PANORAMAnewsdesk

A Black Lives Matter (BLM) solidarity march will be held tomorrow on the 4th July, joining up with other international demonstrations this weekend for the same cause.

The demonstration will begin at 10am at the American War Memorial then make its way towards John Mackintosh Square. Once there, Mark Montegriffo and other civil society activists will say a few words before taking the knee in solidarity.

Civil society activists will be attending as individuals and not necessarily always representative of their entire group.

These are: Felix Alvarez from the Equality Rights Group; Wendy Cumming of the Gibraltar General and Clerical Association; Unite the Union; IMT/Socialist Appeal; No More Shame; Action for Housing; and Charlie Bishop from NASUWT.

The initial route was set to head towards Commonwealth Park where the open space could make social distancing easier to practise. “It's an area where fewer members of the public gather in large groups, thereby reducing the risk of infection”.

Yet, the permit was rejected by Government authorities in an eleventh hour decision and so the route had to be changed. “I've tried to get in touch with a couple of government ministers for clarification, but I've had no success”, said Mark.

However, still in keeping with social distancing and public health guidelines, this demonstration (numbering at approximately one hundred attendees) will include stewards to guide separate groups of up to twenty people each. “We are taking coronavirus and public health guides very seriously”.

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03-07-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR