Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Promoting human rights from Salisbury UK
June 2025
PAST EVENT
An evensong took place this evening (June 23rd) at 5:30 in the Cathedral. The notice on their website does not mention this is the annual evensong in partnership with the Amnesty group.
June 2025
Still it goes on and today was number 81 in our series of vigils with around 35 in attendance. What was encouraging was an increasing number of people who are noticing it. It is hard to tell of course but over 100 seem to stop, pause or look at the banner and to at least be aware that we were there to urge peace in this troubled part of the world. The local MP, Mr John Glen has never appeared at one of the vigils nor referred to them in his column in the local paper.
The war with Iran is taking up most of the news with less attention being paid to Gaza. The death toll is now at 55,700 and the reports of people being killed seeking food at the limited number of food stations are distressing. Claim and counter claim are made but from the footage, it seems as though the crowds are of ordinary if desperate people. To be shot seems unjustifiable. As Israel does not allow journalists in to independently assess the situation it is difficult to come to a conclusion but it does look like gratuitous killings of unarmed individuals.
The BBC featured in the news this week for finally deciding not to show the documentary film Gaza: Doctors Under Attack allegedly for not meeting its high journalistic standards. This may come as a surprise to many listeners and viewers of the BBC output which has singularly failed to challenge the language and false narratives during this war. The journalist Peter Oborne has reported on the bias of the broadcaster and this clip from Middle East Eye is an example. They cannot be blamed for not being allowed into Gaza – along with other news outlets – but in comparison with Channel 4 for example, their coverage has been woeful. Essentially it looks as though they are frightened of the anti-Semitism gibe and of following propaganda put out by Hamas.
Israeli representatives are not challenged properly over highly dubious statements. The endless claims that destruction of property, hospitals and other buildings are because there are Hamas control centres underneath without ever providing evidence is shameful. Looking at the massive destruction does no one in the BBC newsroom ask themselves ‘hang on, there seem to be an awful lot of control centres in Gaza’. As the IDF control well over half the territory now, why has none of the interviewers ask ‘can you give us some evidence or footage of these control centres please?’
Over 100 BBC have complained about the coverage and some have left the corporation.
The exhibition of photos from the vigils takes place starting tomorrow, 23 June in the Methodist Church in Salisbury from 09:30 in the morning.
June 2025
We have pleasure in enclosing the minutes of our last meeting held on 12th June with thanks to group member Fiona for preparing them.
June 2025
Vigil this evening at 5pm
It seems incredible that we turn out each Saturday in Salisbury to express our concern about the continued violence in Gaza. This week, Israel attacked Iran which retaliated in kind but much less effectively. Supported by America and to a lesser extent other nations such as the UK, Israel is the local superpower. It claims to have control of the skies over Tehran.
The world’s attention has switched to this latest conflict but it is important that we don’t lose sight of the death toll which continues in Gaza where it now exceeds 55,400 with more dying every day.
Don’t forget the exhibition of photos from the vigils which starts on 23rd.
June 2025
This month we are back to the small boats. So far in 2025 some 15,000 arrivals have been recorded (1,100 on one day). The Home Office say this is due to better weather and more people crammed in to boats. In quarter 1 numbers were up by 20% on last year – mainly from the usual places – Eritrea, Afghanistan, Sudan.
The asylum backlog is down to 78,000, but with a lower grant rate (49% over the last year) the improvement may not be maintained. The number of claimants jailed for “illegal arrival” has doubled in the last year. Between 2022 and 2024, 556 arrivals were prosecuted under the Illegal Migration Act and 455 convicted (half of them were said to be piloting the boats, willingly or otherwise, and were therefore “facilitators”). In the latter half of last year, 53 people were arrested for people smuggling including many who happened to be steering the boats and many of them children.
Plans for removing arrivals to third countries for processing have made little progress ; Albania said no, North Macedonia & Kosovo have not been asked but say they are open to discussion.
3,800 Afghans are currently awaiting homes (who came under the ARS scheme and were left unsupported). Also it has been claimed that an unnamed Special Forces officer blocked the entry of 1585 Afghans (it has been suggested this might be related to potential war crimes revelations).
Mary Bosworth (Oxford Professor of Criminology) has an interesting piece on the outsourced immigration detainee escorting system Mary Bosworth (@mfbosworth.bsky.social) — Bluesky
7000 Syrians are still in limbo awaiting a UK decision on processing their claims after a pause (the new regime is still being monitored, though presumably it will eventually be possible for many to return there).
The US has taken on “refugees” from South Africa, white residents supposedly under threat. So far there have been 50,000 enquiries and 68 actual moves.
