We joined the protest to spread a message of energetic resistance, inclusion and hope, as we support those who face hatred from divisive figures such as Kelly-Jay Keen-Minshull. Anti-trans hatred has no place in our community and we stand firmly with trans people and support thier right to live without fear or prejudice.

The suggestion that supporting transgender women silences the voices of cisgener women is a false and harmful binary, and one that Worthing Green Party whole-hartedly rejects.

Worthing Green Party remains proud of our local community but it is troubling to see such devision within it. Therefore, we will continue to fight for peace and prosperity for Worthing, promoting inclusion, love and compassion for all who live here.

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If anyone would like to read more about the Srebrenica Genocide, we have linked the “Remembering Srebrenica” website that has a wealth of resources: https://srebrenica.org.uk/what-happened

Claire Hunt’s Speech:

Remember Yesterday, Act Today

I want to start by thanking Imam Idris and Worthing Islamic Society for honouring each year the anniversary of the genocide against Bosnian Muslims and inviting us to reflect on the terrible events that took place 30 years ago. I’m grateful for the excellent, but often harrowing-to-read resources that have been produced by Remembering Srebenica for this memorial that remind us that genocide isn’t an event, it’s a process, a systematic destruction of people because of their identity that happens over a long period of time, and that involves a series of social and political steps that begin long before mass killing. And the theme of the event tonight, to let our remembering lead us to action, is an urgent challenge to us all. Because in the 80 years since the Holocaust, even with the introduction of the Genocide Convention 75 years ago to which 152 governments are signatories, and despite remembering Srebrenica for 30 years, genocide has not been prevented and governments remain far from achieving that goal. 

Experts on genocide prevention stress that governments need to learn to recognise the early stages of the genocide process when there is more opportunity to intervene and save lives. In Bosnia, Serbian leaders and forces executed an inhumane plan to terrorise, persecute and ethnically cleanse Bosnia of Muslims for 3 or 4 years between 1992-95, destroying almost all the infrastructure of Sarajevo. The international community seemed powerless to stop the forced displacement of people or to protect the UN Safe Areas, including Srebenica, where people fled to. When the Serbian forces attacked Srebenica in July 1995, I remember a photo of UN peacekeepers passively watching women and children being separated and expelled, shortly before the execution of 8000 men and boys in just a few days and their burials in mass graves. This appalling atrocity was officially recognised as genocide in 2004, but it was the culmination of a long incremental process of genocide that took close to 100,000 mainly Muslim lives, 2 million people forcibly displaced, and 20,000-50,000 women raped. Subsequent investigations have exposed that the UK, US and French governments and UN leadership knew 6 weeks before the Srebenica massacre that they would abandon the enclave to the Serbs as part of a peace settlement. They may not have known the exact nature and extent of the atrocities that would happen, but they knew the Serbian leader’s stated intention to have the population of the enclaves ‘vanish completely’ and were warned of the risks. 

Given this catastrophic betrayal, the only fitting way to honour the 30th anniversary of Srebenica is to implore and demand our governments do better. Firstly, they must identify the risk of genocide and the progression towards it at the earliest possible moment and have the courage to name it. Secondly, they must take on the moral responsibility to effectively act to stop it. Because, heartbreakingly, governments are accused of carrying out genocides as we speak, eg in Myanmar against the Muslim Rohingya, in Sudan against various ethnic groups, in China against the Uyghur, and by Russia against the Ukrainian people. And, especially deeply felt by many in our community, with 800 people demonstrating their anguish on the streets of Worthing in June, we are over 21 months into a genocide unfolding in Gaza. Our government and media still won’t name what is happening in Gaza a genocide, although it has been judged as such by the International Court of Justice, and a former EU diplomat says “Seldom have I heard the leader of a state so clearly outline a plan that fits the legal definition of genocide.” Three times more explosive power has been dropped on Gaza than the Hiroshima bomb, most of the houses and infrastructure obliterated and according to independent experts over 80,000 people have been killed, over half of them women and children. People are being starved, being shot trying to access what little water and food is provided, there is little electricity, fuel, or medical services. 

And it was clear even in October 2023 that Israel was not just targeting Hamas in response to the atrocities they committed, but was bent on disproportionate and collective punishment of all Palestinians. One of Netanyahu’s ministers said “All of Gaza’s infrastructures must be destroyed to its foundation and their electricity cut off immediately. The war is not against Hamas but against the state of Gaza.” 

Nissim Vaturi, deputy speaker of Israeli parliament said “To wipe out Gaza, Nothing else will satisfy us. Don’t leave a single child there”. By February 2025, he was saying “The children and women must be separated and the adults in Gaza must be eliminated”. Hecalled Palestinians “subhumans” and Israeli Channel 14 TV has systematically broadcast interviews and statements that normalise genocide, eg “Only a few are possibly human there. Over 90 % are terrorists.” One even said,

“The 2.6 million terrorists in Gaza deserve death. Men, women and children – in every way possible we must simply carry to a Holocaust on them…”  I can’t read out the rest of that statement because it is too vile to repeat. 

More recently outrageous interventions by Trump have legitimised and accelerated Netanyahu’s ethnic cleansing programme, now set to culminate in forcing Palestinians into a so-called ‘humanitarian city’ at Rafah which has all the signs of becoming an internment camp and a blueprint for further crimes against humanity.

