiers’ and regularly engage in ongoing debriefs with the Israeli military during the use of their weapons in Gaza.

    Featured image and videos via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Thousands Protest As Georgian “Foreign Agents” Bill Reappears In Parliament


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Chinese authorities arrest 4 Tibetans for protest over land grab

    Police have arrested and detained four Tibetans who protested Chinese authorities’ seizure of pasture land owned by Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region, three sources inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.

    On April 10, residents of Taktsa village in Luonixiang rural township in Markham county in Chamdo, or Changdu in Chinese, clashed with authorities after they appealed against the land grab and demanded compensation, said the sources, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

    In 2023, a Chinese county official illegally sold the pasture land to businessmen without the knowledge of locals and without providing them any compensation, the sources said. 

    The Tibetans had no knowledge that their land had been seized illegally until this April when the businessmen sent people to clear it. The Tibetans then confronted authorities, demanding payment.

    Police arrested and detained four of the Tibetans, and slapped and beat many others at the scene, said one of the sources. 

    There were no immediate details about the status of the four or the charges against them, and it is not clear for what purpose the seized land will be used. 

    Despite repeated attempts, RFA did not receive any immediate response to calls to Markham county authorities and the local police station. 

    Chinese police argue with Tibetans protesting the seizure of pasture land in Markham county in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 10, 2024. (Citizen journalist/video screenshot)
    Chinese police argue with Tibetans protesting the seizure of pasture land in Markham county in western China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, April 10, 2024. (Citizen journalist/video screenshot)

    Chinese authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Tibetan-populated areas of nearby Chinese provinces often ignore residents’ concerns about mining and land grabs by local officials, who routinely rely on force to subdue those who complain or protest, according to human rights groups.

    Over the past few years, there have been several reports of similar land grabs that have taken place in Chamdo, a resource-rich area in eastern Tibet. 

    Most of the land grabs have been related to mining, including copper, gold and lithium, and development projects that China has undertaken in the areas. In some cases, Tibetans have been forced from their homes.

    Thumbs up

    Videos obtained by RFA show over a dozen Tibetans pleading before Chinese police as they raised both their thumbs up — a Tibetan gesture of a request to show mercy. 

    The gesture was also seen being made by Buddhist monks and Tibetans residents during February protests in Dege county, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, in an appeal to Chinese officials to stop a planned dam project on the Drichu River.

    Chinese police argue with Tibetans protesting the seizure of pasture land in Markham county in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 10, 2024. (Citizen journalist/video screenshot)
    Chinese police argue with Tibetans protesting the seizure of pasture land in Markham county in western China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, April 10, 2024. (Citizen journalist/video screenshot)

    In the videos from Markham county, young and elderly Tibetans kneel before police clad in black, and wail, while others pull and tug at the authorities to heed their pleas.

    The land in question is used by about 25 Tibetan families to graze their animals and for recreation purposes, the sources said. 

    Chinese authorities have arrested the official who had colluded with the businessmen to illegally seize the land without compensating the Tibetans, charging him with corruption, said one of the sources. 

    Now, the residents are demanding compensation for the land that had been occupied, he added.

    Chinese police have forbidden the Tibetans from sharing information about the incident with people outside China, the sources said. 

    Translated by Dolma Lhamo and edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lobsang and Dorjee Damdul for RFA Tibetan.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Tibetans protest against China’s illegal land grab | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Palestine Action starts the week as it means to go on: blockades, direct action, and arrests

    Palestine Action started the week as it probably means to go on: by blocking a weapons’ factory, taking direct action against arms trade financing and landlordism – and getting nicked in the process. All in a day’s work, though, for the campaign that is actually disrupting the supply of weapons via Elbit Systems to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza – while MPs do fuck all.

