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Gaza, Freedom, Syria & Gay Tourism – 2014

Gaza, Freedom, Syria & Gay Tourism: Saturday 18th January 2014 was the fifth anniversary of the end of the 2008/9 Israeli massacre in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead in which around 1,400 people, many unarmed civilians were killed. I also photographed a rather unorganised protest by Anonymous against privatisation, cuts, environmental and other issues, a peace vigil by Syria Peace & Justice and finally Queer Strike and ‘No Pinkwashing’ picketing a beach-themed LGBT tourism event promoting Israel as a tourist destination.

Gaza Massacre 5th Anniversary

Israeli Embassy, Kensington

Gaza, Freedom, Syria & Gay Tourism - 2014

Around 500 people had come to a protest on Kensington High Street opposite the private road leading to the Israeli embassy. The attacks on Gaza in 2008-9, Operation Cast Lead, had shocked the civilised world, though the 1400 largely civilian deaths were on a small scale compared to the current ongoing genocide when over 70,000 have died, with deaths continuing daily since the so-called ceasefire.

As well as continuing Israeli attacks children and old people are now dying in Gaza due to the freezing conditions and inadequate shelter because of the destruction of buildings and the continuing Israeli restrictions preventing much of the humanitarian aid and critical supplies needed to keep people safe, alive and well.

The hundreds who came to the protest in 2014 kept up a noisy barrage of chanting calling for justice for the victims of Israel’s massacre and against the ongoing siege on Gaza for around an hour before a series of speeches.

Among those at the protest were many Palestinians as well as Jews some of whom had been leading the call for a boycott of Israeli goods. It was supported by a wide range of groups and on My London Diary I gave the following list : “Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, British Muslim Initiative, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War Coalition, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Friends of Al-Aqsa UK, Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine, War on Want, Unite the Union, Public and Commercial Services Union, Amos Trust and ICAHD UK.”

More at Gaza Massacre 5th Anniversary.

Anonymous March For Freedom UK

Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square

This protest had been called by Anonymous supporters following their large protest on Novemeber 5th, but fewer than a couple of hundred had arrived. Some had instead gone to the Gaza protest, and like me will have arrived rather late for this event.

They were in one corner of Trafalgar Square and people took turns to speak at an open microphone. As well as those in ‘Anonymous’ masks I recognised many who had taken part in Occupy London.

Eventually someone suggested that they march to Parliament. For once the police facilitated this, suggesting they could walk along the southbound carriageway of Whitehall, and shepherding them across the traffic lights to do so. It “had been organised as a peaceful and family-friendly event, and this was the case, as they marched past Downing St with nothing more than a few shouts and rude gestures and on to Parliament Square.”

When they arrived outside Parliament “it became obvious that this was a protest without leaders, and with no real idea where they were going or what to do.” People – including some police made a number of suggestions but eventually they decided to stop in Parliament Square for a rally.

They were still on the roadway, but after a couple of minutes agreed to police suggestions that they move onto the pavement so that traffic could flow again.

There were then a few speeches followed by some discussion about what they should do next.

One suggestion was that they should stay where they were and party in Parliament Square and it seemed likely that they would do so.

I decided it was time to leave and walked back up Whitehall past a small crowd of police vans. The police were obviously taking no chances and I think probably outnumbered the protesters, although most simply sat in their vans.

Anonymous March For Freedom UK

Peace vigil for Syria

Trafalgar Square

Back in Trafalgar Square I found a small group from Syria Peace & Justice holding a peace vigil “calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefires and the release of all political prisoners and an inclusive Syrian-led peace process.”

The Geneva 2 peace talks were to start the following week and they said that the agenda was being “being set by major foreign powers like the US and Russia” and that only the Syrian government and a Turkey based Syrian group had been invited.

They demanded “an inclusive Syrian-led peace process that includes strong representation from Syrian women, Syrian civil society organisations and various moderate Syrian opposition groups.”

Peace vigil for Syria

Israeli Gay Tourism Pinkwashing

Villiers Street

Queer Strike, Women of Colour, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, and people from the ‘No Pinkwashing’ campaign had come to picket an event promoting Israel as a tourist destination for LGBT people.

*A security man objects as the protesters block the arcade entrance briefly for photographs*

The Gay Star Beach Party LGBT tourism event claimed Tel Aviv to be “one of the best gay cities in the world” and together with the Israeli Tourism Board they were trying to persuade gay people to holiday there.

The protesters say that this is “pinkwashing”, an attempt to divert attention from human rights crimes against Palestinians, using opposition to homophobia to legitimise Israel and undermine support for Palestine. They called on those going to the event to boycott it and not go to Israel until it ends human rights abuses, recognises the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and complies with international law.