Ellie Chowns, one of our Green MPs, said at the beginning of July “Every day that the UK government fails to act on the horrifying evidence from Gaza, we fail in our duty under the Genocide Convention. We must act — now — to prevent genocide, centre Palestinian humanity, and end the suffering. We cannot look away”. 

Worryingly our government seems more determined to take action against people and organisations protesting against genocide rather than taking the decisive, meaningful actions needed to stop the systematic starvation and killing.

But hundreds of thousands of people here and around the world continue to press governments to do more. And I think today, we need to really consider what each and every one of us can do to pressure our government and to pledge to take our own very specific and urgent personal actions to bring about change. We often conclude these events with generalised reflections, absolutely admirable in intention, to work together towards unity and harmony, to prevent any shift towards the ‘othering’ and de-humanising of groups of people that allow tensions to be exploited. But the people of Gaza, and those suffering illegal bombing in Lebanon, Iran, Kyiv and elsewhere, can’t wait and mustn’t be left to pay the price of tyranny on their own. 

There are lots of different, positive examples in our community of people taking action. I mentioned the recent demonstration in Worthing organised by a coalition of local groups including Parents for Peace, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, WS Divest, Taarof Table, Worthing Solidarity, Stand Up to Racism, Worthing Community Independents and Worthing Green Party. The focus is, rightly, on pushing Worthing’s MPs to back calls for a permanent ceasefire, an end to the blockade and starvation of Gaza, hard-hitting economic sanctions, an end to all arms sales to Israel, including UK-supplied weapons parts, an end to 75 years of illegal occupation and apartheid. 

There are also regular demonstrations at the L3 Harris factory in Brighton which makes components of the F-35 Fighters used in ways that violate international law and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. 

And there are other ways of exerting pressure.

Labour councillors on West Sussex council are challenging the council on Friday to divest pension funds from 10 companies aiding and profiting from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

We can practice ourselves boycotts and divestment from 48 corporations investigated by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese. Other faith and community groups raise awareness and much needed funds for Palestine.

The other lessons from history is that prevention isn’t over when a genocide stops. Long term, we need to abandon systems and mentalities that result in apartheid and genocide – imperialist, settler governments that grab land and resources and justify themselves by spreading hatred and othering. The third stage of prevention, after recognition of risk and taking action, is to bring perpetrators to justice, make reparations to victims, and through truth and reconciliation work for just and lasting peace. 

We have a lot of work to do ….

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East Sussex and Brighton & Hove have their own plans. 

Here in West Sussex council leaders have declared that four geographical footprints are being considered. Adur & Worthing councils are working with them to explore the pros and cons of each option.

These options are:

1. A super sized West Sussex council – population around 900,000.
2. A Sussex west authority made up of  Worthing, Arun and Chichester councils stretching north to the Surrey border (splitting Adur from Worthing) – 400,000 pop.
3. A Sussex coastal authority consisting of Adur, Worthing, Arun and Chichester south (splitting Chichester DC into north and south) – 430,000 pop.
4. A new council in which Adur & Worthing would join with Brighton&Hove – 450,000 pop.

Worthing Green councillors believe it’s high time that the options on the table and the factors being considered are openly and transparently shared with the public for discussion. Adur & Worthing councils are doing public engagement in a general sense through ‘Thriving Together’ about people’s ‘wishes’ for the future of their neighbourhoods and the town, but views on the groupings of places into local authorities are not currently being sought. So Claire and Ian, working together with Worthing Community Independent councillors, have launched a quick survey of their own.

Claire says, “It’s so important that residents are brought up to speed on the actual options and issues being considered and have a chance to influence before any final decision is made about which unitary Adur and Worthing will sit in. Our survey can’t go into all the complex data and evidence that the council have access to but people’s varied experiences of living, working, travelling, socialising and accessing services in Sussex may mean they have reasons to prefer one or other of the options and they deserve to be able to express that.”

Ian adds, “This Labour council claims to be a ‘Council for the Community’ yet on the most important issue of the future for our area they appear disinterested in residents’ views. What they decide will impact upon all of our futures. Should we align with Brighton or Bognor? Should Adur and Worthing be split? Should we look west to Chichester or east to Brighton & Hove? These are all questions that residents should have a say in answering. “

We are interested in your views. Please take a few minutes to complete our short survey to let us know what you think. 

http://bit.ly/LGRSurvey

You might be interested in ‘Sussex and the City’,an independent and non-potical project producing regular newsletters and podcasts about Sussex evolution and local government reorganisation –  https://lander.alwayspossible.co.uk/home-1

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At yesterday’s West Sussex County Coucil cabinet meeting in Chichester, the Conservative councillors commited to cancelling the May 2025 county elections. This would allow them to remain in their seats for another three years – without a democratic mandate from the people of Worthing to do so.

Whilst Worthing Greens support well-planned devolution that engages with and directly benefits local communities, the current plans to push through changes without much deliberation are concerning.

Major decisions about the future of local government in West Sussex will impact residents for decades to come, and it is the responsibility of the West Sussex County Council to ensure that their citizens have a right to vote for those who impliment these changes. The reorganisation of local government is far too important to rush through without proper consultation and democratic oversight.

Claire Hunt and Ian Davey released this statement yesterday after the West Sussex County Council Cabinet meeting. The statement was also signed by two councillors from the Adur Green Party and the three Worthing Community Independents.

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