    Palestine Action: shut it down – again, and again, and again

    On Monday 15 April, activists from Palestine Action attached themselves to vehicles, blockading the four entry routes to Discovery Park, the base of Instro Precision in, Sandwich, Kent. Preventing all entry, Direct action has once again halted production at Instro, a subsidiary of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems:

    Prior to the Kent blockade, Palestine Action struck overnight at financial corporations invested in Israel’s war machine, with all of today’s actions marking the A15 Global Day of Action, for a “Coordinated Economic Blockade to Free Palestine”:

    The Instro site, on Artillery Way in the Discovery Park estate, is normally used for the manufacture of target acquisition, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment for the Israeli military.

    Since 2008, Instro Precision has applied for and been granted over 50 weapons export licenses to Israel, mostly for goods falling under category ‘ML5b’ (target acquisition and related systems), for products including imaging systems for Israel’s Hermes drones.

    Instro’s reports note that:

    the Directors are of the opinion that the company is ultimately controlled by Elbit Systems Limited, [ultimately] a company incorporated in Israel.

    Elbit Systems itself is the largest private contractor to the Israeli Military, providing 85% of the occupying forces drones and land-based military equipment.

    Targetting Elbit’s ‘systems’ – wherever they may be

    Additionally, activists have struck again at the premises of BNY Mellon in Manchester, the financial services corporation which invests over £10m in Elbit Systems. The bank’s windows were shattered, covered in red paint, and spray painted with messages including ‘Drop Elbit’, ‘Child Killers’ and ‘Free Palestine’:

    Predictably, cops swooped in to protect the corporate war machine – not those trying to protect millions of innocent civilians. Police arrested five members of Palestine Action:

    Palestine Action Elbit

     

    Elsewhere, as part of the coordinated day of action., Sisters Uncut and other groups took action towards Elbit’s landlords;

    A Palestine Action spokesperson has stated:

    It has been clear that there is no route through government to ending the supply of British weapons to Israel’s war machine. 40,000 Palestinians have been massacred in Israel’s genocide, yet more now starving, wounded and displaced. Our government is complicit in all of that – coordinated direct action to immobilise sites of Israeli weapons production is the only possible response.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • You may not know the name Trudi Warner, but she is becoming synonymous with protest – as Bristol showed

    On Monday 15 April at 8:45am a group of local residents sat outside Bristol Crown Court holding what has become the most contentious sign in the UK legal system. They joined hundreds of others around England and Wales as part of the growing Defend Our Juries campaign – in solidarity with Trudi Warner. 

    Their signs display the centuries-old principle of ‘jury equity’, i.e. the right of all jurors in British courtrooms to acquit a defendant according to their conscience and irrespective of the directions of the judge.

    Famously, in 1984, a jury acquitted the civil servant, Clive Ponting, on this principle after he exposed government misinformation to the public and Parliament concerning the ‘Falklands War’.

    Trudi Warner to appear at High Court this week on Contempt of Court Charge 

    On 18 April the permission hearing for the Attorney General’s application to commit to prison Trudi Warner, retired social worker, will be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice. The basis of the application? Trudi held up a sign outside a court displaying the well-established principle of jury equity.  

    By displaying these signs the group are showing the ridiculous nature of the prosecution against Trudi Warner. Countless thousands of pounds of public money has been spent pursuing a pensioner for showing a sign that is literally on display inside the Old Bailey:

    The government campaign has gone as far as arresting two young women and questioning 24 others, although tellingly, after almost a year, no charges have been brought against them.

    Collective action works 

    There are strong indications that united, collective action to defend the principle of jury equity is proving effective. Just days after the Solicitor General’s announcement to prosecute Warner, 252 people gathered outside 25 crown courts across England and Wales, holding similar signs in solidarity with Trudi Warner.

    None were arrested and there has been no indication of a police investigation since then. An investigation into people previously arrested for displaying posters with the same message has now been discontinued. In December last year, over 500 people gathered to display the same message at over 50 crown courts, again none were arrested.

    In February this year, 300 signed a letter to the new Solicitor General saying “since you’re prosecuting Trudi Warner, you should prosecute us too”. 

    As Trudi Warner’s permission hearing is heard this week in the Royal Courts of Justice, hundreds of people are expected to defend the message of jury equity outside every crown court in England and Wales.  

