Arish Hayat
LAHORE: German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Granas had to stop his speech at the fifth Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore for some time when he protested in favor of Palestine.
When Granas came to speak at a session titled ‘The People’s Mandate: Protecting Civil Rights in South Asia’, a man in the conference hall addressed him and said: ‘Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador.’ I am amazed at your courage to come here to speak for civil rights while your country brutalizes those who speak for Palestinian rights.
At this comment, people in the conference hall clapped and shouted slogans of ‘Free Palestine’.
Granas said: ‘If you want to scream, go outside. There you can shout because shouting is not a discussion.
After the incident, the German ambassador’s voice was muted in the live broadcast of the conference, and the live streaming of the session on YouTube was also interrupted for a few minutes.
The two-day conference organized by Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell is being organized in collaboration with Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council.
