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CND in the News
CND in the News: 22-28 September
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1 Two years on, protesters back on the streets of the capital
The Independent, 24 September 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article314783.ece
Up to 100,000 people are expected to march through central London today,
demanding that British troops be withdrawn from Iraq.
Organisers of the demonstration, taking place on the eve of the Labour
Party annual conference, hope to exploit the strong anti-war feelings
of two years ago when a million people descended on the capital in an
eleventh-hour bid to prevent a conflict.
The fathers of two British soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict will address
the protesters before the march starts. Reg Keys, whose son Tom was one
of six Redcaps killed two years ago, and Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun
died in Kuwait in 2003, will call for British troops to be brought home.
After the march has left Parliament, Sue Smith from Tamworth in Staffordshire,
whose son Phillip Hewett died in July when a bomb exploded under his vehicle
near Basra, will deliver a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to
pull British troops out of Iraq. "I am sitting writing this letter
hoping that you will understand how we feel, but I know that you don't,"
she wrote.
The Stop The War Coalition said the recent clashes involving British troops
in Basra highlighted the urgent need to bring the "occupation"
to an end. The demonstration, the twelfth to be held by the coalition
over the past few years, will begin outside the Houses of Parliament,
where protests have been banned under new laws. The coalition said it
wanted to challenge the "stupidity" of the legislation as well
as show that British people remained opposed to this country's continued
involvement in Iraq. The convenor, Lindsey German, said: "The Lib
Dems have this week called for our withdrawal, Anglican bishops have added
their voice to this demand and the Stop the War Coalition has received
support for this demonstration from musicians, artists, academics, theatre
and film personalities, business, religious and trade union leaders.
Tony Benn, the veteran peace activist, said most people in the UK were
now against Britain's involvement in Iraq and believed that the war was
illegal. "This is no longer a minority view and the purpose of the
march is to encourage other people to give us support," he said.
Kate Hudson, chairwoman of CND, said: "This will
be a very important event on the eve of Labour's annual conference because
we want to send a strong message about the sort of foreign policies the
party should be pursuing."
The Muslim Association of Britain, which is helping to organise the protest,
said it was time to end the "senseless" loss of life in Iraq.
"The events in Basra earlier this week prove the most pressing need
to withdraw our troops from Iraq. The coalition forces are seen as an
occupying force and their continued presence in the region exacerbates
the instability in Iraq," a spokesman said.
Ms Smith's protest letter to Tony Blair reads: "Dear Prime Minister,
You don't know what it's like to be told your son has been murdered in
Iraq and then find out through TV news he wasn't killed instantly, but
lay dying at the side of road. You don't know what it's like to have to
meet an aeroplane carrying a coffin containing his body. I can't find
the words to describe how that feels but I hope to God, you and your wife
never experience it. If Phillip had died for Queen and country, fighting
for something worthwhile with the equipment he needed to do his job, I
would be proud to say he gave his life fighting for a good cause."Instead,
I am sitting here with my family trying to contain the tears and the anger
that is building up inside me. As far as we are concerned my son died
for nothing. You effectively sentenced him to death because he was driving
a Land Rover instead of a Warrior. You were more interested in looking
after the interests of the Iraqis than that of your own people. You've
let down those three young men and the other 89 British soldiers who have
so far died in Iraq and it's time you started listening to me and the
other families who want to see our boys pulled out of a hopeless situation."
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2 Thousands Protest Anti-Terror Laws, Iraq War in London
September 24, 2005
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2005-09/24/article06.shtml
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London on Saturday,
September 24, to protest against the recent anti-terror measures and demand
the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. The march, organized by the
Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) jointly with the Stop The War coalition
and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), set off
from the Houses of Parliament at around noon (1100 GMT), and moved to
Hyde Park.
The protesters raised banners reading "stop discrimination against
Muslims," and "end occupation of Palestine and Iraq." "The
first causality of the 'War on Terror' is our own freedom and liberties,"
read another banner. "We say ‘don’t take liberties with
our liberties’." The rally is being held to coincide with similar
marches in Washington, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki to protest
the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq. Chief among the speakers
addressing the rally are Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary general of
the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), MP Jeremy Corbyn, Anas Al-Tikriti
from MAB, and Fatima Mahmoud from the Federation of Student Islamic Societies
(FOSIS).
The march is meant to "show our absolute opposition to Blair’s
attempts to erode Britain’s international reputation as upholding
civil liberties and freedoms," MAB said in a press release.
