Indymedia

Plaquette de SOCPA en dehors de la galerie nationale

Démonstrateurs dans la place de Trafalgar

Le dirigeant essaye d'empêcher la photographie pendant l'arrêt et la recherche, Whitehall

Les protestataires de paix, le Parlement ajustent

Plaquette de SOCPA et grand Ben

Le maintien de l'ordre disproportionné était le nom du jeu à Westminster samedi, où les milliers de centaines sinon de police étaient en service au-dessus du secteur dans une tentative évidente d'éviter une répétition de la liberté de `de janvier pour protester le' débâcle. (Voyez http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2008/01/jan.htm#freedom )

En dépit de la pesanteur de la question, seulement un petit groupe de démonstrateurs tournés vers le haut, et au début de l'événement ils ont été dépassés par les médias - et étaient en nombre seulement une petite fraction de la présence de police. Uns sont arrivés plus tard, et certains sont allés à la maison rapidement, mais aux nombres maximaux étaient toujours au-dessous de 50. Un dirigeant aîné est venu au début et a publié un avertissement qu'une mesure sérieuse serait prise si n'importe quelle démonstration dans le secteur indiqué par SOCPA étaient essayées, distribuerant des copies de la notification habituelle. Un démonstrateur a pris des notes et le photographe CONVENABLE a photographié et a filmé tout qui s'est déplacées.

Plus tard ce photographe s'est opposé aux démonstrateurs le photographiant d'une gamme étroite et plusieurs fois ont éliminé son bras dans un geste malheureux ressemblant à un salut nazi, à un point frappant un démonstrateur dans la gorge. Plus tard, harcelé par' un criminel sérieux' chariot à achats avec son Illegali-Thé de `le', il a coulé et a couru précipitamment outre de vers le haut des étapes de la galerie nationale pour s'échapper, beaucoup à l'amusement de tout le présent, y compris égal certains de ses collègues.

Un petit groupe de démonstrateurs a décidé de placer au loin pour la place du Parlement, marchant tranquillement le long du trottoir. Un jeune homme qui est parvenu à éluder la police (mais non plusieurs photographes de pression) a été arrêté et recherché par la police vis-à-vis d'avaler la rue, qui l'a forcé à enlever son passe-montagne. Les choses les plus soupçonneuses ont trouvé sur lui étaient un billet exprès national et un accent fort de Newcastle.

In Parliament Square the peace protest was continuing as usual, and one protester was producing a splendid chalk pavement drawing. As I watched a police community support van drew up by her and it looked for a moment as if she was about to be apprehended, but seeing several press photographers taking pictures, the van drove off.

Later in the day a small group of the ‘Freedom to Protest’ demonstrators walked down Whitehall and through Parliament Square, and a short protest was held. Followed by a police van and the FIT photographer and minder they then made their way to a pub on the Horseferry Road, causing a little consternation among police around the Home Office as they passed close by. But the demonstrators went into the pub and police and press went home.

Pictures © 2008, Peter Marshall, all rights reserved.

Stop the War: a mass movement to celebrate and defend

Socialist Worker

The 15 February 2003 demonstration reminds us of the strength of the anti-war movement and shows the importance of the upcoming 15 March protest, writes Andrew Burgin

The fifth anniversary of the great anti-war march of 15 February 2003 was celebrated by the anti-war movement last week, as a high point of a truly unique mass movement that brought millions of people into political activity and ultimately led to the downfall of Tony Blair.

The anniversary was also marked by the mass media – which gave a somewhat mixed appraisal of the day.

One has to admire the Guardian newspaper for its chutzpah – on the anniversary the paper devoted a section of its editorial in praise of the march.

Not mentioned was the paper’s own support for the Iraq war nor its previous editorial position of not covering marches at all.

Nevertheless times change and now not only is the march to be considered as a wonderful event but we were also treated in the same edition to a long article on the march from quirky Guardian journalist, John Harris.

That the Guardian devoted a substantial section of their G2 supplement to the march is to be applauded and it is always good to see the photographs of the march – they show the incredible size and breadth of the anti-war movement that is difficult to express in words alone.

The article itself is a different matter. The main question Harris asks about the march is rather bizarre. He says, “Britain had never before seen a public outcry like it. So why haven’t we seen one again since?”

He states that the march and the movement which built it “failed to develop into anything with real political oomph”.

Effects

You don’t have to agree completely with former Chinese prime minister Zhou Enlai – who when asked in the 1970s to comment on the effects of the French Revolution, said that it was “too early to tell” – to believe that the effects of the largest demonstration in many hundreds of years of British political history may still be playing itself out.

After all British and US troops remain in Iraq and are now even more heavily engaged in Afghanistan than they were in 2003.

Harris rips the march from the movement which created it and tears it from what came before and what came after.

Rather than 15 February 2003 being seen as the high point in a long campaign against the “war on terror” Harris reduces the march to an isolated event which fell into the laps of the organisers by chance.

The organisers, he says, soon managed to whittle away this with “crushingly unimaginative tactics”. Presumably he means by this more marches.

Contrast this with Tony Benn’s approach – “The Stop the War movement is the most powerful and influential popular political movement of my lifetime and possibly of any period of our history.”

