Member's statement: Gaza: The Madleen
Member's statement by Mr Mark Durkan on .
- MLA
- Mr Mark Durkan
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 9 June 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Gaza: The Madleen
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4996984
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise today not just as a public representative but as a father, a son and a human being who is horrified and terrified at what is unfolding in front of our eyes. I cannot and will not remain silent in the face of such injustice and inhumanity. The overnight Israeli interception of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which is a convoy of medics, aid workers and peaceful advocates, is not only unlawful in anyone's book; it is a moral outrage. They are unarmed civilians, acting in accordance with international law, attempting to reach a besieged and starving population in Gaza, for which they have been detained, threatened and silenced. Let us be clear: the flotilla carries more than much-needed aid; it carries solidarity. It carries the moral weight of the millions of people who will not look away. It carries the message that the people of Gaza are not alone. It carries hope.
Among those on board was a face that we all recognise: that of Greta Thunberg — a young woman who has become a symbol of moral clarity. Let us not forget, however, the other heroes who were on board who are without fame or a platform: ordinary people who were showing extraordinary courage and compassion, offering a lifeline to those who are in unimaginable desperation and despair. Gaza is dying, with hospitals that have been turned into rubble, ambulances that have been shelled and children who have been pulled, lifeless, from the ruins of homes that once echoed with laughter. They are a people who are being starved. This is not self-defence. This is not war. This is collective punishment. This is the slaughter of the innocent. The world is watching, and when the world watches and we do nothing, we are not neutral but complicit. Desmond Tutu famously said:
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
It is outrageous that some people here and elsewhere have chosen that side and that they have done so not even through silence but through statements of support and attempted justification. I urge the Executive and Governments around the world — all those who value justice and life — to condemn the actions unequivocally, to condemn the illegal interception of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, to demand the release of those who have been detained, to support an independent investigation into the atrocities in Gaza and to demand intervention and an immediate end to violence. History will remember not just what was done but those who stayed silent. Let us not be among them.
432 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.12 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.95).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.14 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.05 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.12 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.33 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.12 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.95 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.04 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.47 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.19 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.17 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.07 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.06 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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