The Home Secretary has said she is working on a “fast-tracking” removal system for migrants from “safe” countries; these have not yet been named.
Of the 108,000 claimants for asylum status in the last year 16,000 were from holders of student visas. The government is likely to address this question soon.
Immigrant-focused group British Future have polled the public on attitudes to the word “immigrant”. For 70% of respondents this conjured up people on small boats, while 46% thought of imported workers. Of those who wanted to see a reduction in immigration, 49% prioritised the boats, very few mentioning worker or student arrivals. The research also finds that 59% of the public, and 64% of 2024 Labour voters, agree that migrants living in the UK and paying taxes should be eligible to apply for citizenship after five years or less.
Polling organisation More in Common found that 51% thought a fall in immigration a good thing, 57% opining that the level was still too high.
One of the more interesting ideas for Refugee Week is that of Lancaster, where an exhibition, Escape to Safety, will give visitors an interactive view of the refugee experience. More on that here
Finally, the Government’s Spending Review this week had a couple of points on the immigration/asylum seekers question. Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the new Border Security Command will receive up to £280m more a year by the end of the spending-review period. She also promises that all spending on hotels for asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be heard will stop by the end of this parliament.
Andrew Hemming
June 2025
Rumours emerged from within Israel that Shin Bet and Netanyahu were arming gangs in Gaza, who were engaged in looting aid supplies, in a deeply cynical move designed it is claimed to counter Hamas. Up till now, the Israelis have repeatedly claimed it is Hamas which is looting supplies from the UN and other agencies – for which little evidence is provided and which has been repeatedly denied by the UN – so news that it is Israel itself which is supporting and arming gangs is profoundly shocking.
The story was revealed a few days ago by former Israeli Defense minister Avigdor Lieberman and it has not been denied by the prime minister’s office. Lieberman declared the programme to be ‘madness’. In a statement the PMO said ‘Israel is working to defeat Hamas in a variety of different ways upon the recommendation of the entire defense establishment leadership’. Some may have seen the interview on Channel 4 with an Israeli spokesman, David Mercer, who showed a video of an armed man shooting at civilians. He claimed it was a Hamas terrorist firing at their own people. Although it is not certain, it may have been one of the gangs being supported by this new policy.
An editorial in Haaretz said it was an attempt to foment chaos in Gaza in the form of divide and rule. It is thought that one of the individuals involved is Yasser abu Shabab who is claimed to have links with ISIS and is engaged in various criminal activities.
The situation in Gaza is increasingly serious and this week, many died at the few places where food supplies were available. Around 54,800 are thought to have died in Gaza so far.
The policy has drawn widespread criticism including from within Israel. Actively to support lawlessness is likely to be counterproductive and will do little to end the conflict.
Sources include: CBS News, Haaretz; Middle East Eye; Guardian
The 79th vigil took place in Salisbury on 7th June with 30 people in attendance.
June 2025
PAST EVENT
The documentary, Censoring Palestine, will be shown at the United Reform Church in Fisherton Street on Friday 6th June starting at 7:00 for 7:30. It features Peter Oborne, Ken Loach, Alexei Sayle and others and will discuss issues around what we see and read about this tragic conflict and how censorship is active in the UK.
‘In war, the first casualty is truth’ attributed to the Greek philosopher Aeschylus applies in spades to the conflict in Gaza. Indeed, truth has long been a casualty in this conflict which predates the horrific attack on October 7th. The first casualty is that it did not start on October 7th but to the events of 1948 and ’49 when hundreds of thousands of Arabs and Palestinians were cleared from their villages and many were killed in the process. It also has roots in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. It is thought that between 750,000 and a million were displaced by the Jewish immigrants. Many of those, and their children, now live in Gaza. Hundreds of villages were blown up or destroyed by the Hagana.
Today, the Israeli government will not allow foreign journalists into Gaza to witness events there. The Israeli spokesman David Mercer said on Channel 4 recently (3 June) when challenged why Israel will not allow independent journalists into Gaza said ‘we are concentrating on getting our hostages out not on getting journalists in’. A weak answer since the two are unconnected. They claim that they are bombing hospitals, homes and other structures because Hamas terrorists are using them as control centres but no evidence has ever been produced. The killing of those desperate for food was because, the Israeli spokesman said on Channel 4 news last evening, IDF soldiers were ‘threatened’ by the surging crowds. The footage we saw was of crowds of people, with not a weapon in sight, hoping to get some food after weeks of the blockade. IDF soldiers are fully armed and there were tanks and quadcopters used to shoot people from the air. Quite how their soldiers were threatened Mr Mercer did not explain (he was asked). In a way the Israelis have hoist themselves by their own petard: we are asked to believe their claims but they prevent any independent verification. 54,600 have now died in Gaza.