They handed out a card with five reasons for LGBT tourists to boycott Israel:

 - the military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967, with over 100 illegal Israeli settlements on land stolen from Palestinians;
  - the violence against Palestinian children, hundreds of whom are arrested each year and held in military detention without access to lawyers, mainly for alleged stone-throwing;
  - the inhuman siege of Gaza, blocking import of food, fuel and medical supplies and preventing the repair of many homes destroyed in the 2008-9 invasion by Israel;
  - the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes and land which began in 19438 and still continues, creating millions of refugees;
 the apartheid system of roads reserved for Jewish Israelis, the apartheid wall and the many check points involving long waits and searches for Palestinians.

The protesters also highlighted Israel’s racist treatment of African people, There had been protests the previous week in Tel Aviv by 30,000 African asylum seekers and refugees demanding that all African refugees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and detention centres be freed and for recognition of their rights as asylum seekers and refugees.

Israeli Gay Tourism Pinkwashing

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Putin Hands Off Queers & Syria – 2013

Putin Hands Off Queers & Syria – 2013 On Tuesday 3rd September 2013, ten years ago I photographed two different protests in Central London, beginning at Downing St against Russian homophobia and going on the the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square for a rather mixed protest over Syria.

Love Russia, Hate Homophobia – Downing St

Several hundred had come to Downing St two days before David Cameron was to attend a G20 Summit in St Petersburg hosted by Putin, urging our Prime Minister to press him to repeal the Russian anti-gay law and prosecute violent homophobes.

The organisers had asked people to wear red, and many did though others came in more colourful attire and several were in drag. The protesters including a large African LGBT contingent and Peter Tatchell.

The protest which was a part of a world-wide day of action against Russian homophobia :

The organisers had listed eight themes for the action including some related to the forthcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics:

David Cameron: What are you doing about the anti-gay law in Russia? We want answers. Tell Putin to drop the law.
Russia: End the anti-gay law & homophobic violence
Solidarity with Russian LGBT & human rights defenders
Defend freedom of expression & human rights for all Russians
Oppose the Putin regime’s escalating authoritarianism
IOC must protect LGBT athletes and spectators, and ensure freedom of expression
Sochi corporate sponsors must condemn homophobic legislation & violence
The IOC must insist that Russia lifts its ban on a LGBT Pride House at Sochi

More pictures at Love Russia, Hate Homophobia.

Hands off Syria – US Embassy, Grosvenor Square,

Several hundred people, including many Syrians living in the UK, came to the US Embassy for a protest rally called by Stop The War to keep up the pressure on President Obama not to bomb Syria.

Among the Syrians present were groups supporting both the revolution in Syria, particularly Kurds who have long suffered discrimination and repression in the country and supporters of the Assad regime who made the ridiculous claim that there had been no discrimination in Syria.

The Assad regimes have made more than 300,000 Kurds stateless, not included in the census, unable to vote, stand for office, gain school certificates or university degrees, or travel outside their own provinces. International organisations have clearly shown that Kurds in Syria are subject to discriminatory policies against their language and dress.

The Stop The War protest was followed by a lengthy protest by the pro-Assad Syrians against US intervention. They vociferously denied that Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons in Syria blaming others for their use. Reports by various bodies now show there is no room for any doubt that they were used by government forces.

The failure by Obama and other western countries to take effective action in Syria – such as enforcing a no-fly zone in disputed areas left the door open for Putin to intervene providing direct military support for Assad in 2015. Putin was also able to come to arrangements with Turkey despite them being key members of NATO in the region and enabled them to take military action against the Kurds who were the most efficient force in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

The failures of the USA in Syria was probably also key in giving Putin the confidence to invade the Crimea and parts of Ukraine in 2014 – and then on to the current invasion there. We were also given a powerful reminder of earlier US blunders by the presence outside the US Embassy just along from the protests I was covering of a protest camp already in front of the embassy over the attacks on Camp Ashraf in Iraq on 1 September.

Camp Ashraf in Iraq had been home to the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main opposition to Islamic rule in Iran, in 1986. Before the US coalition invasion of Iraq, the US had come to an agreement with Iran that they would neutralise the PMOI, and coalition forces attacked the camp. Eventually there was a ceasefire after which the PMOI agreed to give up its tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy artillery and the residents of the camp were given protected status as civilians under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

But after the US left Iraq, the camp came under control of the Iraq government, who attacked it on several occasions. The Iraqi army killed 34 and wounded 318 in a raid in April 2011, and a raid on September 1, 2013 had killed killed 52. The PMOI blamed Iraq for this but others blame Iranian militias directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The PMOI camp was calling for the US for support. The PMOI were focibly moved to another site in Iraq in 2012 and in 2016 the US brokered a deal to relocate them to a site in Albania, giving the UN refugee agency $20million for their resettlement.

More pictures of the Embassy protests at Hands off Syria.

Migrant Pride and Pride 2016

I first photographed London’s annual Pride in 1993, when it was a much smaller and more political event than it has become. Back then it was still a protest an since then it has become a parade, dominated by large corporate floats, from various large companies, armed forces and police.

Of course there is still some of the old spirit, with many groups from the gay community and even some protesters still taking part, but largely hidden at the back of the very long line-up.

