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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Sally Rooney: I support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it
On Saturday, August 9th, UK police arrested more than 500 peaceful protesters on suspicion of terror offences. The vast majority of these arrests took place on Parliament Square, London , where Irish citizens such as Sinéad Ní Shiacáis, from Limerick, were among those detained, but in Belfast too, a woman was arrested by the PSNI. These protesters were not engaged in any violent acts, nor were they promoting any violence against any living creatures at all. And yet they may now face life-altering terror charges, some of which could result in up to 14 years in prison. Why? Because, with a full understanding of the consequences, these brave individuals chose to express support for the protest group Palestine Action. Since its foundation in 2020, Palestine Action has primarily organised direct-action protests against weapons manufacturers: defacing buildings, breaking windows and occupying factories. This summer, as the UK continued to offer material and diplomatic support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza , activists broke into an RAF airbase and used spray-paint to vandalise two aircraft. The Government responded by proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, placing the group on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The group's cofounder, Huda Ammori, is now rightly fighting this designation in the courts, but in the meantime, any expression of support for Palestine Action, even a simple placard or T-shirt, constitutes a serious terror offence under UK law. Meanwhile, the Irish Government – along with virtually every humanitarian organisation worldwide – has recognised that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine . Genocide is the gravest of international crimes and, for most of us, quite aside from any legal framework, the most abhorrent wrong imaginable. Under the Genocide Convention, to which both Ireland and the UK are signatories, nation states have a duty not only to punish but also to prevent the commission of this incomparably horrifying crime. Activists who disrupt the flow of weapons to a genocidal regime may violate petty criminal statutes, but they uphold a far greater law and a more profound human imperative: to protect a people and culture from annihilation. But while Irish citizens – including potentially here on the island of Ireland – are accused of terrorism for protesting an acknowledged genocide, the Irish Government has so far remained silent. When our citizens are arrested under authoritarian regimes elsewhere, the State and its consular services tend to spring into action, or at least purport to, in order to defend the human rights of Irish passport holders. Now that the jurisdiction in question is located next door – and indeed closer still – our leaders seem curiously unwilling to act. If the Government in Dublin truly believes that Israel is committing genocide, how can it look elsewhere while its nearest neighbour funds and supports that genocide and its own citizens are arrested simply for speaking out? READ MORE Sally Rooney: 'The ramifications for cultural and intellectual life in the UK will be profound' The arrest of a protester in Belfast surely represents a particularly egregious example of political policing. When a storm damaged an infamous loyalist mural in north Belfast last year, rebuilding commenced immediately, and the wall is now once again emblazoned with the iconography of the Ulster Volunteer Force. No arrests were made on that basis, nor has the mural been taken down, though the UVF is a proscribed terrorist organisation responsible for the murders of hundreds of civilians. Palestine Action, proscribed under the same law, is responsible for zero deaths and has never advocated the use of violence against any human being. Why then are its supporters arrested for wearing T-shirts, while murals celebrating loyalist death squads are left untouched? Can the PSNI explain this demonstrably selective enforcement of anti-terror law? Perhaps the British state should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WH Smith and the BBC While protesters are labelled terrorists in the UK, Palestinian civilians are, of course, labelled terrorists by Israeli forces. But where UK protesters face trumped-up charges and prison sentences, Palestinians face violent death. Last weekend Israeli forces assassinated a team of Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza, including the renowned journalist Anas al-Sharif , whose work with Reuters was awarded the Pulitzer Prize last year. Rather than denying responsibility for this appalling war crime, Israel openly took credit for the assassination, claiming – with no credible evidence – that Anas al-Sharif, an accomplished and beloved reporter, was in fact a 'terrorist'. This claim, though baseless, has been repeated widely in western media in the days since. Once the special word 'terrorist' is invoked, it seems, all laws melt into air and everything is permitted. In this context I feel obliged to state once more that – like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend – I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it. My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets. In recent years the UK's state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can. If the British state considers this 'terrorism', then perhaps it should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WH Smith and the BBC. Protesters in London last weekend. