A message of solidarity from Sudanese unions and organisations : free Palestine

We express our deep sorrow and outrage at the ongoing acts of oppression and forced displacement on the basis of ethnicity in Palestine. Gaza, the world’s largest open-air prison is experiencing an intensified Nakba. The recent attacks on Gaza are war crimes.

This tragic reality is not new to the Palestinian people. In 1948 Israel was created on the violent dispossession of over 850,000 Palestinians. In ‘67 and ‘73, Israel occupied more land. Since the Oslo Accords of 1993 they have continued evicting Palestinians, taking more land, and building more illegal settlements. Palestinians have suffered thousands of deaths, detention, torture, and the deprivation of basic human necessities. Israel has bombed Gaza in 4 previous major assaults, killing thousands. This year, before this round of atrocities, Israelis had already killed over 250 Palestinians, amongst them 54 children. The death toll of children and other civilians in Gaza and the West Bank is rising steeply.

In 1917 in the interests of British imperialism the British government supported the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Western imperialism, the US, the UK, and the EU have continued to support Israel’s settler colonial agenda. Paying lip service to a ’two-state solution’ the US, UK, EU, and other rulers in the MENA region have allowed Israel to break international law and UN resolutions with complete impunity. The US Memoranda of Understanding mean supplying Israel with the Qualitative Military Edge that ensures its military superiority to any other country in the MENA region. UK governments have always sided with the US on Israel, condoning breaking international law, supplying weapons, and providing diplomatic support to the Zionist entity.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and B’tselem, an Israeli based human rights organisation, all confirm that Israel is an apartheid state, privileging one ethnic group. Our government refuses to recognise this and is enacting Anti-Boycott legislation to stop UK institutions making ethical decisions in regards to boycott, divestment and sanctions. The UK’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has sought to criminalise the act of waving Palestinian flags and chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” in increasingly draconian attempts to stop us demonstrating solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

“Israel has the right to defend itself” cannot cover war crimes. With 1000 bombs a day being dropped, with those fleeing the northern part of the Gaza strip to the south also bombed, with water and fuel being cut off, the crime of genocide, “the intent to destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, is underway. Every government and political party must condemn this.

The terror of the Zionist state extends to many countries, including Sudan. Israeli officials have strong connections with General Abdulfatah Alburhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti). In February 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Al-Burhan agreed to sign a “peace treaty” between Israel and Sudan. They discussed collaboration in security, military affairs, agriculture, energy, healthcare, water resources, and education.

Israel has been involved in Sudanese affairs since the 1960s and has formed alliances with dictatorships and groups in Sudan that align with its objectives. Israel has played a significant role in supporting the counter-revolution.

We strongly condemn the targeting of civilians by any side. However, we stand firmly with the Palestinian people in their struggle and affirm their right to resistance.

The Palestinian people are fighting for their liberation from Zionism and imperialist oppression. As trade unionists, civil groups, and human beings, we support their cause and are in solidarity with their fight against decades of injustice.

We demand the UK government urgently oppose the genocidal violence and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated by the Israeli government. We call on the UK government to end arms sales to Israel and end all support for the Israeli government. We demand they call on the Israeli government to stop the bombing, reinstate water and electricity and open a humanitarian corridor for aid to Gaza.

We call for participation in the mass demonstrations called by Palestine solidarity groups, on October 21 and beyond, and pledge to lend our voice to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

16 October 2023

Signatories :

Sudanese Engineers Unions – UK & Ireland

Sudanese Lawyers Democratic Front

Sudanese Journalists Forum

No to Women’s Oppression

Sudanese Women Action Group

Alliance of Demand-Based Campaigns (TAM)

Sudanese Journalists Network

Sudanese Workers Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions

Sudan Doctors Union UK