Robert del Naja – one half of trip-hop icons Massive Attack – has criticised the UK government following the arrest of over 500 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine last Saturday.
According to The Guardian, over half of the 500 protesters arrested in Central London were above 60 years old as thousands gathered in a demonstration organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries. The arrests were made due to the widespread support of Palestine Action – an organisation that has recently been proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK.
Robert del Naja – who has been vocal in his support of Palestine and activism for decades – took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the arrests, claiming: “UK civil liberties are trapped in a deeply cynical, manufactured crisis.”
In a post which he captioned with “This kept being taken down…”, del Naja attacked the UK government aswell as the actions of the police last weekend: “The ultimate truth though is that this is not really about silent, crouched citizens surrounded by packs of 10 burly British police men & women & thrown in caged vans, nor the politicians with the masks of corporate lobbying & genocide complicity torn from their faces.
“It’s about trying to fill with distractions the vast & expanding gulf between the horror of the British public – of more than 2 years of the citizens of Gaza, burning alive in tents, being shot dead in food queues, or dropping dead where they stand from starvation – and the duplicitous, arrogant & cowardly complicity of their government.”
Massive Attack recently joined forces with the likes of Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap to create a new alliance aimed at supporting musicians speaking out about Gaza. The trip-hop pioneers spoke to The Guardian about why this alliance is needed, saying: “This is about solidarity with artists being crushed under legal threats – while witnessing genocide unfold in real-time on their screens.”
Del Naja ended his recent Instagram post by calling out the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, for her role in proscribing Palestine Action, saying: “On Saturday, 521 distressed citizens peacefully & reluctantly wasted police time; because wasting police time is now the official policy of Yvette Cooper; a Home Secretary who views your civil liberties as a useful political device.
“Those 521 people are willing to pay with their liberty for the vindictive shame of those they elected to power. I hope none of us repeat that mistake at future elections.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently spoke out about the wave of young people and artists showing support for Palestine, where he claimed he welcomed the sympathetic attitude towards Palestine, but is against “incitement to violence”.
He told NME: “Kneecap shouldn’t be performing at Glastonbury, and I don’t support inciting to violence as free speech… There’s a huge difference between speaking out about what’s happening in parts of the world. All of us are concerned by what we’re seeing in Gaza.”
Speaking at the same event, Starmer confirmed his support of the proposed £1 ticket levy, which is aimed at supporting the UK grassroots music scene, where he said “venues need not just to survive, but to thrive.” Check out the mxdwn.co.uk coverage of the PM’s interview with NME here.