"The new measures proposed by the Prime Minster will remove fundamental
freedoms in British society and will not make our country safer. As a
result, an atmosphere of hate and fear is created, attacks on Muslims
have recently increased by 600 percent. Furthermore, the onslaught by
right-wing extremists on Islam as a religion has crossed every boundary."
Since the July 7 terrorist bombings, which claimed the lives of 56 people
including four British Muslim bombers, the center-left government has
introduced a string of new anti-terror measures. It issued guidelines
of "unacceptable behavior" under which it can deport and ban
Muslim scholars accused of fomenting, justifying and glorifying acts of
terror and violence.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke has also vowed to use his powers to deport
and exclude foreigners engaging in behavior deemed to threaten security.
Iraq War
The protesters further slammed the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of
Iraq and called for the pullout of British soldiers from the war-battered
country.
"We want to withdraw the troops from Iraq. Clearly what happened
in Basra this week shows that British troops aren't helping there, they
make the situation worse," Stop the War spokesman Viven Lehal told
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
An Iraqi judge on Saturday, September 24, issued an arrest warrant for
two British soldiers for killing a policeman judge in the southern city
of Basra. The incident provoked anti-British protests across the city.
MAB agreed that the events in Basra proved the most pressing need to withdraw
UK troops from Iraq. "The coalition forces are seen as an occupying
force, and their continued presence in the region exacerbates the instability
in Iraq. Far from being seen as liberators, our troops are in the firing
line," it said in a press release. The same position was taken Thursday
by Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader. He urged the government
to "confront the fact that the presence of British and American troops
in Iraq are a part of the problem. After this week's events in Basra,
we cannot sustain the myth that Iraqis see coalition troops as liberators.
What they see is an occupation."
Lindsey German, one of the march organizers, told the BBC they received
wider support for their campaign. "Stop the War Coalition have received
support for this demonstration from musicians, artists, academics, theatre
and film personalities, business, religious and trade union leaders,"
she said. "The Lib Dems have this week called for our withdrawal,
Anglican bishops have added their voice to this demand."
Four Church of England bishops offered Monday, September 19, that the
Church takes the lead in reconciling with British Muslims by apologizing
to their leaders for the US-led war in Iraq if the British government
fails to do so. "Enough is enough. It is now time, once again, for
the British people to step forward into the streets and insist that this
time we will not be ignored," German told the BBC.
Reg Keys, whose son Tom was one of six Royal Military Policemen killed
in June 2003, and Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun died in Kuwait in April
of that year, also took part in the demo, calling for British troops to
be brought home. Sue Smith, whose son Phillip Hewett died in July when
a roadside bomb exploded under his vehicle near Basra, unveiled during
the rally a letter to Blair urging him to pull British troops out of Iraq.
"I am sitting writing this letter hoping that you will understand
how we feel, but I know that you don't".
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3 Mother pleads to Blair to bring British troops home
Sunday Herald, 25 September 2005
http://www.sundayherald.com/51931
A mother whose son was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra a fortnight
ago broke down in tears yesterday as she publicly pleaded with Tony Blair
to bring British troops home from Iraq.
Sue Smith, who had earlier delivered a private letter to 10 Downing Street,
read out its emotional contents to an estimated crowd of 20,000anti-war
demonstrators in Hyde Park after a protest march through central London
which began in Parliament square.
Smith, from Tamworth, said she last saw her son, Peter Hewett, in a coffin
in a chapel. She offered a stark message to the Prime Minister: “You
can never know how that feels, but you have the power to stop it happening
again. You made the decision to go to Iraq, and you can make the decision
to get our sons and daughters out of there.”
Despite the demonstration failing to meet its organisers’ expectations
of around 100,000, Smith’s plea aimed to attract public attention
in the same way that Cindy Sheehan’s vigil at George Bush’s
ranch in Texas has sparked a US focus on the continuing coalition presence
in Iraq.
The London demonstration went off peacefully, but the high level of policing,
including surveillance helicopters hovering over the march route, indicated
that even Scotland Yard had expected a far higher turnout. Police estimates
put the march total at just 10,000. In 2003, just before the start of
the Iraq invasion, around one million people took part in an anti-war
demonstration along the same route. Andrew Murray, chairman of the Stop
The War Coalition, who organised yesterday’s march, said: “There
are tens of thousands who have marched above all to bring the troops home
and end this bloody, disastrous occupation.”
In Hyde Park, Kate Hudson, chair of CND, read out a welcome
message from the London mayor Ken Livingstone. “The war and occupation
have brought neither democracy nor peace to Iraq,” Livingstone claimed.
