Winston Peters meets pro-Palestine rally outside Palmy convention centre

Massey students greeted deputy prime minister Winston Peters with a sign reading “FREE PALESTINE. STOP THE GENOCIDE” last Sunday at the Palmerston North convention centre.  

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa moved their usual Sunday Square rally to the convention centre last minute when they heard news Winston Peters was there. 

The Student Action Collective (SAC) members felt Peters, as the foreign minister, should be trying to give the Palestinian people a home rather than being trapped in war.  

The protestors shouted at Peters, saying “You cannot hide, we charge you with genocide.” 

Massey students join pro-Palestine rally last Sunday. Photo / Supplied 

But things quickly turned sour as more protestors showed up and older crowd members grew more aggressive. 

SAC member, Shaun De Malmanche said one man put his hands behind his back and aggressively crowded a group of people shouting, “I am not touching you, I am not touching you, I am not touching you.”  

De Malmanche said there was lots of aggression towards children and women, especially the Muslim women who were wearing Hijabs.  

SAC members said the media did a terrible job with their coverage, focusing on Winston Peters and giving the protesters 20 seconds of fame. 

Winston would not talk to protestors about the Palestine situation, shutting media questions down immediately.