“Who is building a wall, has no right to receive Madrid´s golden key”
Yusuf Fernandez
Several Spanish left parties and social organizations (including the pro-peace organization Peace Now, the Spanish-Palestinian Association “Jerusalem”, the Muslim Federation of Spain and others) have launched a campaign to condemn the visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres to Spain. The Spanish organizations consider Peres as “persona non grata” and they have condemned his presence in the capital of Spain.
Many prominent personalities of the arts, the science and the culture – including writers as José Luis Sampedro and Rosa Regàs and journalists as José Manuel Martín Medem and Teresa Aranguren- have also joined the campaign.
During his 4-day visit to Madrid, Peres held meetings with Spanish King Juan Carlos I, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy and speakers of the Spanish Higher and Lower Chambers of the Parliament. He also took part in a meeting with the Spanish Businessmen Association and held another one with representatives of Jewish communities from Spain.
The social organizations asked for meetings with the three political parties having representation in the Local Council of the city of Madrid -the Spanish Socialist Workers´ Party (PSOE), the People´s Party (PP) and the United Left (IU)- in order to give them a letter in which they explained why they opposed to Peres´ visit to the Local Government of Madrid, which took place on February 23. In that meeting, conservative mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon gave the city´s golden key to Israeli President.
The spokesman of the United Left in the Local Council, Angel Peres, told a press conference that his party would boycott any meeting also attended by Peres. “Who is building a wall, has no right to receive Madrid´s golden key”, he said.
PROTESTS IN MADRID
Hundreds of Spanish demonstrators gathered in front of the ministry of foreign affairs to protest the visit by Shimon Peres. Demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Peres Murderer”, “Free Palestine” and “Zapatero accomplice of a criminal”.
Some protestors remembered Peres´s role in the First Qana massacre, which took place on April 18, 1996 near the Lebanese village of Qana when the Israeli artillery shelled a United Nations compound. Of the 800 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge in the compound to escape the fighting, 106 were killed and around 116 injured. Four UN soldiers were also seriously injured. A United Nations military investigation later determined it was unlikely that Israeli shelling of the UN compound was the result of technical or procedural errors. Shimon Peres was the Israeli Prime Minister then.
The protesters claimed that Israel should be held top account for human rights violations and urged the EU to impose sanctions on Israel and boycott Israeli companies and goods. Some also argued that Peres should testify at a court investigating the deadly Israeli attack last May on the Gaza-bound freedom Flotilla.
Protesters also expressed their support to the Palestinian cause and demanded the end of the Gaza siege and settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.
