During a new broad labour union demonstration against the French pension reform in Toulouse which brought together nearly 50,000 people, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra was present alongside all the people mobilized, reaffirming that defending the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea is inseparable from the global struggle for social justice! Underlining this commitment, we displayed numerous posters and banners in support of the release of Georges Abdallah and the over 4,900 Palestinian prisoners, in support of the Palestinian resistance, and against the twinning of Toulouse with Tel Aviv.
Members of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra — a member organization of the Samidoun Network — drew demonstrators’ attention to the urgent international campaign for the release of Walid Daqqah. This writer and freedom fighter has been imprisoned since 1986 by the Israeli occupation. Today he suffers from myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow cancer, and needs proper medical treatment which he can only get outside of prison, especially a bone marrow transplant.
His health has deteriorated significantly on several recent occasions, and he suffered a stroke, pneumonia and surgery to remove a large part of his lung. On Wednesday, 31 May, the “Early Release Committee” of the Israeli occupation prison system refused to rule on his release. His family called this decision an “authorization for his execution.” In support of Daqqah, a prominent leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, dozens of people took photos displaying a poster demanding his immediate release.
The Collectif Palestine Vaincra distributed thousands of flyers recalling that “fighting the government and employers also means denouncing the French government’s unconditional support for the Israeli occupation and its privileged diplomatic, political and economic relations. It is also to denounce the continuous crimes against the Palestinian people!” Passing in front of our stand, several contingents in the demonstration, like that of the CGT SELA 31 chanted their solidarity with Palestine!
Finally, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra invited the demonstrators to the Palestine Afternoon that we are organizing on Sunday 25 June from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at La Chapelle. The program includes many activities for people of all ages in support of the Cana Art Village in Gaza, with the participation of the Palestinian artist and project coordinator Nawras Shalhoub: screenings, music, Palestinian poetry, exhibitions, calligraphy, graffiti workshop, games for children, drinks and food, etc.
