A HECKLER condemned that the genocide in Gaza was “not mentioned” at an event with Gordon Brown which discussed democracy and resistance.
Nick Bernie, a specialist community public health nurse, told The National that he was frustrated listening to speakers at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh talk about “having the strength to stand up for what you believe in” and “encouraging us not to be complicit” while omitting any mention of the genocide in Gaza.
At the end of the event, Bernie told Brown he should be “ashamed” to silence from the crowd.
The inaugural Global Ideas Stage, part of the Edinburgh International Festival, was the first event to be held at the theatre following a renovation.
The over two-hour long show featured interviews with American documentary maker Ken Burns, lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson, broadcast journalist Amy Goodman and former prime minister Brown.
It was hosted by festival director Nicola Benedetti and Harvard professor Sarah Lewis, and also saw performances as the collaborators discussed the role of culture in justice and democracy.
But at the end of the event, as the final panel was wrapping up, Bernie stood up and bellowed from the dress circle: “I oppose the genocide in Gaza. Why has the elephant in the room not been mentioned?”
As Benedetti was poised to play out the event, he added: “I feel totally silenced, that tonight was absolute nonsense. Free Palestine, stop the complicity in the Gaza genocide. These two governments USA and GB are totally complicit in genocide.
“And Gordon Brown, you should be ashamed.”
Another heckler from the stalls replied: “You should be glad you live in a place where you can speak.”
Speaking to The National outside of the theatre, Bernie said: “I hoped Amy would bring it up. I met Amy briefly on Saturday and she’s a hero of mine, she’s done great work on Gaza.
“It sounds like she was probably told or everybody was told not to mention the genocide.
“I can’t go in there and listen to all that stuff about having the strength to stand up for what you believe in, agitating, all that stuff about encouraging us not to be complicit, to agitate, to agitate, to agitate, and then…that.
“Absolute silence when I mentioned Gaza, when it’s being televised on our screens all the time. I couldn’t stay quiet.”
On Brown he added: “He was a supporter and funder of the Iraq war, he was the champion of the light touch for regulation of the financial services in the build up to 2008, he is the person who ennobled Peter Mandelson and Fred Goodwin. Am I the enemy of the people?
“It’s nauseating the way he won’t take responsibility for his role in awful awful decisions.”
Bernie added that the event was “gaslighting” and criticised Bailie Gifford’s role in sponsoring the event.
At the panel at the end of the event, Brown was asked by Goodman what the most effective way to change leaders' opinions, referencing the resistance to the Iraq war in both the US and the UK.
The former prime minister did not answer the question directly and instead talked about “hope”, Martin Luther King, and a conversation he had with Nelson Mandela.
He said: “What gives us hope? What can art, music, literature, what can it do to give us hope about the future and to make people act?
“Martin Luther King said the Declaration of Independence was a promissory note, it wasn’t an achievement, it wasn’t an accomplishment.”
The event also discussed the role of the Scottish enlightenment in the American revolution, with much of Brown’s 15-minute interview focusing on the work of Adam Smith.
