Gaza 'disgrace' tops the agenda for Rochdale residents

Reporter: Jan Harwood
Date online: 13 January 2009

The current situation in Gaza, which has been branded a 'disgrace' and a 'massacre by MP Paul Rowen, is the current hot topic for a lot of Rochdale residents.

Emails and letters from concerned Rochdale constituents have flooded into local political offices over the past fortnight as the violence in Gaza has esculated.

Paul Rowen said: "I have received more emails on the subject of Gaza from the people from Rochdale than on any other issue in months."

Mr Rowen spoke in front of an estimated 100,000 people at the Gaza Rally in Hyde Park in London at the weekend.

He told the rally: “I am here on behalf of Nick Clegg to show solidarity for the people of Palestine. I am ashamed that our Government by its silence has condoned what has been going on in Gaza.

"Hundreds of people have been killed over the last few weeks. It is an absolute disgrace and I, like you, want to see justice for Palestine. I want to stop the massacre and I am proud to be part of this demonstration and next week, I and my colleagues in Parliament will shame our Government into taking a positive stance.”

The Rochdale MP joined the tens of thousands of people on the march to the Israeli Embassy and met people from Gaza, as well as speaking to protesters. “It was clear that the strength of feeling is immense and I was proud to represent the Liberal Democrats on the biggest protest since the Iraq War," Mr Rowen said. "It was important that people from all walks of life show their support."

Rochdale's Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk has backed the Government, saying that it has spoken out on the Gaza situation. "Paul Rowen is wrong to say that our Government has been silent on this issue," he said. "Gordon Brown has repeatedly called for a cesefire and the Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, went to the UN to try and pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. This was largely drafted by the UK and called for 'the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza'. The Foreign Secretary has also called for allegations of war crimes to be investigated.

"I would urge our MP to behave responsibly, stick to the facts and stop trying to score party political points out of a terrible tragedy. In over three years as an MP he has never once mentioned Palestine in Westminster so can hardly claim to be a defender of Palestinian rights."