It is not a question of the honour of the movement or a question of defending the role of the SWP, which is criticised in the article, in building the anti-war movement, but the necessity of recognising the historic importance of this campaign – a campaign which still has some way to travel.

The marches are the backbone of our movement but they represent only a small part of our day to day activity.

Later this month the Stop the War Coalitions begins a series of nationwide rallies with Hassan Jumaa of the Iraqi oil workers’ union. We have worked closely with the Military Families Against the War campaign to support their demand for a public inquiry.

We have held a series of international peace conferences which have brought activists from across the world together to campaign against the “war on terror”.

There have been days of action against Islamophobia, in defence of civil liberties and opposing an attack on Iran. We have worked with artists and others to create events and exhibitions opposing the war.

And there has been much more – not least a campaign of direct action including sit-downs, banner drops and strikes and school walk-outs.

Lies and deceit

Where John Harris does hit the mark is in his account of the gap between the politicians (those who began the war) and the people (those who opposed it) and who exposed the lies and deceit that were used to promote it.

This week the government was forced to reveal the first draft of the “dodgy dossier” – and we will see the full extent of the “sexing up” of the intelligence by Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell.

We are in the middle of a long campaign to bring these politicians to account and to bring all the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is why we make no apology for calling for people to work as hard as possible to build the international day of action and the London and Glasgow demonstrations on Saturday 15 March.

The movement remains mobilised.

Rights activists have staged demonstrations in London to denounce Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s ‘human rights abuses’.

The demonstration, organized by human rights group Amnesty International, came on Saturday at Downing Street, prior to a meeting between Musharraf and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday.

“British Prime Minister Gordon Brown should tell visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that free and fair elections will be impossible without the full restoration of Pakistan’s judiciary,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.

On November 3, 2007 Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s Constitution, fired much of the country’s senior judges and arrested thousands of opponents, most of whom were eventually released because of international pressure.

“An independent judiciary is vital for people to have an avenue to contest the results of this election conducted in an environment of bias and intimidation,” said Adams.

He urged Brown to press Musharraf to rescind these measures, set up an independent election commission and a neutral caretaker government to oversee elections.

SB/RE

By Mick Meaney
RINF Alternative News

British comedian and political activist, Mark Thomas, made stark a warning at the annual conference of the GMB union in Brighton, last week, about a draconian British law prohibiting protests outside Parliament without prior police permission.

The ban exists within half a mile radius of the House of Commons that severely damages civil rights in the United Kingdom, in which the government overruled the Human Rights Act - that was meant to guarantee freedom of speech. The legislation came into effect back in August 1, 2005 and signalled the ushering in of a British police state.

The law means anyone gathering to demonstrate within the designated area is committing a criminal offence. Many campaigners, including Brian Haw, expect the ban radius to grow over time and eventually outlaw all forms of protest against government policies in the UK.

“I even had to get permission to wear a red nose in Parliament Square on Red Nose Day. The police are having an internal debate about this law because it’s just not worth it,” said Mark Thomas.

“The effect of these laws is to curtail our rights. They are having a chilling effect on campaigning and activism.”

A female activist has been sentenced to six years in prison by an Iranian court for attending two banned rallies and for “propaganda activity against the system”.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lawyer acting on behalf of Roya Tolui, said on Wednesday her client took part in two peaceful rallies in 2005.

The ISNA news agency reported the two rallies were in front of the governor’s office in the north-western town of Sanandaj in Iran’s Kurdistan province and Sotoudeh said Toloui was found guilty by a court in the town even though Iranian law allowed peaceful protests.

ISNA did not give details on what the protests were about.

Numerous convictions

“Roya Toloui was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on the charge of attending the mentioned gatherings and one year’s imprisonment on the charge of propaganda activity against the system,” Sotoudeh told ISNA.

It was not clear whether Toloui was in the court when the sentence was announced or whether she was tried in absentia.

Last month, a court in Tehran handed down partly suspended prison sentences of up to four years against two female activists who attended a banned rally in the capital to demand greater women’s rights, according to Iranian media.

About 100 women protested in Tehran in June against unequal inheritance laws, the difficulties women in Iran face getting a divorce, and the fact their court testimony is worth half that of men.

According to Human Rights Watch, six women have been convicted after taking part in that protest.

The group urged Iran’s judiciary last month to overturn the convictions and end its persecution of human rights defenders.

Iran says it does not discriminate against women and says its rules are based on the Sharia.

Agencies

*International Antifascist demonstration against the German Nationalist Party (NPD) march on June 2nd 2007 in Schwerin*

With the slogan, “Against Fascism and Capitalism – For a World without Borders!”, antifascists from Germany and beyond will protest against the planned right-wing extremist march on June 2nd 2007 in Schwerin. On this day, the regional leader of the German Nationalist Party (NPD), Stefan Koester, previously convicted for grievous bodily harm, has registered a march with over 1000 Neonazis from the whole of Germany.

The reason for this right-wing extremist demonstration is the the G8 Summit from 6th – 8th June in Heiligendamm. For some time now, Neonazis have been trying to jump on the bandwagon of the alterglobalisation movement. During the regional elections last year, the NPD, supported by right-wing thugs, took up the theme in their flyers and pamphlets. “With simplistic explanations and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, the right-wing extremist party sought to diffuse the fears of the population about globalization in their own interest.

Continue reading at the dissent! Network Of Resistance web site