British media have a poor record in this conflict. The BBC has been frightened of the anti-Semitic, anti Israel accusations that David Mercer hinted at with Guru Murthy last evening. Its policy of balance has severely let it down. There are some signs of toughening up however. The problem is that the West generally, and America in particular, have supported Israel in all sorts of ways: political cover; weapons; blocking UN resolutions and simply turning a blind eye. Combined with Netanyahu’s need to keep the war going to keep his coalition alive has meant the nation feels it can act with impunity. And it has to be said – they’re not wrong. Until now. The images coming out of Gaza will shock the hardest of hearts. Children sobbing over the bodies of their dead parents and desperately waving pots at food points must surely force some kind of change. Emaciated infants are distressing to behold. It does seem that the coverage is changing and the bland repetition of Israel statements is being more forcefully challenged.
Our government has also deceived us in many ways. The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy for example claiming on a BBC programme and in parliament that he had stopped some arms sales when analysis of Israeli records shows that sales have increased. He was lucky to be interviewed by Evan Davies who failed to challenge him. The RAF is conducting hundreds of flights over Gaza the purpose of which is unclear. Yet call this fact up in a search engine and there is very little reporting of it by our media. Quite what they are up to is unclear but the lack of transparency is telling in itself.
The government is keen to use its new powers – gifted to them by the previous government – to arrest or frustrate protestors at the Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems near Bristol, who, their website claims, make the UAS [drones] which are the ‘backbone of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)‘. They denied this in court.
The tragedy of all this is that it will not solve Israel’s problems. Those children left homeless and without parents will prove to be the breeding ground for the next generation of people who will have a hatred of what Israel has done to them.
We hope you can come to this documentary.
June 2025
We have posted many times concerning the vigils held in Salisbury Market Place each Saturday at 5pm. Nearly 80 have now been held and there is a regular attendance of around 40 who attend and never less than 30. There is an exhibition of photographs of these vigils starting on 23 June and ending on 19 July at the Methodist Church in St Edmunds Street, Salisbury. They are available to view from 09:30 to noon and at other times when the church is open. We attach a flyer below and if you live in the Salisbury/South Wilts area we ask that you consider displaying it please.
The horror continues with the Independent reporting that 30 were killed by Israeli fire at one of the food points yesterday 31 May. Israel will not allow independent journalists into Gaza so claims are often hard to verify.
The current estimate is that 54,000 have now died in Gaza including many women and children.
May 2025
Saturday 24th May was the 77th vigil to be held in Salisbury with a healthy attendance as is usual. It has been remarkable that up to 40 attend each week in this activity with no real organisation and very little promotion. There has been only one mention in the local paper and it is noteworthy that the local MP has never appeared nor mentioned the vigil in his weekly column courtesy of the Salisbury Journal: that is 77 vigils and no appearance.
A crucial element in the continuing death toll and destruction is the nature of the information which is being provided to the British people. A talk is being given on this very subject on 6 June entitled Censoring Palestine it will be on June 6th starting at 7 for 7:30 and is free with a parting collection. It will be at the United Reform Church, in Fisherton Street in Salisbury.
There are many aspects to the poor information which the public is receiving about the conflict. These include:
There are some welcome signs of change certainly on TV coverage. Channel 4 in particular and the BBC to an extent are beginning to devote longer chunks of time and to display the terrible carnage that is Gaza. Right wing media still persist, for example in the Daily Telegraph where we see the October 7th argument repeated again: “Lammy’s decision, therefore, to jump on the anti-Zionist bandwagon by suspending trade talks with Israel over its “intolerable” military operations in Gaza is entirely in keeping with his world view. Rather than condemning the real architects of Gaza’s misery, the Iranian-backed Hamas jihadis who started the conflict with their murderous October 7 assault on Israel.” Note ‘intolerable’ in inverted commas and criticism of Israel as ‘anti-Zionist’.
It will be interesting to hear of the views in Censoring Palestine on 6 June.
Below is a video of the 77th vigil and we are grateful to Peter Gloyns for permission to post it.
May 2025
Members of the Salisbury group will be at the People in the Park event this Saturday 17th from around 10:00 and we would be delighted to see you. It would be a good opportunity to say hello if you are interested in joining us. To get an idea of what we are doing, have a glance at our last set of minutes and news. Look forward to seeing you there.
The following handout will be available.
