Memorial held for Arrigoni turns into demonstration of support for Palestine

MANCHESTER, (PIC)-- A memorial held in the city of Manchester in north England to honour Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was murdered in Gaza, turned into a demonstration of support for the Palestinian cause with ISM activist chanting for the freedom of Palestine, the end of the siege and the continuation with humanitarian convoys to the Gaza Strip.

Participants stressed the need for continuing with sending convoys to the Gaza Strip to break the siege and condemned the crime of murdering Vittorio “the Palestinian people’s friend.”

Speakers stressed that solidarity with the Palestinian people will not stop “despite the crime of killing Vittorio.”

The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) had organised the event which was attended by representatives of pro-Palestinian organisations and in which a video depicting the life and work of activist Vittorio Arrigoni and the role he played in informing the world of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip especially after the Israeli aggression on Gaza at the end of 2008.

Dr. Tareq Tahboub, representing the PFB said that Vittorio recognised the fact that the problem of Palestinians was freedom and not food despite the siege and that during his years in the Gaza Strip he showed great courage in expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza and defending their rights despite being detained and injured by the Israelis.
Dr. Tahboub accused the Israeli occupation of being behind the murder of Vittorio stressing that the occupation is the only party that benefits from such a crime.

For his part British activist Ibrahim al-Majrisi said that dying while fighting for a worthwhile cause is better than living without a cause or a value, adding that he participated in ships to break the siege on Gaza and called for the continuation of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

While activist and close friend of Vittorio, Ken O’Keefe, said that Palestinians had no interest in the death of Arrigoni and that he suspected people connected with Israel behind the gruesome murder.

Norma Turner from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who visited the Gaza Strip and saw for herself the suffering of the people because of the siege, agreed with O’Keefe and said that solidarity with the Palestinian people will increase and that new activists are preparing themselves to actively participating in breaking the siege on Gaza.