Protesters demand action from officials at security forum

A small crowd of protesters gathered in downtown Halifax Friday to demand officials at an international security summit apply stronger pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Politicians, defence ministers and generals from around the world were attending the Halifax International Security Forum, an annual conference in Halifax discussing the global security agenda.

About 30-40 people stood in Peace and Friendship Park in front of the Westin Nova Scotian hotel with signs and flags. They accused those at the forum of being responsible for letting the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas continue without a ceasefire.

Ehud Barak, a former prime minister of Israel who was present at the forum, was a target of the protesters.

“He got lot of blood on his hands,” said Ibrahim Manna, one of the protesters. “He is definitely not welcome here in Halifax.”

Manna said he has more than 300 family members in Palestine, two of whom are parents currently stuck in Gaza. He wants government officials at the security forum to take action on the ongoing conflict.

Joanna Bull, one of the organizers of the protest, spoke on a megaphone, calling the conflict a “genocide” and accused those at the forum of “facilitating the murder of children around the world for profit.”

“Why are there so many five-year olds?” asked one child

During the protest, Bull held a stack of papers, which she said contained the names and ages of people who have died in Palestine during the conflict.

She started reading the list when a child standing behind her shouted, “Why are there so many five-year-olds?” referring to those who had died.

“I can’t answer that question. Can you?” she yelled toward the Westin hotel. “Why are there so many five-year-olds being slaughtered?”

She went on to accuse the Israeli military of being responsible for these deaths, with the help of Canada and the United States.

At one point, the protesters said about 5,000 children in Gaza have died because of this conflict. The protesters then continued to chant “ceasefire now” and “warmongers, go to hell!” until they dispersed.