Palestine Solidarity March in Murcia

Palestina Libre de la Región de Murcia and allied groups marched through central Murcia on Saturday, May 16, to mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948, according to local organizers and regional media. The protest began at about 6:30 p.m. in Plaza del Cardenal Belluga and moved through Calle Trapería and Plaza de Santo Domingo before ending outside the central government’s Delegation on Avenida de Alfonso X. Organizers said the demonstration was aimed at denouncing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and broader regional war. Local coverage described several hundred participants carrying Palestinian flags and banners led by Palestina Libre, Palestina Libre del Noroeste, BDS Murcia and CNT-AIT activists. ### Why was the march held on May 16? The May 16 date was tied by organizers to the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, which Palestinian advocates use to mark the expulsion and flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war. In a pre-march call, Palestina Libre spokesperson Paca Labaña said the Murcia protest was intended both to commemorate that anniversary and to denounce what she described as continuing violence in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere in the region. (murciaplaza.com) Ginés Fernández, another spokesperson for Palestina Libre, said before the march that the conflict “did not begin on October 7” but nearly eight decades ago with the creation of Israel and the forced displacement of almost 800,000 Palestinians. ORM reported that Fernández repeated that argument during the demonstration, saying the original displacement had grown into a Palestinian refugee population of more than 8 million. (laprotesta.es) ### Where did demonstrators go in Murcia? Plaza del Cardenal Belluga was the starting point named by organizers in advance and confirmed in post-event reports. Murcia Plaza, citing EFE, said the route ran from Belluga through Trapería and Santo Domingo to the Government Delegation in Alfonso X, where a manifesto was to be read. ORM reported that the march followed that route and ended with the reading of a joint statement outside the government building. (murciaplaza.com) Kaosenlared, which republished a report on the event, said the demonstration was headed by banners from Colectivo Palestina Libre de la Región de Murcia, Palestina Libre del Noroeste, BDS Murcia and CNT-AIT militants, along with other social and political groups. The same report said several hundred people took part. ### Who took part and what did they demand? (murciaplaza.com) Palestina Libre de la Región de Murcia was the main named organizer across the reports, with support from other local solidarity groups and civil organizations. ORM said Podemos also formally joined the march, and quoted regional spokesperson María Marín calling on Spain’s central government to take immediate punitive measures and end diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel. (kaosenlared.net) Paca Labaña said before the protest that organizers were pressing European governments to respect international law and human rights and to review political and commercial relations with Israel. Murcia Plaza reported that Labaña described the current situation in Palestinian territories as “occupación militar, apartheid, limpieza étnica y genocidio,” while framing the demonstration as pressure for Palestinian liberation, the right of return and the release of political prisoners held by Israel. (orm.es) ### What happened at the end of the route? The Government Delegation in Alfonso X was the site of the closing rally and manifesto reading, according to both advance and post-event reports. ORM said organizers read a “manifiesto unitario” there after the march arrived. Kaosenlared said activists also raised a large Palestinian flag at the Delegation while “Mawtini,” described in the report as a historic Palestinian and Arab resistance anthem, was played. (murciaplaza.com) The same report said images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump were burned during the closing action, which organizers framed as symbolic condemnation of support for the Gaza offensive. (orm.es) ### What comes next for the Murcia organizers? May 18 coverage from Kaosenlared presented the Murcia march as part of an ongoing local solidarity campaign rather than a one-off event. The pre-march call published on May 15 said organizers were using the demonstration to sustain public mobilization around Palestine and to press their demands at the Government Delegation in Murcia. (kaosenlared.net) Palestina Libre spokespersons Ginés Fernández and Paca Labaña were the named public faces of that effort in the run-up to the march, and the closing manifesto in Alfonso X was the immediate next step identified in advance by organizers. As of the local reports published on May 16 and May 18, those accounts did not list a new date for a subsequent Murcia protest. (murciaplaza.com) (kaosenlared.net)