Veteran campaigner, Tony Benn, described the war as “corrupt”
and “unwinnable”.
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4 Blair’s secret arms talks with Saudis
http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/47853.html
TONY Blair has held secret arms talks with the Saudi royal family, a
dynasty of absolute monarchs at the head of a state with one of the worst
human rights records on the planet. As the prime minister took to the
stage to deliver his conference speech yesterday, the shadow of the House
of Saud loomed over him, just as it has previously haunted George W Bush,
the US president. It has emerged the prime minister travelled to Riyadh,
the Saudi capital, on July 2 en route to Singapore where the announcement
of the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games was being made. His visit was
followed three weeks later by a two-day trip to the kingdom by John Reid,
the defence secretary, when discussions were held with Prince Sultan,
the crown prince, over the purchase of Typhoons for the Saudi air force.
The Typhoon, a European fighter plane, is being made in Germany, Italy,
Spain and the UK. BAE Systems, the British arms manufacturer, has invested
most in the project and therefore has most to win, or lose, from it. If
the Saudis, as Mr Blair and Mr Reid hope, decide to re-equip their air
force with Typhoons. the deal could be worth about £40bn. Under
a previous large-scale arms deal between the UK and the Saudis in the
1980s, called Al Yamamah, the kingdom was supplied with, among other things,
Tornado fighter aircraft. The government's main contractor for Al Yamamah
was BAE, which is reported to have made about £43bn from the deal.
Saudi Arabia paid for the arms over many years with about 600,000 barrels
of oil per day to the UK government. BAE still supplies support staff
to maintain the aircraft for the Saudi Royal Air Force. There are, however,
a few obstacles that must be hurdled before the Typhoon deal can be brokered.
According to defence and diplomatic sources, the Saudis are seeking a
number of favours in return for the order. They want the UK government
to expel two anti-Saudi dissidents, force British Airways to resume flights
to Riyadh, which it cancelled because security concerns depleted passenger
numbers, and want the Serious Fraud Office to drop a corruption investigation
involving Prince Turki bin Nasr, a member of the Saudi royal family, a
slush fund and BAE. However, the web of alliances that form the backdrop
to the negotiations is tangled with apparent conflicts of interest. Jonathan
Powell, the prime minister's chief of staff, who is reportedly pro-Saudi,
is the brother of Charles Powell, a member of the House of Lords, a former
foreign policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher and a paid consultant of BAE,
the firm building the Typhoons.
To further complicate matters, John Reid heads the Ministry of Defence,
which is assisting the Serious Fraud Office with its investigation into
alleged corruption involving the Saudi royal family and BAE. The friendship
between Britain and the ruling family is well established. It began 78
years ago, with the signing of the Treaty of Jedda, when what was to become
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed from a British protectorate. It
was the UK which first recognised the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd, which
a few years later became Saudi Arabia. In doing so it validated the regime
of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, the first king of the new realm whose descendants
still rule the Arabian peninsula with the same autocratic zeal today.
Since then, relations between successive UK governments and the ruling
House of Saud have remained cordial.
However, reaction to the Typhoon talks with the Saudis has been mixed.
Kate Hudson, chairman of CND, said: "Given the known
instability in the region, and the issues around democracy and civil and
human rights surrounding some of the regimes, we find it extraordinary
that our government should be selling arms to this region at all."
Mark Erickson, a campaigner for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, said:
"BAE Systems is given free access to Number 10 to plan and plot their
way to selling the Typhoon to Saudi. I find it very disheartening."
However, two Scottish Labour MPs defended the talks.
John Robertson, MP for Glasgow North West, said: "We don't have many
problems with Saudi and it will lead to more work for British workers."
And Anne Begg, MP for Aberdeen South, said: "Given that we have an
aerospace industry in Britain it would be pretty strange if any British
government was not trying to protect that industry. "
Julian Scopes, spokesman for BAE systems, said: "The government has
been consistent in its support for the legitimate export of such equipment
and we are grateful for that support."
A spokesman for the MoD confirmed the visits of Mr Blair and Mr Reid to
the kingdom. Asked about the morality of selling arms to the region, he
added: "We have a long-running programme with the Saudi authorities,
a leading nation in the Middle East with whom we enjoy a very good defence
relationship."
