Beja demonstrates for Palestine

On Wednesday 16 November, at the initiative of the Beja Confederation of Trade Unions - CGTP, the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation and MPPM, the city of Beja witnessed a beautiful citizens' action under the slogan "For Peace in the Middle East, For the Rights of the Palestinian People."

Starting from Portas de Mértola, two and a half hundred people, including many Arab and Muslim immigrants, marched through the central streets of the city holding banners and waving flags of Palestine and the promoting organisations.  During the vibrant parade, slogans such as "Peace yes, occupation no," "Gaza is not a prison, massacre and siege no" and "Palestine will win" resounded.

The parade ended at Praça da República, a prime location in the city of the province of Alentejo.  Gathering around a large Palestinian flag and hundreds of candles that formed the word "Peace," and against the backdrop of a banner that read "Stop the war, give peace a chance," the demonstrators carried out a heartfelt and enthusiastic act of repudiation of Israel's aggression against the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

With a presentation by Deolinda Zacarias, the participants listened with applause to the poems recited by Maria José Borralho and Teresa Pizarro and short stories read by Cristina Taquelim and Luzia do Rosário, ending the session with the voice of Joana Dourado, who sang accompanied by the violin of Ana Santos.

José Oliveira (MPPM) spoke on behalf of the promoting organisations.  During the act of solidarity, they demanded an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the massacre, warned of the danger of the war spreading to the whole of the Middle East, and called for a fundamental solution to the issue, including the creation of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.