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA To ensure that the British public is made aware of my position, I would happily publish this statement in a UK newspaper – but that would now be illegal. The present UK Government has willingly stripped its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel. The ramifications for cultural and intellectual life in the UK – where the eminent poet Alice Oswald has already been arrested, and an increasing number of artists and writers can no longer safely travel to Britain to speak in public – are and will be profound. But as Sinéad Ní Shiacáis said after her arrest last weekend: 'We are not the story; the Palestinian people are the story. They are begging people to give them a voice.' Palestine Action has been among the strongest of those voices in the UK, taking direct steps to halt the seemingly unstoppable machinery of violence. We owe their courageous activists our gratitude and solidarity. And by now, almost two years into a live-streamed genocide, we owe the people of Palestine more than mere words. Sally Rooney is a novelist
BreakingNews.ie
12-08-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Irish woman describes 'dystopian' experience of arrest at Palestine Action protest
An Irish woman who was among the 532 arrested in London over the weekend for carrying placards opposing the banning of the activist group Palestine Action has described the "dystopian" experience of her arrest. Limerick native Sinéad Ní Shiacáis travelled to London to join the peaceful protest. Metropolitan Police carried out a mass arrest that detained anyone carrying a sign saying, 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestinian Action'. Advertisement UK minister for justice Yvette Cooper's move to ban Palestine Action has been met with widespread opposition. In an interview with , Ms Ní Shiacáis said: "In all my years protesting I've never seen anything more dystopian. I've been protesting since I was young with my dad." Ms Ní Shiacáis is a climate campaigner, and she said her experience in London was the opposite of how protesters were treated at rallies she previously attended. "This one was extremely dystopian. We were arrested and carried into a van. They literally brought us around the corner to Westminster/Whitehall, it was a two minute drive around the corner, it was bizarre. Advertisement "I felt they were trying to make an example of us. Once we were on the street, they had gazebos up and we were made to wait outside. I even heard some police officers saying it was ridiculous." She said a number of people suffered medical emergencies. Like something out of Monty Python. "There were police officers processing evidence in the back of a van, it was like something out of Monty Python." She was taken to a police station where she was held for seven hours, before being released at 3am the following morning. Advertisement "Because I had no identification on me, after I was brought into the processing gazebo I was sent to Kentish Town Police Station. I was left there for seven hours and woken up abruptly at 3am by an officer who was extremely rude. "I didn't get to make a call for ages but then I rang my solicitor, he was really lovely and said if they ask for an interview he would come over. "They let me out at 3am, with no way of getting out of there. Luckily, there were volunteers from a climate charity who look after activists there. They gave me water and made sure I was OK, and got a taxi for me. "I was staying an hour and a half from London." Advertisement Ms Ní Shiacáis emphasised that protesters are "not the story". She expressed frustration at the Israeli government's consistent claims that murdered civilians have links to Hamas. "We have to take action because what's happening in Britain is an encroachment on our rights as citizens. Photo: Sinéad Ní Shiacáis "The journalist Anas Al-Sharif was killed in Gaza, the Israeli government keeps killing civilians and just claiming they were a member of Hamas." Advertisement She said she is not concerned about potential charges, adding that she feels individuals and governments need to do more to stop the violence in Gaza. We are not the story, the Palestinian people are the story. "I'm not anxious about being charged. I made the choice to go over, I knew what I was doing. What I'm more anxious about is the fact there are Palestinian people being obliterated, being annexed by Benjamin Netanyahu's government. "Our own government are not doing enough, they are dragging their heels on the Occupied Territories Bill, they're watering it down. "I'm privileged and I have civil liberties that I may have given up to take a stand, I'm more anxious that not enough people are doing enough. "We are not the story, the Palestinian people are the story. They are begging people to give them a voice. I'm not the story, the Palestinian people are the story, and hopefully more people will realise that."