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5 Hundreds of thousands march against Iraq war
http://www.progressiveu.org/node/731
Across the globe demonstrations took place against the US-led war and
occupation of Iraq. Washington D.C. saw the largest demonstration with
hundreds of thousands of people marching. Organizers put the figure as
high as 250,000 though police put the number at 150,000. Many speakers
linked the massive deployment of US troops in Iraq and the inability of
the federal government to respond adequately to the needs of people displaced
by Hurricane Katrina, and others linked the Iraq war to the occupation
of Palestine and the oil crisis. The mobilisations were united around
the slogan "Bring the Troops Home Now!" San Francisco and Los
Angeles also had demonstrations.
The demonstration in London set off from Parliament square and went to
Hyde park. Organizers' figures for attendance (100,000) differ greatly
from the police's estimate of only 10,000. Stop the War Coalition, the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim
Association of Britain (MAB) jointly organized the demonstration. The
organizers planned the demonstration to coincide with the Washington demonstration
and also in hope of influencing the Labour Party Conference.
Notable in the U.S. mobilizations was the increasingly visible presence
of military families speaking out against the war. Antiwar activist Cindy
Sheehan spoke in D.C. and drew the largest crowd of spectators.
Antiwar mobilizations, as well as actions against the World Bank and IMF,
continued in D.C. into the week.
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6 Shi’ite leader urges Iraqis to vote ‘yes’
to charter
25 September 2005
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=September2005&file=World_News200509253040.xml
BAGHDAD: The leader of Iraq’s main Shi’ite political party
added his voice yesterday to those of Shi’ite religious leaders
calling for a “yes” vote on the draft constitution, as demonstrators
from London to Washington protested against the ongoing war. And in the
southern city of Basra, a judge issued arrest warrants on charges of killing
a policeman for the two British soldiers freed by their comrades in a
controversial operation earlier this week, an official said.
Speaking at a meeting in Baghdad, Abdel Aziz Hakim, who heads the Supreme
Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the largest Shiite
party, called for voters to approve the draft constitution on October
15. “It is a religious duty for all of us to hit the ballot boxes
and say ‘yes’ to pass the constitution,” he said. “We
will slap the terrorists hard by going to vote for the constitution,”
he added, speaking of the October 15 referendum on the country’s
first post-Saddam constitution, as hundreds of supporters chanted “Yes,
yes to the constitution.”
Hakim lashed out at neighbouring Arab countries that have voiced concerns
over the draft, recalling their support for Saddam’s regime during
the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s. “Is it not enough what you have done
(in the past) to the Iraqi people by supporting the regime of Saddam?”
he asked. “In the past, you worked against the interests of the
Iraqi people. Today, you are pretending to cry for the Iraqi people,”
he added.
Meanwhile, thousands of people marched in London and Washington yesterday
calling for an end to the war in Iraq and troops to return home from the
war-torn country Rallies were planned in London, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen,
Oslo and Helsinki, to coincide with a similar march in Washington. The
Stop The War coalition, which organised the London rally jointly with
the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association
of Britain, had said it expected at least 100,000 people to take part.
The London demonstration came at a time of growing tension between British
forces and Shi’ites in Basra, where two British soldiers, working
undercover, were briefly held by police on Monday for allegedly shooting
an Iraqi policeman. They were later forcefully rescued by British troops.
“The investigative judge in Basra issued an arrest warrant against
the two British terrorists on charges of opening fire on two policemen,
killing one and wounding the other,” Mohammed Saadum Al Ebaidi,
head of the Basra provincial council, said. British forces, like others
in the US-led coalition, are immune from prosecution under Iraqi law.
The government in Baghdad has repeatedly tried to play down the incidents.
Early yesterday, four rockets were fired at a hotel housing the headquarters
of British troops in Basra, while a mortar shell landed on the British
consulate in the city, local police said.
A suicide car bomber blew himself up next to an Iraqi army checkpoint
in Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding five people, three of them
soldiers. The attack took place in the central Karrada district of the
capital. Three Iraqis, including a policeman were shot dead during a house
raid west of Nasiriyah. US forces said that they had killed two Iraqi
civilians when the car they were driving in came too close to one of their
patrols on Friday in Mussayeb.
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7 Thousands Stage Anti-War Protest
BBC, 25 September 2005
http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=366152
Several thousand protesters have taken part in a demonstration in central
London against the conflict in Iraq. The route took protesters along Whitehall
and into Piccadilly before reaching Hyde Park for a rally. Police said
about 10,000 people took part, but Stop The War Coalition said up to 100,000
were protesting. Families of three British soldiers killed in Iraq addressed
the marchers. Police said the event was peaceful and there had been no
arrests.
