In Begoña, Spain, activists commemorated the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on November 29, 2004 with a human wall that was meant to symbolize their opposition to the Apartheid Wall that Israel is building in Palestine. The participants formed a human chain in the streets of Begoña, and held banners such as âNi Guerra Ni Ocupación en Iraq y Palestinaâ (âNeither War nor Occupation in Iraq and Palestineâ).
The action was organized by La Coordinadora Asturiana de ONG para el Desarrollo del Principado (the Asturian Coordinating Committee of NGOs for Local Development) and El Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe (the Arab Cause Solidarity Committee). The human wall was meant as a sign of resistance to the Israeli governmentâs Apartheid policies and the need to tear down the Apartheid Wall. The protestors demanded the right of return and the right to self-determination for the people of Palestine.
The action in Begoña is part of a larger, ongoing trend in Spain, with more and more groups regionally coordinating efforts such as demonstrations and boycott campaigns against Israeli apartheid. During the Second International Week against the Apartheid Wall from November 9-16, 2004, there were street actions held in Barcelona, Bilboa, and Valencia, and on November 6, some 2,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, to protest against the Apartheid Wall.
For more information on the groups who organized this action, and about upcoming events being sponsored by El Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe, see:
www.nodo50.org/csca/ and www.congde.org/asturias/