    The Defend our Juries campaign has gathered powerful support from eminent professors of law, such as Professor Richard Vogler and Professor John Spencer. In the words of Professor Vogler: 

    George Orwell noticed the tendency of repressive law to degenerate into farce, when truth becomes a lie and common sense is heresy. This is worth remembering now that the solicitor general, Michael Tomlinson KC, has concluded that it is right to take action against… Trudi Warner, for holding up a sign outside a criminal court, simply proclaiming one of the fundamental principles of the common law: the right of a jury to decide a case according to its conscience.

    Mounting concern over jury trial 

    The demonstrations come amid mounting public concern that political trials are being turned into show trials, after a succession of jury acquittals, including the acquittal of the Colston 4 in January 2022, have embarrassed the Government and certain corporate interests.

    In the Colston case, Suella Braverman, who was Attorney General at the time, decided that the jury of Bristol people had got it wrong, and brought a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal, changing the law. 

    Measures being taken by courts in response include defendants being banned from explaining to the jury why they did what they did, even people who have taken peaceful direct action are now being sent to prison for up to 3 years.

    In some cases, people have been sent to prison just for trying to explain their actions to the jury for saying the words ‘climate change’ and ‘fuel poverty’ in court. Defendants are banned from explaining the principle of ‘jury equity’ to the jury, even though it is a well established principle of law, which is set in marble at the original entrance to the Old Bailey.

    Defendants have been found guilty after a judge threatened jurors with criminal charges if they applied their conscience to the trial. Legal defences have been removed by the Court of Appeal, leaving people unable to properly explain their motivations for taking action to juries, and declaring evidence of the climate crisis ‘inadmissible’.  

    Local residents take action in solidarity with Trudi Warner

    Explaining why she is prepared to risk arrest for this legal principle, local resident Kingsley Belton, a retired speech and language therapist and a Quaker from Nailsea, said: 

    I’m taking action, sitting outside Bristol crown court, because I’m very concerned about the erosion of our robust jury system by this Government and by the judges, that are making the decision that somebody standing silently being a human billboard is somehow in contempt of court, when all that they are stating is what is down in law since the 1600’s. If our basic right to trial by jury is undermined then we cease being a democracy, and rapidly become a much more authoritarian state.

    Adrienne Preedy from Bath said: 

    The public are mostly unaware of the dangerous erosion to our democracy that’s happened recently, due to banning defendants from explaining their motivations in court. I think most people would agree that it’s crazy – and an enormous waste of public money – to prosecute Trudi Warner for having stood up to the judiciary on this. All she did is hold up a sign that literally states the law. Where does it end? We are all Trudi.

    Dave Ware, a chartered engineer from Bath said: 

    I can’t be a bystander while fellow activists undergo trials where they are banned from telling the jury their truth. Not being allowed to explain the context for an action significantly alters a juror’s perception of it. For example, breaking down a door and entering a house is not breaking and entering if the house is on fire and people in the house need to be rescued. It’s vital that the public is made aware of what’s going on in our courts. They would be horrified by the prosecution of Trudi for challenging this unfairness.

    Featured image and additional images via Defend Our Juries

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Parliament facing action from tens of thousands of people over Israel’s genocide

    One hundred thousand people are expected to march on parliament for Palestine on Saturday 13 April – in a call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to UK arms sales to Israel.

    Marching on parliament for Palestine

    On 13 April tens of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate in London calling on the UK government to halt arms sales to Israel. The march will take place as part of a nationwide day of action which will see protests in towns and cities across the UK.

    The march, organised by groups including Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), in London on Saturday begins at 12pm from Russell Square and ends with a rally in Parliament Square:

    It forms part of a national day of action with events across the UK:

    More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in six months, most of the civil infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed and the UN has issued stark warnings that famine is imminent for the population of two million people. It is in this context that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded there was plausible evidence that Israel is conducting a genocide.

    The Genocide Convention establishes on State Parties the obligation to take measures to prevent the crime of genocide and this has led to growing demands that the UK halt arms sales to Israel. These took on even more urgency after Israel killed seven aid workers, three of them British, in Gaza last week, with claims that the weapons used could contain British components.