Among the protesters was Sue Smith, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, whose
son Phillip Hewett died in July when a roadside bomb exploded under his
vehicle near Basra. Ms Smith delivered a letter to the prime minister
urging him to pull British troops out of Iraq. She broke down in tears
as she read out the letter out the crowd at Hyde Park. In her letter,
she said: "Seven weeks ago we saw our son for the last time in a
coffin at the chapel of rest. (We were) looking down on the face of a
son that I had given birth to and loved with all my heart, knowing that
I would never see him again. "You made the decision to go to Iraq
and you can make the decision to get our sons and daughters out of there."
Reg Keys, whose son Tom was one of six military policemen killed in June
2003, and Peter Brierley, whose son Shaun died in Kuwait in April of that
year, also called for British troops to be brought home. Mr Brierley from
Batley in Yorkshire said: "I am totally overwhelmed. Now Tony Blair
has to listen and bring the troops home. "Looking at what happened
in Iraq through this last week it is obvious that Iraq does not want the
troops there and if they don't bring them out there will be more families
like us."
Andrew Murray, chairman of the Stop The War coalition, said: "We
are marching to defend our civil liberties which are under attack and
to show our solidarity with the Muslim communities who are bearing the
brunt of that attack."
Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, read
out a message from London Mayor Ken Livingstone. It said: "The war
and occupation have brought neither democracy nor peace to Iraq. We have
made life harder and far more dangerous for the population of that country."
Veteran campaigner Tony Benn described the war as "corrupt"
and "unwinnable". He added: "It is a war for oil and power
and they are trying to present it as a religious war. "I do not believe
that Jesus Christ ordered Bush to go into Iraq. I do not believe that
Mohammed wanted people to die in buses and on the underground."
British soldier Lance-Corporal George Solomou, who refused his call-up
to serve in Iraq, said: "The British people are increasingly realising
that they have been told more and more lies about the war."
The coalition said the recent clashes involving British troops in Basra
highlighted the urgent need to bring the "occupation" to an
end.
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8 Don't use Jesus and Mohammed to back war, protestors told
26 September 2005
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_050926demos.shtml
Among the hundreds of thousands of anti-Iraq war protestors who marched
in Britain and the USA this weekend, the issue of how religion was being
used to justify war and terror proved a major concern.
Speaking to some 40,000 people in London’s Hyde Park on Saturday,
ex-MP Tony Benn declared: “I do not believe that Jesus Christ ordered
[President] Bush to go into Iraq. I do not believe that Mohammed wanted
people to die in buses and on the [London] underground.” He said
the conflict was “corrupt” and “unwinnable”, adding:
“It is a war for oil and power and they are trying to present it
as a religious war.”
Among the other speakers at the rally were Stewart Hemsley of Pax Christi,
the international Catholic peace movement, former Catholic priest and
CND general secretary Bruce Kent, and representatives
of both the Muslim Association of Britain and the Muslim Council of Britain.
Meanwhile in Washington DC, over 200,000 people marched past the White
House, many carrying “who would Jesus bomb?” placards. Military
veterans and parents with buggies rubbed shoulders with clergy and demo
veterans in tie-dyed gear. According to the Washington Post, “It
was the first time in a decade that protest groups had a permit to march
in front of the executive mansion, and, even though President Bush was
not there, the setting seemed to electrify the crowd.” Baptist pastor
and activist the Rev Jesse Jackson made an explicit link between the resources
poured into military spending, racism, and the lack of money to assist
the poor and vulnerable in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
There were also sizable anti-war demonstrations in Los Angeles, San Diego
and San Francisco on the West Coast. Around 60 per cent of Americans now
question their government’s policy on Iraq. However, many are asking
now what can be done to end the occupation, stem the insurgency and support
democratic change in Iraq. Some protestors in London told Ekklesia that
they were uncomfortable with a simple “troops out” slogan.
The longer-range issues have been addressed by four Church of England
bishops in a detailed new report entitled Countering Terrorism: Power,
Violence and Democracy Post 9/11. The bishops call for a recognition of
the West’s failing, the strengthening of ‘just war’
criteria, a truth and reconciliation process, and a major policy shift
in the light of lessons learned in Iraq.
They also highlight the dangers of the US religious right and its theology
of war, ‘the complex relationship between religion and violence’,
and the misuse of biblical texts to justify aggression.
The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia welcomed the seriousness and commitment
of the document, but noted that there is little recognition of the role
that principled Christian non-violence could play in generating alternatives.
