Oban’s Concern for Palestine group recently held a vigil and petition in the streets of the town to mark the anniversary of the attack by Israel on Gaza.
80 signatures to the petition were gathered in Oban and, beforehand, Jan Sutch-Pickard – the main organiser of the event, had obtained 45 signatures when she was on Iona.
The vigil and petition were to draw attention to the dreadful suffering being experienced by the people of Gaza and the current blockade, preventing essential relief items from getting through and making the situation even more appalling for those living in the area – children, women and men alike.
A lot of sympathy for the plight of those in Gaza was expressed by members of the Oban public during the vigil and the petition has now been delivered to Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
This reminded the Prime Minister of the terms of the petition sent by the Group in January 2009, immediately after the commencement of the attack on Gaza by Israel.
The two main aspects of the latest petition demanded that those responsible for war crimes during the three week assault on Gaza be brought to justice and that immediate action be taken to get essential relief supplies into Gaza by ending the inhumane seige of it.
The petition was, in fact, handed in personally by the redoubtable Jan Sutch-Pickard to Gordon Brown’s office in London.
She stopped off during the course of her journey to Palestine/Israel, where she is to act as an impartial peace oberver for three months – under the auspices of EAPPI ( Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel).
You could say that she was starting as she means to go on.
Those wishing to join the Oban Concern for Palestine Group or wanting further information should contact Graeme Pagan:
- by phone: 01631 563737
- by email: neaveton@tiscali.co.uk
- by post: Neaveton, Oban, PA34 5TY
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