Protestors Slam UN over Israeli War Crimes

On October 16, chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “UN deaf, how many deaths” were heard along Bauddhaloka Mawatha as protestors gathered in front of the United Nations Headquarters to "stop the war against Palestine." The demonstration was organized  by the Movement for People’s Struggle with participation from the public.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Hasina, explained why she attended the protest. “We are mothers, we have families, and it is so hard to see them suffer every single day," she said "there is not much we can do but at least we can stand by them and say we are there for them.” 

The most recent escalation between Hamas and Israel has reached its 10th day leaving at least 4070 people dead of which 2670 are Palestinians and 1400 are Israelis. Hamas has also captured 199 hostages. 

Israel has continued its bombardment of the Gaza strip including targeting medical facilities, and residential buildings. International agencies like the UN Human Rights Office and Human Rights Watch have accused the nuclear power of various crimes including the use of collective punishment tactics, indiscriminate bombings, and incendiary weapons in their retaliation on Gaza. Israel has also tightened the blockade cutting off Gaza from water, food, and fuel. The UN humanitarian agency has warned that hospitals in Gaza will run out of fuel within the next day. 

Referring to the history of Israel and Palestine, one protestor, R. Rajkumar said “Israel has oppressed Palestinians, stolen their lands, made them refugees and killed them. But saying that they are destroying terrorism Israel is keeping those 2 million people in an open-air prison [Gaza].” 

Other protestors noted that while many governments in the world were supporting Israel, the citizens of these countries had a different view.  “Even Jewish people are against [what is happening] because this is a genocide it’s a holocaust,” said Maram “and if anyone is wondering how the holocaust happened, here you go, because everyone was silent. This is how it happened before and now it’s happening again.”

The protestors had a variety of opinions on the resolution to the conflict with some suggesting that Palestinians have the right to take back their land from before 1948 and others preferring a two-state settlement. However, one uniting factor was a call for de-escalation and protecting civilians. One protestor criticized the United Nations for its lack of action saying, “The UN has an opportunity to intervene, but they are not doing so because of the US and so we are here to force their hand.” 

Many called on Sri Lanka to publicly take a stance. Lionel Pieris, a Franciscan priest, said he was shocked by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s decision to remain neutral. “They are claiming to prioritize the economy over this,” he said, “they have absolutely no heart.”  

Sri Lanka has expressed concern for the attacks on Israelis and Palestinians and has urged leaders to practice restraint. During a speech on October 13, President Ranil Wickremesinghe further suggested that a fresh approach of a “four state solution” be considered in the region. 

While the conflict is taking place thousands of kilometers away, some protestors drew parallels with Sri Lanka’s history. Saying that Israel cannot behave like Hamas because it is the government of a country and not just a militant organization K. Jagath said, “Even in Sri Lanka and other countries there were terrorist groups, but you can’t just be provoked and start bombing people like that.” Another activist, Marisa de Silva said that the air strikes on Gaza are reminiscent of the last stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war. “The UN and the international community failed to protect civilians, particularly Tamil civilians, from being killed and carpet bombed by the government. [We] are complicit to what happened then, but we cannot be complicit again.”

The protest was met with a significant police and military presence.