On June 5, 2010, several thousand people protested outside the Israeli Embassy in London against Israel's handling of the Gaza-bound flotilla the previous week. The protesters marched from Downing Street to the Israeli Embassy, waving signs and flags demanding that the British government increase pressure on Israel. Former British MP George Galloway addressed the crowd, with the Turkish, Palestinian, and Hizbullah flags flying behind him. The event was covered by Iran's Press TV.
The following is the transcript of Galloway's speech.
· To view the MEMRI page for Flotilla, visit http://www.memri.org/subject/en/833.htm.
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· To view the MEMRI TV page for Flotilla, visit http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/834.htm.
· To view the MEMRI Guide to the Middle East's page about the Flotilla, visit http://www.memri.org/flotilla/.
George Galloway: "Brothers and sisters, I was in on the platform of the rostrum of the microphone in Dallas, Texas on Monday when the fateful shots rang out in the Mediterranean. They were murderous shots to be sure, but they have reverberated around the whole world in a way which [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu could never have imagined. This is indeed their Soweto, and just as Soweto began the countdown to the end of racist, apartheid state of South Africa, so the killings of our martyrs on Monday begin the numbering of the days of the Zionist apartheid state of Israel. Be sure, be sure about that.
"From the United States to Turkey, where I was yesterday [man in crowd: 'Allahu Akbar'], attending the funerals of the martyrs, I have the [unintelligible] from the graves of the martyrs in Istanbul still on my shoes, and I will never clean them of those martyrs' dust.
"All around the world, as Kevin Ovenden [Viva Palestina representative and passenger on the Mavi Marmara] said, all is changed. Scales are falling from the eyes, even of those who previously defended Israeli crimes. We have achieved the unbelievable situation where the British prime minister is finally demanding an end to the embargo on Gaza [crowd cheers] and shame, shame, everlasting shame on the New Labour government that just left office, that the Tories are demanding something that they refused to do. Shame on them, forevermore, shame on them.
"Brothers and sisters, there can be no peace between truth and falsehood. There can be no peace between justice and oppression. There can be no peace between the occupied and their occupier. There can only be eternal struggle between them, struggle until justice has prevailed and freedom has been won, and you are a part of that struggle and freedom will be won [Crowd chants 'Free, free Palestine'].
"And so, and so as you feared, I have an announcement to make [whistles from crowd]. Following our negotiations in Istanbul yesterday, I can announce to you that on the day after Ramadan, two mighty convoys, one by land and one by sea, will be delivered [Crowd cheers, man chants, 'Long live George Galloway!']. The land convoy will leave from London, will travel through Europe and Turkey and Syria and Jordan, and it will sail from Aqaba to Sinai and enter the gates of Rafah, and I ask the Egyptian government now, in the names of millions of people, open those gates [unintelligible]). The sea convoy will simultaneously leave here on the same day, sail from country to country around the Mediterranean. We will arrive off Gaza together, we will enter together, with the mightiest breach of the siege there has ever been and we will end this siege that day. [Crowd cheers]
"Because, because Kevin, my colleague [unintelligible] asked, how will the siege end? I will tell you how: it won't end by resolutions in the Security Council, it won't end by, by God it won't end, with ruminations in the Arab League [shouts from crowd]. No, this siege is now shaking; this wall is now toppling [people in crowd: 'Allah Akbar']. We have to break it down ourselves [crowd cheers wildly, making Galloway's words unintelligible] and we will do so.
"As-Salam Alaykum. Viva Viva Palestina, viva viva Palestina, viva viva Palestina. Thank you."
