Senedd Gaza debate and demonstration tomorrow

The Assembly will debate the situation in the Gaza Strip tomorrow at 2:30pm. My colleague Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM has tabled a motion and will be leading the debate. Bethan Jenkins AM has tabled a Statement of Opinion, which we are hoping people will ask their Ams to sign:

End Israeli attacks on Gaza
The National Assembly for Wales calls on the Welsh Assembly Government to make an urgent public statement condemning the Israeli government's attacks on Gaza, and calls on the Welsh Assembly Government to echo demands made by the International community for an immediate ceasefire.


Before the debate, a rally will be held at 1pm on the steps of the Senedd, expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Demonstrate against sky-high gas prices

I'll be speaking in a demonstration this coming Saturday in Cardiff. The demonstration is in support of the People Before Profit Charter, a campaign which is making demands to stop ordinary people falling further into poverty.

Recent inflation-busting price rises for gas and electricity will result in six and a half million people throughout the UK suffering the effects of fuel poverty this winter. Many families, disabled people and pensioner households will have to decide whether to eat or to heat themselves. At the same time, the six big energy companies paid £1.64 billion in dividends to their shareholders in 2007 (according to the Local Government Association), up 19% on the previous year.

I fully support calls for a windfall tax on the profits of these companies to make sure that fuel poor households get some help with their bills. However, in the long term, the only way to stop these companies profiteering at the expense of the poor is to bring them into public ownership and under devolved control. If public ownership is good enough for the banks, it should be good enough for the utilities. After all, they provide an essential public service.

Public ownership would mean lower bills, as there would be no shareholder dividends to pay. With further rises likely in the near future, the government would be foolish to rule this option out.

The demonstration will be held on Saturday 27th September at 2pm, outside the British Gas Headquarters, Churchill Way, Cardiff.

Rally Against new M4

Today the Campaign Against the Levels Motorway (CALM) held a protest outside the Senedd. They are campaigning against the building for a second stretch of M4 motorway to bypass regularly congested parts of Newport.

I have a lot of sympathy for the campaigners. If we are serious about climate change, and we take heed of the warnings over peak oil, we would not spend around £20million per mile on a motorway. Our public transport system is in urgent need of investment. More roads inevitably result in more traffic. This in addition to the fact that the proposed road would run through the Gwent Levels, five miles of which are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

There are various stages and processes to go through before a decision is made, including an independent public local inquiry. The campaigners are already gathering evidence and information in preparation, and they are doing a good job of lobbying politicians.

The environmental case against this road is strong. CALM have to make sure that the public inquiry hears the arguments loud and clear.

No one is Illegal

I attended a demonstration today outside the UK Border Agency Offices on Newport Road in Cardiff. It was called in response to the detention and threat of imminent deportation of Babakhan (Babi) Badalov to Azerbaijan. Babi is a radical artist who has spoken out against his government. He has been persecuted for this, and because he is gay. He faces a threat of honour killing from his own family because this homosexuality is considered unacceptable in Azerbaijan.

The UK has obligations under international law to protect people who are fleeing persecution. Babi has made many friends in Cardiff and his mental state is fragile. He and his friends are genuinely petrified that he will be killed if he is returned.

A fresh asylum claim is pending after his solicitor uncovered new evidence relating to his violent history and mental state. We are hoping to be able to stop his deportation so that this new evidence can be put.

Do the UK Border Agency Officers remember Ama Sumani? Do they care?

Demonstration Against the Israeli Ambassador

Today I will be joining demonstrators outside the Senedd, to protest against the visit to the National Assembly by the Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor. I will be demonstrating instead of attending the private reception because Mr. Prosor has clearly indicated that he intends to "utilise any platform for PR work". These words should alert us to the fact that Wales' democratic institution will today be used as a publicity platform for a state that is currently in contravention of 65 UN resolutions. The Palestinians are not in contravention of any UN resolution. Until these international demands are met, representatives of the Israeli government cannot expect to be welcomed to Wales. Today I would ask anyone sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, who are a stateless and oppressed nation, to join us in solidarity with them.

Where: outside the National Assembly
When: 5pm today
Who: Palestine Solidarity Campaign