Giant koufiyyeh revealed at Ontario Legislature to protest ban
3 Min Read
The koufiyyeh was also taken to the "People Circle for Palestine," an ongoing student-organized encampment at the University of Toronto.
-
Giant koufiyyeh was revealed at the Ontario Legislature on June 5, 2024 (X photo, @PressTV)
In a stunning show of unity, activists in Toronto displayed a massive, completely handmade koufiyyeh, the second biggest in history. The action, held in Queen's Park, the seat of the Ontario legislature, sought to protest the ban on koufiyyehs inside the Legislative Building, which was announced earlier in April.
Poetry readings, music, and passionate speeches preceded the unveiling, underlining the significance of the emblem and calling for Palestinian rights.
The koufiyyeh was also taken to the "People Circle for Palestine," an ongoing student-organized encampment at the University of Toronto.
One protester told PressTV that they wanted all forms of government in Canada to "understand that any form of a keffiyeh ban is actually cultural discrimination against the Palestinian culture and the Palestinian people."
Made up of 12 fabric panels, the 75-meter-long koufiyyeh carries the name of nearly 15,000 Palestinian children and healthcare professionals killed in the war on Gaza.
"The keffiyeh has been around for centuries. It is part of the culture, it is part of the land, and it is part of us as our Palestinian identity," another person stated.
Grahame Russell, a Human Rights activist, called the action of banning the Palestinian symbol at the legislature building "atrocious in terms of both directly supporting and legitimizing the genocide in Palestine, and that the Ontario legislature would pass this type of ban, it's tiny and it's horrific at the same time, but it's part of Canada's role in sort of supporting and/or legitimizing what Israel is doing in Palestine," which he called crimes against humanity "of the highest order."
Furthermore, organizers are urging Ottawa to sanction the Israeli occupation, including breaking diplomatic and economic ties and instituting a two-way arms embargo.
Protesters also requested that the Nakba of 1948, which resulted in the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, be officially recognized by the government.
The students' encampment at the University of Toronto persists despite numerous comparable encampments around North America having been removed by a ruthless and repressive police force.
Students refuse to decamp until their demands of divesting from "Israel" and genocide are satisfied.
Canada's repression against Palestinians, supporters, growing: CPA
Last month, a statement titled "Stop Harassing anti-Genocide Advocates for Palestine!" by the Canada Palestine Association discussed how the repression against Palestinians and their supporters has been increasing in Canada in recent months.
According to the statement, every major city in the country has witnessed politically motivated cases claiming fraudulent charges against activists who stand against Zionism and its narrative.
It also touched down on the "double standards" in Canada as Zionist groups can get actual Israeli occupation forces troops to campuses to give their "insights from the ground" and pro-Zionists are publicly announcing that they are "arming themselves"
On the other hand, any person expressing a slight show of verbal support for the Palestinian right to resist foreign occupation and aggression is legally slammed with a "hate speech" charge, it added.
