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The real threat to the life of the nation comes not from Palestine Action, but from the Home Secretary's attempt to ban it,' the statement from the artists and writers said.
sukabumiNews.net, LONDON – A group of more than 400
cultural figures have urged the UK government to reverse its decision to ban
the Palestine Action group and "stop arming Israel."
The appeal was made in an open letter signed by
prominent artists including musician Paul Weller, Massive Attack's Robert del
Naja, Brian Eno, and US artist Reggie Watts.
"Palestine Action intervened to stop genocide.
They acted to save lives. We deplore the government's decision to ban them,"
the letter from Artists for Palestine-UK said, as quoted by SukabumiNews from
Anadolu on Sunday (6/7).
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The artists noted that labeling non-violent direct
action as terrorism is "a misuse of language and an attack on
democracy."
"The real threat to the life of this nation comes
not from Palestine Action, but from the Home Secretary's attempt to ban
it," they added.
The letter ends with the artists calling on the
government to reverse its decision to ban Palestine Action and "stop
arming Israel."
Last week, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced her
intention to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the
operations of arms manufacturers that supply the Israeli government.
This comes after activists from the group broke into
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and damaged two aircraft on June 20 in protest
at Britain's support for Israel and its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Cooper said he would do so under the Terrorism Act - a
move that would make it illegal to be a member of or invite support for
Palestine Action.
Hundreds of people gathered in central Trafalgar
Square the same day to show support for Palestine Action amid reports the group
was set to be added to the terror list.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Artists for
Palestine UK said: "Never before has a decision like this been challenged
so quickly by artists and so widely across the country."
"If the Government goes ahead with this ban, they
will face huge levels of anger and opposition," the spokesperson added.