    The government’s own arms export guidelines state it “will not grant a licence if it determines there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

    Alicia Kearns MP, chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, was recorded at an event saying: “The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law, but the government has not announced it.”

    “Unconscionable”

    More than 1,000 lawyers, academics and retired judges, including the former president of the Supreme Court baroness Hale, have signed an open letter saying that the continued supply of arms to Israel puts the UK in breach of international law.

    Two weeks ago a cross party group of 135 Parliamentarians wrote to the foreign secretary and business secretary, saying the case for a suspension of arms export licenses to Israel is “overwhelming.”

    A petition launched by PSC has gathered over 50,000 signatures in less than 10 days.

    Ben Jamal, PSC director, said:

    It is unconscionable that the UK government continues to supply Israel with weapons, even as Israel stands charged at the world’s highest court with the crime of genocide, and even as the FCDO’s own lawyers have reportedly informed it that Israel is in breach of international humanitarian law.

    Pressure is building across the political mainstream for the government to end its complicity in genocide and once again, hundreds of thousands will be protesting on the streets of towns and cities across the UK in support of that demand. This slaughter must stop.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action take DRASTIC measures to stop Elbit – crashing CARS into its factory

    Palestine Action took drastic steps to try and stop Elbit System’s weapons manufacturing. Members of the group crashed cars into the factory’s bollards – backed up by local residents coming out to assist. Predictably, arrests followed – but many would see the action as proportionate when viewed next to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    Palestine Action: drastic action

    On Thursday 11 April, Palestine Action crashed two cars into the bollards in front of Elbit’s Leicester drone factory, UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS):

    Activists used D-locks to attach themselves to the steering wheels, to successfully blockade the only entrance into the Israeli weapons maker:

    Dozens of locals came out to reinforce the blockade, chanting ‘murderer’ to workers as they were forced to drive home.

    Predictably, cops arrived on the scene and arrested the two Palestine Action actionists:

    In the aftermath, the factory looked like a crime scene – which it was anyway before Palestine Action arrived, given Elbit is directly responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Palestinians:

    Palestine Action Elbit

    U-TacS is majority owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, and partially owned by French arms company Thales. Elbit supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet and land-based military equipment, marketing its weapons to the world as “battle-tested” on Palestinians. Their flagship drone is the Watchkeeper, which is modelled on the Hermes 450, and has operated in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Elbit’s Hermes 450 is regularly used during previous bombardments and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It was used by the Israeli military to murder seven aid workers, including three British citizens. U-TacS also exports military drone equipment to the apartheid state of Israel.

    Since 7 October, the Israeli military has killed over 33,482 Palestinians, injured 76,049, and destroyed approximately 62% of homes in Gaza.

    All power to the actionists

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said:

    The apparatus of the Israeli military has been embedded into our communities without our permission. Despite legal and moral obligations, our political lass continues to make us complicit in the Gaza genocide. So we’re left with no option but to take direct action and shut Elbit down. Day after day, we will disrupt the Israeli war machine in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

    Cops released the two Palestine Action actionists:

    Some people might say Palestine Action using vehicles to stop Elbit is a step too far. We say all power to them – because some damage to bollards is nothing compared to the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • European Parliament ploughs ahead with environmentally destructive agricultural reforms

    Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have rolled over for big agribusiness, sabotaging the EU’s agricultural reform via the Common Agricultural Policy – key to fighting the climate and biodiversity crises.

    Agricultural reform via Common Agricultural Policy

    On Thursday 11 April, the European Parliament gave its green light to fast-track the vote on a last-minute reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

    The CAP is the EU’s system of agricultural subsidies, to support farmers across the bloc. The EU has been in the process of reforming it for the 2023 to 2027 period. In December 2021, EU member states formally adopted the agreement. Following this, the new legislation came into force on 1 January 2023.

