Spontaneous march in Malaga over Israel's interception of Gaza flotilla brings traffic to a halt

The rally for Palestine and the activists who were intercepted on their humanitarian aid trip to Gaza was scheduled to start at 7pm on 2 October. Hundreds of people gathered to chant and support the cause. At the end of the rally, the attendees demanded to start a march, which the organising platforms declined over the microphone, but the tide of protesters rebelled and took to the streets of Malaga, starting at 7.30pm from Calle Alcazabilla and arriving back at the same point two hours later. At the beginning of the route, the Local Police warned the demonstrators of the consequences and sanctions that the march would have, as the subdelegation of the central government had only given them permission to gather. Despite the warnings, the Gaza solidarity march went ahead and crossed the city starting at the Alcazaba tunnel.

According to police sources, some 2,000 people joined the demonstration. As the protesters were marching through the tunnel, the security forces had to unexpectedly cut off traffic from Paseo de Reding to the tunnel. The crowd then occupied all lanes of Paseo del Parque and moved up Calle Larios. Upon reaching Plaza de la Constitución, they decided to continue through the streets of the historic centre, as spectators watched from the balconies.

"They tell us that we don't have the authorisation to do this," said Jonathan Carvajal from the revolutionary left students' union. He wanted to make it clear that it was not the organisers of the rally who were behind the improvised march but the attendees themselves. "We had no other option, because the slogan was that if they touched the flotilla, we would bring the city to a halt," he added.

A variety of chants could be heard from the crowd: "The children of Gaza are our children too"; "Gaza, hold on, people are rising"; "If they touch the flotilla, they touch us all"; "It's not a war, it's genocide."The demonstration defended human rights and demanded that the city be "paralysed in the face of genocide". The attendees denounced the interception of the aid flotilla. "This is terrorism. The Zionist army has assaulted the Sumud flotilla - a strictly humanitarian mission that has done what our cowardly and criminal rulers have not dared to do."

According to the protesters, what is needed to draw attention is a general strike, supported by all unions and trades. Málaga por Palestina warned that the people's patience has been drained. "We are not going to wait any longer. We are not going to look the other way. The strength is down here, in the streets, in direct action. We paralyse the city!"