Dr Aqel Taqaz opening statement at Marx Memorial Library
This Summer Liberation hosted a very successful tour across the country on World Peace and Justice for Palestine.
The speaker, Dr Aqel Taqaz, is the Vice Chair of the World Peace Council and Secretary of the Palestine Committee for Peace and Solidarity. He is a member of the Palestinian Peoples Party, a component party within the Palestinian Authority government coalition.
Dr Taqaz spoke at several large meetings in London, Oxford, Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester where he addressed a packed fringe meeting at the annual Trades Councils Conference.
He spoke about the prospects for peace and justice for the Palestinian people and the possibilities for the two state solution in line with UN resolutions. He also discussed the political situation in the region, the role of imperialism, both historic and current, in the Middle East and emphasised the importance of international solidarity in highlighting these issues.
He affirmed that peace can be achieved when the international community takes seriously the burning issues in the Middle East by addressing the question of Palestine which is at the core. This means moving to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and other Arab land occupied since 1967, establishing an independent Palestinian state within the June 4 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the solving of the refugee problem in accordance with Resolution 194 — all through an international conference, with the participation of UN and all big powers, to implement the UN resolutions related to Palestine.
This should take place concurrent with a withdrawal of all foreign forces from the region and with proper assistance to help people to develop their countries and to fight against poverty and unemployment.