Campaigners have accused Camden Council of censorship after silent protesters holding signs were ejected from the Town Hall on Monday night.
At a meeting of the full council, activists from Camden Friends of Palestine entered the chamber gallery bearing black-and-white posters which spelled out “Stop Genocide”.
After being asked to sit down by the mayor and “allow the meeting to proceed”, borough solicitor Andrew Maughan urged the group to remove the placards or clear the gallery, arguing that the subject of the protest was beyond the scope of the meeting.
“This is a debating chamber where we discuss local issues about Camden, affecting Camden.
“We don’t allow notices and banners because it is a distraction and it’s not what the chamber is about and it’s not what’s being debated now.
“There was no deputation on the issue, despite you being told how to do it, and of course, had there been, we may have been debating that. But we’re not, and we’re dealing with other business,” he said.
After activists stood firm, members agreed to briefly suspend the meeting.
The pause lasted around 20 minutes, during which the police were called to intervene and remove the protesters.
In a press release on Tuesday, the group said it was “shocked” that law enforcement was called to a “silent and peaceful protest by local residents exercising their right to be present at the council’s public deliberations”.
Film footage released by the group shows that after proceedings were halted, Maughan entered the viewing gallery and said the residents were allowed to remain if they removed the word “genocide”.
He told the protesters: “If you were saying ‘stop the war’ or something of that nature, [we would allow you to continue]”.
“To a lot of people, that word is offensive,” he said.
In a statement the campaigners said: “Finally, Camden Council acknowledges that genocide is offensive.
“Incredibly, however, it is the word ‘genocide’ they dislike, not the actual genocide taking place in Gaza, which council pension funds are actively enabling.”
The group said it “rejects” the notion that the word should be “censored” in a public meeting, and argued that the Town Hall is complicit in “Israeli aggression”.
“We are dismayed that the mayor and councillors refuse to conduct council business with even a silent reference to an appalling and ongoing loss of life, which the [council pension fund’s] investments are actively enabling.
“The simplest way to stop protests is to divest council funds from companies supplying arms to Israel,” the statement concluded.
Camden Friends of Palestine describes itself as “an informal network of local groups and activists campaigning across Camden in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli apartheid”.
It has attacked the Town Hall over pension fund investments in companies like Elbit Systems, an Israeli private arms company.
In July, the group flocked to the chamber to urge the council to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and claimed it was directly funding millions into Israel through its pension scheme.
A council spokesperson rejected the claim, insisting that the investments were exposed but not direct.
Since then, the council’s pensions committee has said it is “considering all options” over divestment.
Camden Council, full council Monday, 14 October 2024. Agenda. Webcast.
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