British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described planning for pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London on Remembrance Day next weekend as provocative and disrespectful.
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Earlier, London police said they were aware of reports of possible pro-Palestinian protests on Remembrance Day and would increase patrols in London on November 11 and 12 to maintain law and order.
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“Planning protests on Remembrance Day is provocative and disrespectful, and it is clear that the Cenotaph and other war memorials will be desecrated, which will be an insult to the British public and the values we stand for.” – his statement published on Sunak’s social network account X says.
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Tens of thousands of people are going to take to the streets of London on Saturday November 11 to protest against Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, the Telegraph newspaper reports.
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The date of the planned protest falls on the weekend of Remembrance Day in the UK. This year Memorial Sunday falls on November 12th.
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“I have instructed the Home Secretary to support London Police to do whatever is necessary to protect the sanctity of Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday,” the Prime Minister said.
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“The right to remember peacefully and with dignity those who sacrificed everything dear to them… must be protected,” he stressed.
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Remembrance Day in Great Britain and the British Commonwealth commemorates military personnel who have died in wars and other military conflicts since the outbreak of the First World War.
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In a previous demonstration in mid-October, protesters set up a stage with Palestinian flags right at the foot of the Cenotaph memorial, prompting outrage from a number of parliamentarians who called it a “desecration of a sacred site.” Thousands of people have already held protests in support of Palestine in London.