    Historically, the EU CAP has mainly benefited big landowners – in other words large farms and the agribusiness industry – over smallholder farmers. This is because the EU ties subsidies to the land area, meaning if you had more land, you’d receive greater financial support. [Pdf, p7]

    Invariably, by propping up large-scale intensive agriculture, the CAP has been a key driver of the biodiversity crisis. Moreover, it has ploughed funding into the hands of some of the most climate destructive parts of the industry. For example, a study in Nature found that the EU was funneling over 80% of CAP subsidies to carbon emissions-intensive animal agriculture.

    Given this, the EU has been updating the CAP to align with the EU’s Green New Deal. As a result, it introduced a series of new green measures. For instance, this included leaving land fallow and maintaining some permanent grassland.

    Farmer protests

    However, farmers across Europe have held huge demonstrations against the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in its current form.

    Partly, this was indeed in response to some of the new green regulations. Despite this, the protesters’ demands have been far from homogenous. Notably, a Carbon Brief analysis identified that not all the issues the protesters are raising, are related to climate, conservation, biodiversity, or greenhouse gas emissions.

    Moreover, as Desmog reported, while some farmers have campaigned against the climate-focused elements of the new CAP, others have called for the EU to strengthen it.

    For instance, this included members of the European chapter of peasant, Indigenous, and landworker movement La Via Campesina. On the same day MEPs fast-tracked these reforms, European Coordination Via Campesina penned a letter with IFOAM Organics Europe to commission president Ursula von der Layen. In it, they argued:

    while reducing administrative burdens for farmers is necessary, this must not result in lower environmental ambitions and further exacerbating the impact of climate change and of the biodiversity collapse that farmers already witness. On the contrary, any revision of European legislation should strengthen and protect the most sustainable, organic and agroecological models of agriculture and prepare the necessary transition of the European agri-food system. The proposed simplification rules will
    ultimately only exacerbate discontent in the farming community as they neither support farmers in
    increasing their resilience nor do they address the real issues that farmers face, which is the lack of fair
    prices for their products and lack of a decent income.

    By contrast, Desmog also underscored how far-right groups across Europe have capitalised on the discontent to garner electoral gains. They have teamed up with big agribusiness to rail against so-called net zero ‘red tape’.

    On top of this, it pointed to a EU-wide lobby group – Copa-Cogeca – that has been lobbying against the green reforms. It noted that the group has largely championed the interests of the agribusiness industry. A separate investigation by Lighthouse Reports highlighted that many small-holder farmers do not feel that Copa-Cogeca speaks for them.

    Parliament “muzzling democratic debate”

    Nevertheless, the EU has bowed to the pressure from big agribusiness. First, in March, the European Commission put forward new reforms for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Primarily, these will overhaul its green measures.

    Now, the European Parliament is pushing forward with a vote on these reforms.

    As Euractiv reported:

    the EU executive proposed two regulations laying down changes to six of the nine Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) standards on which CAP payments hinge upon, and giving member states more flexibility to implement the policy.

    Groups have said MEPs did so despite this jeopardising the EU’s ability to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises and the threat it poses to the future of farming.

    A network of over 180 environmental organisations, the European Environment Bureau (EEB) spoke out against the move. In a press release, it said:

    The unlawful and antidemocratic proposal lacks the scientific evidence, proper argument and public consultation and fails to justify why or how the removal of environmental requirements will support farmers in the short term. In the long term, if adopted, it will leave farmers even more vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

    EEB’s director for nature, health and environment Faustine Bas-Defossez said:

    It is shameful that such a large majority of MEPs voted in support of muzzling democratic debate on a proposal that lacks any scientific evidence. If passed the proposed simplification of the CAP will do nothing to support farmers and will in fact make them even more vulnerable to the impact of the climate and biodiversity crises which are the real threats to food security

    The Parliament’s decision to fast-track the vote on a proposal that affects 1/3 of the EU budget in incredibly irresponsible. Citizens expect better and will remember this vote when electing their representatives June.

    Meanwhile, lawyers from environmental law group ClientEarth argued that the process that led to the reform proposal was unprecedented and undemocratic. Specifically, they said that this was the case since it failed to respect basic EU standards of transparency, public participation and evidence-based decision-making.

