LAHORE: At the human rights conference in Lahore, pro-Palestinian protesters raised slogans in support of the people of Gaza while protesting strongly during the German ambassador’s speech on Saturday.
German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas was speaking at the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia’. Federal Minister for Law Nazir Tarar and Senior Supreme Court Judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also attended the two-day conference.
As soon as Ambassador Grannas started his speech, the young protestor in the audience got up and started saying, “Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador. I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians.”. The students also raised slogans in favor of Gaza and Palestine.
His comments drew applause and cheer from the crowd, while chants of “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea” could be heard.
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However, the German ambassador could not control himself for speaking loudly and scolded the boy. Grannas immediately said, “If you want to shout, go out, there you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion.” The organizers of the conference expelled the youth who spoke in favor of Palestine from the human ownership conference.
Former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Ahsan Bhawan, while addressing the Asma Jahangir Conference, said that people have been arrested for protesting in favor of Palestine this week in the major universities of the world, Asma Jahangir continues to stand against the dictatorship.
The Progressive Students Collective (PSC) said its member Ali Raza exposed the hypocrisy of the German ambassador by questioning him on the role of Germany in the deaths in Gaza. “The organizers of Asma Jahangir Conference forcefully silenced the voices of students while platforming the facilitators of Palestinian genocide.”
The student organization alleged that the conference organizers “assaulted the students and peeled their skin off”.