Earlier this week, I mentioned some of the criticism by certain propagandists of the motion I have placed on the City Council's Policy and Resources Committee next Monday, expressing concern about the plight of the people of Gaza. There's been something of a predictable campaign by these people, who have a few things in common - few (if any) live in Dundee (most e-mails, some with very inappropriate content, emanate from outwith the UK) and most writers are in a state of denial about the behaviour of the Israeli government and military over the Gaza blockade.
The letter in today's Courier continues this theme of denial and I have responded to the Courier as follows:
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Dear Sirs
In meddling in the affairs of a local authority outwith her own area of Fife, Flora Selwyn (Courier Letters 11th June) claims that I should “leave foreign affairs to the Government.”
She fails to appreciate that local authorities procure goods and services and it is the responsibility of councillors to ensure they do so in an ethical manner.
Best regards
Cllr Fraser Macpherson
Dundee City Council
Tayside House
Dundee.
It is interesting - and extremely heartwarming - to note the huge outpouring of support for my actions by local Dundee people. On Monday, I will collect a petition in support of my motion to the City Council, signed by hundreds of local people. I am very grateful to those who have organised the petition for all their efforts and to everyone who has signed it.
The people of Dundee have a reputation for fair-mindedness and the city has a proud record of supporting what is right. Of all the e-mails and letters I have received, perhaps the most telling quote made was originally said by Archbishop Desmond Tutu : "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."