The bishops’ report draws on the work of Middle East policy experts
and respected theologians like Stephen Sizer, Nigel Biggar and Michael
Northcott (who contributed to a recent Ekklesia book on atonement and
violence). But Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest heavily involved
in Christian-Muslim relations and political diplomacy in Iraq and Israel-Palestine,
has expressed concern that the bishops’ call for a Western apology
for the war will weaken the position of local Christians.
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9 Peace protest marchers call for troop withdrawal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1578409,00.html
The Guardian, Monday September 26, 2005
The mother of a soldier killed by a roadside bomb near Basra led calls
at the weekend for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. The appeal
to the government came as senior military figures called for an exit strategy
and a poll showed growing public support for it.
"Seven weeks ago we saw our son for the last time in a coffin at
the chapel of rest, looking down on the face of a son that I had given
birth to, love with all my heart, knowing that I would never see him again,"
Sue Smith, whose son, Private Phillip Hewett, was killed while on patrol,
told a rally in Hyde Park on Saturday. Reading from a letter to Tony Blair
that she had earlier delivered to 10 Downing Street, she said: "You
made the decision to go to Iraq and you can make the decision to get our
sons and daughters out of there."
The rally came at the end of a march from Parliament Square organised
by the Stop the War Coalition. Organisers claimed that 100,000 had attended,
while the police put the figure at 10,000.
In Washington DC more than 100,000 protesters reportedly surged through
the US capital. Thousands more rallied in Los Angeles, San Francisco and
other US cities. "We need a people's movement to end this war,"
said Cindy Sheehan, whose son was one of almost 2,000 killed in Iraq.
In Hyde Park relatives of the 96 British soldiers who have died appealed
for withdrawal by Christmas. "This is an illegal and unwinnable war,"
Tony Benn told the crowd. The musician Brian Eno said: "It is time
to stop prosecuting vanity wars and time to start dealing with the world's
real problems." Tariq Ali said the demonstration was a far greater
reflection of the country's mood than that represented by the Labour party
conference in Brighton. A former anti-Vietnam war leader, Tom Hayden,
who had come from California, said the marchers represented "the
power of the people against the pillars of policy". Bruce Kent of
the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said to applause:
"My formula for an exit strategy is quite simple: get out."
A YouGov poll for Five News at the weekend showed that 57% of those polled
favoured a withdrawal, compared with 27% who opposed it.
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10
25 September, 2005
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=53952&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
Thousands of people marched in London yesterday to demand the withdrawal
of British troops from Iraq, while similar protests were held or expected
in other European cities and in Washington. Organisers of the London march
– Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and
the Muslim Association of Britain – said that it attracted 100,000
people. Police said just 10,000 turned up.
Gathered outside the Houses of Parliament, some carried banners bearing
slogans such as “Blair is a liar”, “Blair must go”,
and “Bring troops home.” Britain has some 8,500 troops stationed
in Iraq. The protesters later moved up Whitehall, chanting “Down
with Downing Street” and “Stop the bombing”. Around
50 policemen guarded the entrance to Downing Street itself, site of Prime
Minister Tony Blair’s office and official residence.
Among them was Peter Brierley, from Batley in Yorkshire, whose soldier
son Shaun, 28, died in Kuwait in 2003. “I am totally overwhelmed.
Now Tony Blair has to listen and bring the troops home," he said.
"Looking at what has happened in Iraq through this last week it is
obvious that Iraq does not want troops there. If they do not bring them
out there will be more families like us,” he said.
Tension between British troops and Iraqi civilians deteriorated dramatically
last week in the usually calm southern city of Basra. Authorities there
have suspended co-operation with British forces and yesterday an Iraqi
judge issued warrants for the arrest of two British soldiers for killing
a policeman. British troops stormed an Iraqi police station after the
two British undercover soldiers were arrested by police and then kidnapped
by a Shia militia.
“Clearly what happened in Basra this week shows that British troops
aren’t helping there, they make the situation worse,” Stop
the War spokesman Viven Lehal told AFP. The London demonstration was also
a protest against new counter-terrorism legislation in the pipeline and
against the increase in incidents of racism that followed the July 7 bombings
in London.
It was the 12th protest of its kind held in recent years, and the first
since the July bombings, which claimed 52 lives. Those “attacks
prove a point we’ve long been making: the invasion and illegal occupation
of Iraq have made us a major terrorist target. The only people who can’t
see that are in our government”, said Lehal.
Activist Bianca Jagger, musician Brian Eno, Labour member of Parliament
Tony Benn and the parents of British soldiers killed in Iraq were all
due to address marchers. Also yesterday, some 1,500 to 2,000 people marched
in Copenhagen to protest against the US-led military action in Iraq. Danish
police described the rally, co-ordinated by the “Stop the War on
Terror” organisation, as peaceful. “It was a very quiet march.
