Lankans gather to mark UN Day of Solidarity with Palestinians

Sri Lankans marked the United Nations Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People on Wednesday by holding events countrywide to express their solidarity with the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom.

One such event was held at the BMICH in Colombo by the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestinians (SLCSP). The guest speaker was Apoorva Gautham, a BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activist representing the Global South.

Attending the event were the UN Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche, diplomats, religious leaders, and civil society activists.

Addressing the event, SLCSP president Bimal Ratnayake pointed out that the Palestinian freedom struggle was indeed a struggle to free themselves from imperialistic settler colonialism. It was our moral duty to support the Palestinian freedom cause, he said.

Palestine Ambassador Dr. Zuhair Hamdallah Zahir highlighted the physical and mental trauma of living under occupation.

Guest Speaker Gautham said peaceloving people worldwide must come together to call out Israel for its genocide in Gaza and apartheid practices in the occupied territories. She also stressed the need for cooperation among the Global South countries and civil society activists to carry out a global BDS campaign aimed at forcing Israel to end its occupation.

Kuwait Ambassador Khalaf M. M. Bu Dhhair pledged the Arab world’s unstinted support for the Palestinian cause, while Bangladesh Ambassador Tariq Ariful Islam condemned the Israel’s carnage in Gaza and said his country together with Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti and South Africa had moved the International Criminal Court in the Hague requesting a probe into Israel’s war crimes.

At the event, senior journalists and SLCSP founding members Latheef Farook and Daya Lankapura were recognised for their unwavering dedication to the Palestinian freedom cause.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna parliamentarian Dilan Perera and NPP’s Wasantha Samarasinghe also addressed the gathering.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed annually by the United Nations on or around 29 November. It was established by the General Assembly in resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, which commemorates the adoption of resolution 181 (II) on 29 November 1947, which recommended the partition of Palestine into two independent states, one Jewish and one Arab.

The resolution also calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and for the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to selfdetermination, national independence, and return to their homes and property.

Maya Gurung is a transgender woman who has not changed her gender on official documents. Surendra Pandey was born and identifies as male.