Attendees of Galway’s ‘Picnic Against Apartheid’ have signed a petition for an EU-wide ban on the sale of goods from conflict zones.
The petition comes as part of Amnesty International’s large campaign which is “calling for Israel to end the international wrong, and crime, of apartheid, against Palestinians”.
Maria-Anne-Micheal, the communications officer from overseas development charity Trócaire, that the picnic “didn’t necessarily have a large audience.”
However, people stopped by to listen when Katie, an attendee, performed an impromptu musical number.
“When she started singing ‘Stand By Me,’ people stopped by to listen…when she finished, people went on their way.”
Amnesty organised this picnic in collaboration with the Galway Palestine Solidarity Campaign a local group providing support and offering solidarity to the Palestinian community.
Galway hosts a relatively large number of Palestinian refugees, some of whom attended the picnic to share their experiences.
There were several other events held in Galway that day, including a climate change conference on the Inis Oírr Island, where Ciaran Tierney, an ex-journalist, and a key member of the GPSC was present.
He said that over 100 members of the conference “took time off at lunch and gathered in support of the Picnic”.
Officially, Ireland does not recognise the state of Palestine. Both the Dáil and the Seanad have passed motions to recognise Palestine but government prefers to wait to do so as part of an EU-wide decision.
