An answer in the middle of a concert. The Raperos trio of Ireland in the north of the Kneecap group, one of the members of which he is subject to legal procedures after being accused of having worn a hezbollah flag in concert, responded to the positions that are subject to the stage, during the British Glastonbury festival.
“Glastonbury, I’m a free man,” said Liam O’Hanna, by his artistic name Mo Chara.
Last week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was not “appropriate” that the group will act at the festival.
The rapper is accused of having covered with a flag of the Islamist Movement Pro-Iraní Hezbollah, a terrorist classified in the United Kingdom, during a concert in London on November 21, 2024. He is also criticized for having shouted “Go to Hamas! Go to Hezbollah!”
Accused of “terrorist offense”
Accused in May, he appeared on June 18 in London for “terrorist crime.” The group denied any support for Hezbollah, denouncing a “political” decision.
“This situation can be quite stressful, but it is minimal compared to what the Palestinian people live,” the rapper launched, with his emblematic kegeh and black sunglasses, thousands of enthusiastic fans, many of whom blanded Palestinian flags.
Liam O’Hanna also praised the Palestine Action Group, a few days after the British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced that it was going to be prohibited under anti -terrorist law. The activists of this group had previously stained the red painting of the plans of a base of the Royal Air Force.
Before Kneecap took the stage, Rap Bob Vylan duo also called the crowd to sing “Dead, Dead”, referring to the Israeli defense forces. Once on stage, Kneecap called the festival attendees to sing insults aimed at Keir Starmer.
British government condemnation
After these statements, the British police said that the comments made by the Kneecap group and the Bob Vylan duo were subject to investigations. “Our agents will evaluate video evidence to determine whether crimes have been committed and if they require criminal investigation,” said the X Police.
The British government said “firmly condemn” the comments made by the Bob Vylan duo. The Israeli embassy in the United Kingdom also said “deeply disturbed by the incendiary and hateful rhetoric expressed in the scene of the Glastonbury Festival”, in a message posted on the social network X.
“Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when words encourage hate and ethnic purification, they must be denounced, especially when they are amplified by public figures on prominent positions,” said the embassy.
“We call the organizers of the Glastonbury Festival, the artists and public officials of the United Kingdom to denounce this rhetoric and reject any form of hatred,” he said.
“Without hate speech” tolerated by the organizers
The festival has also reacted, ensuring “not tolerate any hate speech, or any violence incentive by its artists.”
A BBC spokesman, a British chain that broadcast the concert, said some comments made by artists on stage were “deeply offensive.”
He said that a warning message was transmitted on the screen during the warning of the spectators that were made “discriminatory” comments. The program is not accessible to repetition either.
The Secretary of Culture, Lisa Nandy, asked the BBC for an “urgent explanation about reasonable diligence” that the channel showed before transmitting the concert.
Uns overwhelmed by several festivals
Since Liam O’Hanna was accused, the group has been withdrawn from the programming of a series of summer concerts, especially in Scotland and Germany.
But the organizers of the famous Glastonbury Festival have maintained their presence: “The people who do not like event policy can go elsewhere,” said Michael Eavis, co -founder of the Somerset Festival (South West), in an article published in a free newspaper for the festival attendees.
The BBC, a festival partner since 1997, had suffered pressures not to transmit the concert. In a statement on Saturday, a spokesman had indicated that the action would not be broadcast live, but would probably be available at a later request, before returning to this decision.
Source: BFM TV
