By Róise Collins

A LOCAL activist has voiced her anger after a wall bearing the words ‘STOP THE GENOCIDE’ was painted over in Letterkenny.

The lettering which was painted on a wall along the town’s Port Road had been there for several weeks, before being painted over last week.

In response to its removal, activists Anne McLean and Sarah Roberts staged a roadside protest, holding Palestinian flags and a placard hitting out at Letterkenny Tidy Towns, claiming they painted the wall.

Speaking to the Donegal News Ms McLean clarified that despite the strong wording on her poster, she doesn’t have a gripe with Letterkenny Tidy Towns.

However she strongly condemned the act of painting over the lettering.

“Painting over the words STOP THE GENOCIDE is a political act and also effectively an act of erasure of protest against this unspeakable genocide and engineered famine which is being played out on our screens daily.

“One would have to wonder if UP DONEGAL had been written on the wall, would it have been painted over? I very much doubt it,” she said.

Anne spoke emotionally about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of Israel’s bombardment and blockades, as well as disturbing footage that has surfaced online.

“There are Israeli people at the border destroying packets of baby formula and celebrating their actions as they do it. All the while just down the road babies are emaciated and starving, they don’t even have the energy to cry from the hunger.

“So what is more important, a tidy town or a town that stands for justice and stands against these awful crimes against humanity?” she asked.

Following the removal of the wording, Anne then painted her hands red and left handprints on the wall, in what she described as a symbolic gesture to say “we all have blood on our hands”.

“But people who actively try to wipe out a protest against it have more blood on their hands,” she added.

Anne claims those handprints were then also painted over, but the next day new red hands appeared on the wall.

“People have come off their own bat and put up more red hands in solidarity,” Anne said.

The pair said they have received overwhelming support in response to their protest.

“People are absolutely disgusted that anybody would paint over those words,” she said.

“Myself and Sarah are not standing alone in this, we are part of the bigger solidarity movement and we have been protesting against the genocide for the past two years.”

“I’m a mother and a grandmother, and my comrade Sarah is a mother, we are both educators and we represent the massive support of the Irish people for the people of Palestine.”

Anne has approached a number of local councillors about creating a permanent Palestine solidarity mural in Letterkenny but has yet to receive any approval.

When contacted, Letterkenny Tidy Towns chairperson Gerard McCormick said Tidy Towns is about helping to create a cleaner, greener and more vibrant town for everyone.

He declined to comment on the painting of the wall on Port Road, but noted that the Tidy Towns group is non-political and is made up of volunteers from all nationalities.