Victoria Mobilises to Denounce Palestinian Genocide in Gaza

Once again hundreds of Palestine supporters mobilised to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and justice in the region. This Sunday though there were not one but two overlapping events organised in downtown Victoria, another one targeting the BC NDP convention at the Victoria Conference Centre early this morning, where 75 activists took part in a surprise die-in protest.

I say ‘surprise’ because it was only announced on Instagram as it commenced, and I only managed to get there on time because I live close by. VicPD was likewise taken completely unaware and could not muster the numbers it normally would to ensure security at the convention; only three cars made it belatedly, and even then they were repeatedly called upon to answer emergencies elsewhere in town. Local reporters also arrived late, as they were probably only notified overnight.

65 of those activists were lying down on the sidewalk playing dead, covered with blankets stained with mock blood, in an imitation of the pictures of dead Palestinian circulating on social media; ten more had to sit or stand on the steps. This is how the protesters welcomed the delegates on the last day of the convention. Reception among delegates varied: while many openly expressed support, many more just snubbed the display, and one even heckled the crowd from the top of the stairs before being quickly hushed indoors by fellow delegates while indignant protesters loudly condemned her.

The organisers had multiple issues with David Eby’s NDP, chiefly its crass silence on the Gaza conflict as Palestinians faced ethnic cleansing in plain view, and condemned its leaders for being tacitly complicit in genocide—in addition to its broad disconnect with the younger generation. Speakers blared their outrage, joined by a chorus of bitter supporters, as even more delegates walked through.

Then the corpses rose as one and walked round the building to its side entrance facing Belleville Street, taking their grievances where their screams could best be heard from the inside. When they came back, BC Federation of Labour Director Kassandra Cordero has good news for them: a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza would indeed make it to a vote near the end of the convention. The announcement was welcomed with scepticism; bitter protesters countered by stressing the disconnect between today’s NDP and its progressive base, both younger and longtime supporters who feel betrayed by the party’s conservatism derive.

Protesters came back around 12:30 in anticipation of the vote’s outcome. Cordero, heading a small delegation, would eventually answer the clamour of the crowd relentlessly calling for a ceasefire, with news that the resolution had indeed passed. Expecting cheers, the delegates were instead met with a spiteful and vindictive response to their delivery of a tepid declaration which, while explicitly calling for a ceasefire, reeked of bothsidesism and was perceived as too little too late; the mob loudly retorted: “Not good enough!” even as the delegates faced them, trying to maintain their composure.

The procession then rallied at the Legislature as the other event was underway, swelling its crowd until the numbers reached about 450 at peak attendance. Speakers were already reiterating messages that shouldn’t even need to be spoken once, let alone several times roughly twice a week for six weeks in a row. They shouldn’t have to denounce genocide to begin with. They shouldn’t have to explain ad nauseam why displacing over a million civilians to nowhere, raiding their hospitals, levelling their cities, bombing their escape routes, and starving them to death is, well, unconscionable. They also shouldn’t have to rant about the mainstream media murdering a family in Gaza every time they egregiously misrepresent the facts or parrot the most blatant propaganda without a soupcon of challenge.

While the crowd at the Legislature received the announcement of the BC NDP motion more positively, the reaction was still as underwhelming as when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for “maximum restraint” instead of, you know, a ceasefire. Apparently it takes a mind-boggling lot of public shaming and even harassment to get our elected representatives to utter that word. Never mind the fact that even French President Emmanuel Macron called the stance “morally indefensible” not two weeks ago. Can anyone imagine the SWAT answering hostage crises by carpet bombing the entire town until the terrorists release them? That’s roughly the reductio ad absurdum consensus that emerges on the global scale as the crisis unfolds, fuelled by the fury of millions worldwide.

Next rally at the Legislature is once again on Sunday, November 26, at 1PM. Palestine supporters will keep mustering until a ceasefire in Gaza is secured. Let’s hope it happens due to international pressure, as opposed to until the IDF runs out of either targets or ammunition. At this rate, one may wonder which will come first. Either way, the masses grow vindictive and will never forgive their elites for standing by Israel’s atrocities. Too little too late indeed.