    It also argued that the Commission had breached its legal duty under the EU Climate Law by failing to assess the consistency of the CAP reform proposal with the EU’s 2050 climate-neutrality objective and its 2030 target.

    As such, ClientEarth lawyer Sarah Martin said:

    Weakening the basic environmental requirements in the CAP in attempt to ‘fix’ systemic issues to the EU’s agri-food sector, will only aggravate the situation further, like rubbing salt in a wound. Undermining the elements of the CAP that are meant to preserve soils and biodiversity, will do nothing to improve the situation for farmers who are already feeling first-hand the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Pitting nature against farmers is a false dichotomy because there is no farming without nature.

    The undemocratic way this reform has been pushed through is equally shocking. The Commission has justified deviating from its own governance guidelines by claiming a “political urgency”, despite several farming unions having opposed the changes. This type of urgent procedure has only been used to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Taking a crisis approach to adopt measures that require thoughtful consideration will expose farmers and people to major environmental and climate risks. These decisions should not be prepared and voted on in a matter of weeks, when doing so will have devastating repercussions.

    The European Parliament has refused to see the urgency to address the climate and biodiversity crises to safeguard farmers’ future and in the process has set an extremely worrying precedent for the future of EU decision-making.”

    The European Parliament vote on the legislative proposal will take place during the last plenary session between 22 to 25 April.

    Feature image via NightThree/Wikimedia, resized to 1200 by 900, licensed under CC BY 2.0

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Indigenous rights flag-burning protest rocks CNMI community

    By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent

    A man on Saipan has burned the official CNMI flag in protest, saying that it does not truly represent Indigenous people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI).

    A public video of the flag-burning was posted by Raymond Quitugua that has stirred various negative reactions within the CNMI community.

    Under the CNMI’s constitution, flag-burning is prohibited and those found to have breached the law can face up to one year in jail or fined up to US$500 (NZ$835).

    The official CNMI flag
    The official CNMI flag . . . disputed by some Chamorro critics. Image: 123rf/RNZ

    Quitugua said the true CNMI flag was the initial design presented back in the 1970s that featured a latte stone with a star in the front of it on a field of blue.

    The current official flag of the US territory consists of a rectangular field of blue, a white star in the center, superimposed on a gray latte stone, surrounded by the traditional Carolinian mwáár.

    But Quitugua claims the official flag does not accurately represent the Indigenous people of the CNMI, which he believes is the Chamorro community (not including the Carolinian community).

    He added that he burned the flag as a form of protest and he intended to take the issue to court.

    Disappointed, insulted
    Renowned elder in the CNMI community, Lino Olopai, as well as one of the many champions of the CNMI’s flag, expressed disappointment and insulted by Quitugua’s actions and said that warranted jail time.

    Olopai said the basis of the current CNMI flag was indeed the Chamorro flag, but a group of Carolinians that included himself fought to have a mwáár on the flag as a representation of the Carolinian community as they believed they, too, were indigenous people of the CNMI.

    He added that Quitugua’s flag-burning is a form of discrimination against the Carolinian community, which like the Chamorros, are the two recognised Indigenous people of the CNMI.

    “Stop the racism. We are all part of the Pacific islands,” Olopai said.

    “We should maintain peaceful attitude and spirit with one another. Not just between the Chamorro and Carolinian communities, but with other communities across the Pacific,” he said.

    In a letter to the editor of the Saipan Tribune, former lawmaker Luis John Castro also criticised Quitugua’s flag-burning, saying there were other more constructive forms of protest.

    “If something such as the flag does not jive with your beliefs, OK you don’t have to agree,” he said, adding “but there are many ways to resolve differences other than desecrating a cultural symbol”.

    “Conduct an online poll, call into [a radio station] and make it a topic of discussion. Hold a town hall meeting with other concerned citizens, ask a legislator to draft bills or initiative to address its look, or file a certified question with the courts to get an answer to your concerns.

    “Why do something like burn the flag? To seek attention? To get likes and shares on Facebook? To incite civil unrest?” he wrote.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.