Today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe pro-Palestine activist group
@pal_action under anti-terror law. This effectively brands the group a terrorist organisation and, if passed in Parliament, would make membership of and support of the group illegal.
Formed in 2020, Palestine Action has conducted a series of direct action protests over the past five years, largely against arms manufacturers operating in the UK and selling weapons to Israel.
“It was 6am and still dark, but as we headed to our planned position, we were spotted by two security guards. We rushed forward but one of the guards grabbed me. I managed to pull free and then get my hand into the lock on, we laid down on the cold floor in front of the building - we’d made it.”
This might sound like a scene from a spy thriller, but these are actually the words of a very polite, and often quite shy, copywriter from Pudsey in Yorkshire. Khajidah, then 25, is describing her first covert activity as part of Palestine Action, a protest network that uses direct action to disrupt and shut down arms companies that provide weapons parts to Israel.
But what exactly is direct action? “When all other forms of protest seemingly aren’t enough or as effective as they should be, such as petitions, marches, writing to MPs – all of which are permitted by the law – the people resort to direct action,” explains Pia Bastide, a spokesperson for
@juststopoil , arguably the most prolific non-violent civil resistance group the UK has seen in recent times. And despite ‘hanging up the hi vis’ jackets last month to concentrate on the many members currently facing legal action, JSO firmly supports direct action.
Originally published in #14 The Resilience Issue,
@devinderbains speaks to young activists across the UK who are tired of having their demands ignored by the government and are swapping protest marches and petitions for civil disobedience and direct action. Link in bio to read the full feature 🔗
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@devinderbains
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@sunshineeinmypocket ,
@pal_action ,
@transkidsdeservebetter ,
@just.stopoil &
@_youthdemand 
