Remember me
Activists from Mothers Against Genocide, Scotland Stop Arming Israel, and Scottish Friends of the Hunger Strikers gathered in support of Umer Khalid, currently on day four of a thirst strike.
More than 40 people including local workers, students, parents and children gathered outside the Brown Street office’s entrance, demanding Khalid's demands be met, and condemning the ministry’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
A group later entered the office reception, holding Palestine flags and chanting. Images show a man in uniform speaking to activists outside.
It is understood the group left "due to mounting police presence and safety concerns".
Khalid is on day 17 of of his second hunger strike, and day four of a thirst strike, refusing water in addition to food. The nature of Khalid's condition, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, means that his health declines extremely quickly. Unlike a hunger strike, refusing water can result in death within a matter of days.
Protestors were heard chanting “MOD, shame on you, you’ve got blood on your hands too”, with drums, and an array of banners with messages such as “Release the spy plane footage” and “You can’t jail the revolution”.
Khalid has said: “I refuse to accept the state’s unwillingness to negotiate. […] I said I wanted to call the state’s bluff, and I will.”
READ MORE: Activists 'destroy machines and tear down fences' at Scottish park development
Helen, a careworker in attendance, spoke of what lead to her presence at the Ministry of Defence this morning: “I’m here because I know the government’s banking on all of us to forget.
"To forget that it's holding young people for over a year without trial, for doing what they could to stop a live-streamed genocide. To forget a genocide funded by our taxes in Scotland too. To forget that they still fly spy planes over Gaza and deny it flat-out.
"I’ve seen places like HSBC in town get smashed to bits for their role in funding this genocide. We’re not going to forget, and we’re not going anywhere .”
The group also called the Ministry of Defence to release footage from the day British aid workers were killed by a drone strike in April 2024.
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