On Saturday, over 3,000 people marched through Cardiff to demand an immediate end to the Western-backed bombing of Gaza by Israel. It was the biggest march for Palestine in Welsh history.
Cynon Valley Labour MP Beth Winter addressed the crowd outside The Senedd, where she called for a ceasefire. In doing so she broke ranks with Keir Starmer, Mark Drakeford and every other Labour MP in Wales, who have so far refused to back calls for a ceasefire despite polls showing a huge majority of the public back one.
This is the full unedited text of Beth Winter’s speech, published for the first time.
By Beth Winter MP, image by Ka Long Tung
What an amazing turnout. I want to start by thanking the organisers of this event in Cardiff and the countless other such events taking place across the UK. And thank you all for allowing me to speak. My name is Beth Winter and I’m a Member of Parliament for Cynon Valley in South Wales.
These events are so important because they are the voice of the people of Wales, and of the United Kingdom. We have witnessed horrific and unimaginable pain, death and destruction of people and entire communities over the past two weeks.
We see daily images of children shaking, uncontrollably, crying, injured, traumatised, dead children’s bodies carried by their fathers and family, screaming in pain, outrage and anguish at the loss of their loved ones. The anguish I feel when I see the bombing of innocent people is overwhelming. But it cannot compare to the unbearable suffering of those living through the conflict. Heartbreaking.
Thousands of innocent lives are being needlessly lost. War crimes are being committed. We have a duty to speak out and condemn what is happening.
We condemn Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians and children which are saw over 1400 killed. These horrifying, sickening acts cannot free Palestine. The hostages, including the children, must be released.
We condemn the collective punishment of a whole population of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli state and the displacement of over a million people. Israel’s military assault is killing innocent children, whole families. And we know now 4000 Palestinian lives have been lost. At least a third of them are children. One Palestinian child killed every fifteen minutes.
And we condemn the UK and US government failure to support the Brazilian motion at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, which called for a ceasefire.
Without urgent action by the international community, we face many, many more deaths, Deaths from escalating military action by Israeli forces in Gaza. But also from dehydration, starvation, lack of sanitation and the spread of disease. People of Gaza desperately need water, food, fuel and medical supplies.
So I call for an immediate ceasefire. An end to the siege and imprisonment of the Palestinians in Gaza. Free all hostages. An end to all inhumane breaches of international law by all sides. Adequate humanitarian aid into Gaza. All lives have equal value, wherever they are. More death and destruction is not the answer. Military action is not the solution. We need a lasting political solution. Hope and peace cannot be based on revenge.
And that means ceasefire, de-escalation, dialogue, and it means addressing much longer-standing issues. People must have the recognition, the dignity, equality and justice, that has been denied them for decades. Palestinians must be free. The Palestinians must be free. Free of sieges, of blockades, of occupation. Free of settlements and walls, of checkpoints and watchtowers.
My mother has a saying that, “you must learn to walk in other people’s shoes”. My Welsh feet learnt early on in my life to walk in the shoes of my fellow human beings. We grow stronger when we care about others and act against injustice wherever that may be. And that is why as a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a wife, I stand here today, calling for dignity, for peace, unity against hatred, unity against islamophobia and antisemitism.
I am also a trade unionist and I applaud the position taken by so many in the trade union movement and in civil society on this tragedy.
Together we stand to win the case for an immediate ceasefire and for a just and lasting peace.