The Migrant Rights & Anti-Racist Pride march to the official Pride London procession organised by Movement for Justice and joined by others, including London in Solidarity with Istanbul LGBTI Pride and Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants brought back some of the original spirit.

It gathered on Oxford St and then went on to join the main march, along with others behind the corporate floats.

The following year Pride organisers reacted by closing the march to only those who had officially applied to march and had official armbands – and refused entry to the Migrants Rights and Anti-Racist Bloc who then sat down in front of the march before police decided they could march along the route before the main procession.

This year Pride in London has been postponed until 11 September, but Peter Tatchell this May called for an alternative LGBT+ rights march to take place in June, He stated:

“For too long we have been conned by vested interests into believing that it is hugely expensive to hold a Pride march. It is not costly at all if we run the no-frills march that I am proposing.
“It would mirror the informality and spontaneity of the first Pride march in 1972, which I and 40 others helped organise. All we need to do is publicise it and people will turn up.
“Pride in London has become depoliticised. This Pride can change that. As well as being a joyful celebration, it should also profile LGBT+ human rights issues, such as the government stalling on a conversion therapy ban, blocking reform of the Gender Recognition Act and failing to end the detention of LGBT+ asylum seekers.
“It’s time to get back to the original roots of Pride, with everyone encouraged to bring a placard highlighting the LGBT+ issues that concern them. Let’s make this an event where our on-going demands for LGBT+ rights can be seen and heard.
https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/call-for-alternative-reclaim-pride-london-march-in-late-june/

So far as I’m aware it has not been possible to organise an event like this for June 2010, although the London Trans Pride is still billed to take place on June 26, beginning at 2pm at Hyde Park. Perhaps next year it will be possible to organise such a “no frills” march with “no floats, no stage and no speakers at the end. Totally open, egalitarian and grassroots.” which “would reclaim Pride for the community.”

Pride London 2016
Migrant Rights & Anti-Racist Pride

Trans+ Pride

Stonewall tell us that:

One in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the last year.

The number of lesbian, gay and bi people who have experienced a hate crime has risen by 78 per cent since 2013.
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/cy/node/57287

But they go on to state that things are even worse for the trans community:

Two in five trans people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last year, compared to one in six lesbian, gay or bi people who are not trans.
Two in five who identify as non-binary have experienced a hate crime in the last year.
14 per cent of trans people do not feel safe where they live. 44 per cent of trans people avoid certain streets because they do not feel safe, compared to 26 per cent of lesbian, gay or bi people who are not trans.
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/cy/node/57287

Trans people have particularly come under attack in print and on the media by a small group of largely ageing feminists, who have been labelled ‘trans exclusionary radical feminists‘ or ‘TERFs’ though these people object to the label, calling it a slur. Some of them use the rather non-specific term ‘gender critical’. Wikipedia says TERF is “used to describe feminists who express ideas that other feminists consider transphobic, such as the claim that trans women are not women, opposition to transgender rights and exclusion of trans women from women’s spaces and organizations.”

TERFs have disrupted various events including the 2018 Pride Procession and the London Anarchist Bookfair 2017. As well as TERFs, trans people are under attack form some Conservative religious groups and people on the far right including so-called MRAs, men’s rights activists. Odd bedfellows for feminists.

Stonewall was an appropriate source for my information for various reasons. It was the 1969 Stonewall riots that kick-started the whole gay rights movement, a time when gays first stood up against the police raids on gay clubs, and the main figures who led that defiance were three ‘women of color’, two of whom were trans women the third a butch lesbian. The ‘T’ has always been an integral part of the LGBT community, and transgender people have become much more visible in recent years.

There were fears that there might be some disruption of London’s First Trans+ Pride March by TERFs or other transphobic groups, but if there were any protesters against the march I didn’t see them.

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Kiss-in against LGBT+ hate

Hate crime attacks on LGBT+ people on our streets and on public transport are on the increase. Between 2014 and 2018 there was a 150% increase and in recent months more and more have been reported, with some disturbing videos posted on social media.

The shift to the right in British politics under the Tories have encouraged anti-gay sentiments and made them come to the surface. A small but very vocal group of feminists have also been very active in campaigning against trans people on social media, with meetings and protests – including at London’s Pride parade. These “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” or TERFs (a label they dislike) include a number of high-profile largely older feminists who often appear on mainstream media and make their views clear.

Trans people have always been an important part of the gay scene, and played an vital role in the Gay Liberation movement, including the Stonewall riots which were really its starting point.

Stand up to LGBT+ Hate Crime, the organisers of this kiss-in have decided that a more active opposition is needed to these attacks:

“It is 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising and the birth of the Gay Liberation Front. Our movement was born out of rage and riots. We will not be driven back into the closet. We will meet all attacks with resistance and protest.”

This protest held in Parliament Square in persistent light rain was the first of a series of protests to combat this increasing hate.

Stand up to LGBT+ Hate Crime Kiss-In

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.