Activists in the UK have said they fear one of the largest Palestinian cultural events in Europe is at risk of being censored by the government, Aljazeera reported.
Officials have given event organizers Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA) until Monday to respond to a letter warning that the two-day Palestine Expo 2017 event at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference center (QE2) in London could be cancelled by the Department for Communities and Local Government, which manages the venue.
Palestine Expo 2017 bills itself as a celebration of Palestinian history, culture, food, and entertainment, and an FOA spokesperson said preparations for the event would continue regardless.
Activists fear UK censorship of Palestine Expo event @AJENews https://t.co/yt9moQPkbM
— Mohamed Tounkara (@MohamedTonkara) June 16, 2017
“We look forward to welcoming over 10,000 people to the biggest Palestine event in Europe to celebrate Palestine culture and heritage,’ said FOA’s Shamiul Joarder, adding the governments move “appears to be a clear attempt to censor all things Palestinian, be it culture, heritage or politics”.
The censorship of the event is over accusations of FOA of having connections to Hamas and Hizbollah, an accusation the group has denied.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)
This would be an obscene travesty of justice if they banned this. I hope there are people of human decency and common sense involved in the decision making.
This is a really important exhibition on Palestinian culture and should go ahead.
At a time when muslim culture and Palestinian culture is under threat, it is really essential that the UK has a Palestine expo. Where else can Palestinians go to celebrate their own culture – hint, they’re not allowed to do this at home as they’ve been driven out of Palestine.