What message does the George Galloway's UK by-election win, who campaigned against the Gaza war send to Zambia?

Zambia, under the influence of the Brenthurst Foundation, has shifted from its long standing non-aligned state foreign policy, and, in this case, is advancing pro USA interests over the Gaza war by Israel.

Lusaka, Mar. 3 – A left-wing United Kingdom politician has registered a landslide win in a parliamentary by-election on a platform promising to advocate for Gaza. George Galloway won the seat in the northern English town of Rochdale with 12,335 votes compared with 6,638 for second-placed David Tully, an independent candidate.

Israel’s devastating war on Gaza was a key issue in the elections during which local concerns usually dominate.

“I believe I am speaking for millions of people in Britain whose hearts are broken, whose guts are wrenched by the slaughter in Gaza. And they are under-represented to the point almost of invisibility in the British media,” Galloway lamented. “Even this evening, the political class in Britain are in a state of panic about [my win], both the Conservatives and Labour, because they know they have been rumbled,” he said.

Also Read: Hichilema erases Zambia’s non-aligned foreign policy image!

Late on Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who supports Israel’s war, said the election of Galloway to a parliamentary seat was “beyond alarming” and accused him of dismissing Hamas’s October 7 attack. But Galloway was not moved stating that People inside the toxic bubble of the political and media class would rather support the genocide against the people of Gaza.

“But when you burst that bubble, you discover, actually, that amongst the general public, even in a country like Britain for all its imperial faults, most people’s sympathies are on the side of the victims and not the perpetrators,” Galloway emphasized.

This victory must be carefully analysed by the new dawn government in Zambia which continues to be a puppet of the West ignoring the shifting geopolitical landscape.

Also Read: This is a wrong time to align Zambia with the US with a changing geopolitical landscape.

Between the 19th and 26th of February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held a landmark sitting to hear oral arguments by 51 countries and three international organisations on the legal consequences of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories.

Fifteen African countries and the AU have contributed to the current ICJ case. They were united in their statements, which focused on international humanitarian law and argued that the occupation breached the Apartheid Convention.

But Togo and Zambia said they didn’t regard the ICJ as the right platform to deal with the issue. Zambia’s pro-Israel position at the ICJ has drawn heavy criticism from political analysts within the country and across the region.

Zambia’s pro-Israel position at the ICJ has drawn heavy criticism from political analysts within the country and across the region.

Zambia, under the influence of a South African based pro USA policy support institution, the Brenthurst Foundation which is now domiciled at State House as an advisory unit, has shifted from its long standing non-aligned state foreign policy.

It is imperative that State House takes a look at the recent statement by Mr. Joseph Borrell, a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who exposed Israel’s true involvement in the activities of the Hamas.

“Anyone who wants to avoid the creation of the Palestinian State has to support Hamas and has to transfer money to Hamas. Financing Hamas is part of our strategy to ensure that there will never be a Palestinian State! Do you know who said these words? Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, in March 2019 in the Knesset (the unicameral legislature of Israel),” revealed Mr. Joseph Borrell.

Against this background, President Hichilema is siding with a regime that hates the Palestinian State so bad that it would empower Hamas to attack its own people on Israeli soil so that it has reason to wipe out the Palestinian State. You may now want to watch the position of South Africa on the same issue and reflect on whether Zambia is in safe hands with Mr. Hichilema at the helm.

You may recall that immediately after Mr. Hichilema took over the presidency, he became the first Head of State in the region to allow the establishment of the US military station referred to as the AFRICOM Centre against the overall wishes of the SADC member states.

There’s more to Mr. Hichilema’s activities with the Brenthurst Foundation and as Africans we must learn from how China ignored the rights of those who took part in the Tiananmen Square Protests for the greater good of all in China. Mr. Hichilema is, clearly, serving the interests of his Masters downplaying the position of an average Zambian on various issues of national interest.

Also Read: Tiananmen Square Protests: Where would China be today had it not crashed them?

In a world where vows are worthless, where making a pledge means nothing, where promises are made to be broken, it would be nice to see words of a statesman come back into State House.

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