There was no violence,” Copenhagen police duty officer Kenneth Vestergaard
told AFP. The demonstrators carried signs reading “Stop the occupation
of Iraq” and “Bring our Danish troops home now”.
In Oslo, about 40 people representing the Workers’ Communist Party
of Iraq demonstrated outside the US embassy for about two hours, while
in Helsinki about 20 people took part in a similar protest outside the
US mission there. Police in Oslo and Helsinki described both of those
rallies as very calm, with no trouble and no arrests.
In Paris, about 60 protesters rallied near the US embassy on the central
Place de la Concorde square. Banners read in French and Arabic: “Troops
out of Iraq, Justice in Palestine”, as well as “Incompetent
Bush, why don’t you take care of your hurricanes” and “Wanted,
George W Bush, war criminal”.
Other anti-war protests were expected in Rome and Washington.The mother
of a British soldier killed in Iraq, Rose Gentle from Scotland, flew to
Washington where she will march side by side with Cindy Sheehan, a killed
American soldier’s mother who has come to symbolise the US’s
anti-war movement.
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11 Protest over nuclear weapons at base
September 26, 2005
http://www.eadt.co.uk/
PROTESTORS have staged a demonstration outside an American air base in
Suffolk where they claim there are more than 100 nuclear weapons. Around
30 good-natured anti-nuclear campaigners attached banners yesterday to
the fence of the massive RAF Lakenheath base currently used by the USAF.
The group, mainly from the Lakenheath Action Group and the Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament, voiced their anger at what they see
as the lack of transparency at the base, which they allege houses 110
nuclear bombs.
Protestor Mell Harrison, who performed a play called Theatre of War at
the demonstration, claimed: "There are 110 B61 free fall bombs on
this base which is run entirely by the Americans. "In their time
here there have been two accidents in which they evacuated US personnel
but didn't tell the local people. "People living here should be aware
of what they are bringing here. They fly them into the country and out
on a regular basis. We want to see some openness and accountability. They
should leave Britain and take their nuclear weapons home with them. There
is no need for them in the world but there is a call for co-operation
and understanding."
Jacqui McCarney said: "I've been coming here ever since the Iraq
war. The American weapons of mass destruction present a huge danger locally
and to the world."Inspector Peter McDonald of MOD police, who watched
over the event, emerged from behind the rigorous base security to accept
a letter from the demonstrators to be given to US base commander Brigadier
General Robert Steel. In the letter the Lakenheath Action Group pledged
to continue protesting at the base until the nuclear weapons were taken
from Europe.
A CND member since 1958, Jean Davis said she believed
the campaign was beginning to see results. This is part of a Europe-wide
gathering to get American nuclear weapons out of Europe," she said
"There are 480 weapons on bases across Europe and 110 are here, this
isn't an isolated protest."
Green Party Norfolk county councillor Andrew Boswell, who made the trip
from Norwich to voice his support for the demonstration, agreed: "The
message is getting through. There is currently a debate on the British
trident nuclear fleet and it is quite clear we don't need it anymore because
the security threat we face is different."
MOD police spokesman Steve Partridge, said: "This was a planned
protest and so we were aware of it and we always look to accommodate them
wherever we can. About 40 protestors were at the base and it was well
organised and didn't cause any problems. We did have one issue with two
people who went up a closed road beside the base, which has been closed
for some time for safety reasons. They were given a verbal warning and
escorted back onto the highway. There were no arrests."
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12 Blair’s secret arms talks with Saudis
http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/47853.html
TONY Blair has held secret arms talks with the Saudi royal family,
a dynasty of absolute monarchs at the head of a state with one of the
worst human rights records on the planet. As the prime minister took to
the stage to deliver his conference speech yesterday, the shadow of the
House of Saud loomed over him, just as it has previously haunted George
W Bush, the US president. It has emerged the prime minister travelled
to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on July 2 en route to Singapore where the
announcement of the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games was being made. His
visit was followed three weeks later by a two-day trip to the kingdom
by John Reid, the defence secretary, when discussions were held with Prince
Sultan, the crown prince, over the purchase of Typhoons for the Saudi
air force.
