Gaza protesters stand firm

Protesters have rejected the Egypt’s offer to allow 100 of the 1 300 protesters and journalists in Cairo to enter Gaza for a freedom march.

About 40 people boarded buses for Gaza late on Wednesday morning. The remaining protesters have planned a demonstration for Thursday morning in the city.

The offer to allow 100 protesters into Gaza — made by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egypt President Hosni Mubarak and the chairperson of the Red Crescent — was accepted by one of the march organisers, Code Pink, a US anti-war group that is mainly composed of women.

The decision was met by anger, and much deliberation, with protesters climbing on and off the buses. Only about 40 people finally headed to Gaza.

Kevin Pardo from San Francisco, who had been on one of the buses, said: ‘From the beginning there were mixed feelings on the buses, everyone was so unsure.”

”People were crying and breaking down,” he told the Mail & Guardian.

Code Pink have since decided not to accept Egypt’s offer.

Ziyaad Lunat, a member of the march coordinating committee, said they rejected Egypt’s offer as a ”token gesture”.

”We refuse to whitewash the siege of Gaza. Our group will continue working to get all 1 362 marchers into Gaza as one step towards the ultimate goal for the complete end of the siege and the liberation of Palestine” said Lunat.

‘Sell-out’
The South African delegation, led by Judge Siraj Desai, which also includes members of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, opted not to send delegates, with a view that it was a ‘sell-out position”, and ‘dilutes” the political campaign against the occupation of Palestine.

Canada, Greece and France also decided not to send delegates.

Haroon Wadee, a coordinator of the South African delegation, told the M&G that international solidarity was crucial to freeing the Palestinian people. ‘We don’t want to see this diluted. In going from sending 1 400 people to sending 100, we are not only diluting the group, but we are diluting the message.”

Sensitive situation
After months of discussions with the organisers, the Egyptian government announced last week that they would not allow any of the contingent through the border due to what it termed, ‘the sensitive situation in Gaza”.

This led to a number of large international protests against the Egyptian government in Cairo since Monday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the South African delegates found a large police contingent awaiting them outside their hotel in the morning, who then questioned and accompanied them for most of the day.