MPPM marks 75 years of the Nakba with well-attended session

MPPM promoted on Monday May 15, at Casa do Alentejo in Lisbon, a Session of Solidarity with Palestine evocative of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe that surrounded the creation of the State of Israel and resulted in the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands, the destruction of 500 Palestinian towns and villages, the death of 15,000 Palestinian men, women and children.

The session was chaired by Carlos Araújo Sequeira, President of MPPM's General Assembly, and included speeches by João Vasconcelos-Costa, researcher, political activist and essayist, Nisreen Lubbad, Palestinian refugee and resistance fighter, Salim Nazzal, Palestinian writer, playwright and poet, and Carlos Almeida, Vice-President of the MPPM.

Before the speeches, a minute's silence was observed in memory of the victims of Israeli repression in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Carlos Araújo Sequeira, jurist and President of the General Assembly of the MPPM. Active in movements for peace and international solidarity, he was a founding member of the MPPM.

Salim Nazzal, Palestinian writer, playwright and poet, born in Lebanon and refugee and resident in Norway. He is secretary of the European Palestinian Cultural Forum. He has written 20 books on culture, theatre and poetry. He is a researcher in the field of Middle Eastern culture and history and has written on social and political issues of the region. His articles and studies on Palestine have been translated into some 25 languages.

Nisreen Lubbad, Palestinian refugee living in Madrid. Active in the Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation.

João Vasconcelos-Costa, researcher, director of the former Laboratory of Molecular Virology of the Gulbenkian Institute of Science and former director of the Institute of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine. He was a member of the MDP-CDE Political Commission until the party's extinction. He is the author of many articles on ideology and politics, with an emphasis on the politics of higher education. He is the author of the recent book on practical political philosophy Utopia Hoje - Para a invenção do futuro.

Carlos Almeida, researcher at the History Centre of the University of Lisbon and vice-president of the National Directorate of the MPPM. Politically active in the field of international solidarity, with special focus on Palestine and the Middle East, he was a founding member of the MPPM.