The Typhoon, a European fighter plane, is being made in Germany, Italy,
Spain and the UK. BAE Systems, the British arms manufacturer, has invested
most in the project and therefore has most to win, or lose, from it. If
the Saudis, as Mr Blair and Mr Reid hope, decide to re-equip their air
force with Typhoons. the deal could be worth about £40bn. Under
a previous large-scale arms deal between the UK and the Saudis in the
1980s, called Al Yamamah, the kingdom was supplied with, among other things,
Tornado fighter aircraft. The government's main contractor for Al Yamamah
was BAE, which is reported to have made about £43bn from the deal.
Saudi Arabia paid for the arms over many years with about 600,000 barrels
of oil per day to the UK government. BAE still supplies support staff
to maintain the aircraft for the Saudi Royal Air Force. There are, however,
a few obstacles that must be hurdled before the Typhoon deal can be brokered.
According to defence and diplomatic sources, the Saudis are seeking a
number of favours in return for the order. They want the UK government
to expel two anti-Saudi dissidents, force British Airways to resume flights
to Riyadh, which it cancelled because security concerns depleted passenger
numbers, and want the Serious Fraud Office to drop a corruption investigation
involving Prince Turki bin Nasr, a member of the Saudi royal family, a
slush fund and BAE. However, the web of alliances that form the backdrop
to the negotiations is tangled with apparent conflicts of interest. Jonathan
Powell, the prime minister's chief of staff, who is reportedly pro-Saudi,
is the brother of Charles Powell, a member of the House of Lords, a former
foreign policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher and a paid consultant of BAE,
the firm building the Typhoons.
To further complicate matters, John Reid heads the Ministry of Defence,
which is assisting the Serious Fraud Office with its investigation into
alleged corruption involving the Saudi royal family and BAE. The friendship
between Britain and the ruling family is well established. It began 78
years ago, with the signing of the Treaty of Jedda, when what was to become
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed from a British protectorate. It
was the UK which first recognised the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd, which
a few years later became Saudi Arabia. In doing so it validated the regime
of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, the first king of the new realm whose descendants
still rule the Arabian peninsula with the same autocratic zeal today.
Since then, relations between successive UK governments and the ruling
House of Saud have remained cordial.
However, reaction to the Typhoon talks with the Saudis has been mixed.
Kate Hudson, chairman of CND, said: "Given the known
instability in the region, and the issues around democracy and civil and
human rights surrounding some of the regimes, we find it extraordinary
that our government should be selling arms to this region at all."
Mark Erickson, a campaigner for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, said:
"BAE Systems is given free access to Number 10 to plan and plot their
way to selling the Typhoon to Saudi. I find it very disheartening."
However, two Scottish Labour MPs defended the talks.
John Robertson, MP for Glasgow North West, said: "We don't have many
problems with Saudi and it will lead to more work for British workers."
And Anne Begg, MP for Aberdeen South, said: "Given that we have an
aerospace industry in Britain it would be pretty strange if any British
government was not trying to protect that industry. "
Julian Scopes, spokesman for BAE systems, said: "The government has
been consistent in its support for the legitimate export of such equipment
and we are grateful for that support."
A spokesman for the MoD confirmed the visits of Mr Blair and Mr Reid to
the kingdom. Asked about the morality of selling arms to the region, he
added: "We have a long-running programme with the Saudi authorities,
a leading nation in the Middle East with whom we enjoy a very good defence
relationship."
………………………………..................
13 Hundreds of thousands march against Iraq war
http://www.progressiveu.org/node/731
Across the globe demonstrations took place against the US-led war and
occupation of Iraq. Washington D.C. saw the largest demonstration with
hundreds of thousands of people marching. Organizers put the figure as
high as 250,000 though police put the number at 150,000. Many speakers
linked the massive deployment of US troops in Iraq and the inability of
the federal government to respond adequately to the needs of people displaced
by Hurricane Katrina, and others linked the Iraq war to the occupation
of Palestine and the oil crisis. The mobilisations were united around
the slogan "Bring the Troops Home Now!" San Francisco and Los
Angeles also had demonstrations.
The demonstration in London set off from Parliament square and went to
Hyde park. Organizers' figures for attendance (100,000) differ greatly
from the police's estimate of only 10,000. Stop the War Coalition, the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim
Association of Britain (MAB) jointly organized the demonstration. The
organizers planned the demonstration to coincide with the Washington demonstration
and also in hope of influencing the Labour Party Conference.
Notable in the U.S. mobilizations was the increasingly visible presence
of military families speaking out against the war. Antiwar activist Cindy
Sheehan spoke in D.C. and drew the largest crowd of spectators.
Antiwar mobilizations, as well as actions against the World Bank and IMF,
continued in D.C. into the week.
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