Lowkey is a rap artist and political activist. The article below is a transcript of the speech he made at Stop the War Coalition's Antiwar Assembly in Trafalgar Square on 8 October 2011."

Thank you very much. The first thing I would like to say is what are and what is a weapon of mass destruction?

A weapon of mass destruction is the depleted uranium which means that babies being born today in Iraq are born with two heads. Babies are born with one arm, are born with incredible deformities.

Now we have to ask ourselves a question, us in comfortable London, surrounded as we are by police and everything else. Would we accept that for our children?

And why is it we expect other people to accept that for theirs? It's really simple.

Do you think unmanned drones are weapons of mass destruction? Unmanned drones which are dropping bombs on Yemen, on Somalia, on Pakistan, on Afghanistan, on Libya, on Iraq. That is a weapon of mass destructions A real mass destruction.

And all of this talk about democracy - let me ask you a question: is a country that goes to war and sends its sons to kill and die against the will of a majority of its population a democracy?

Is that democracy, when over a million people take the streets and tell you 'we don't want you to do this', and you go ahead and do this, does this equal democracy?

And we can sit here so convinced of our own supremacy, so convinced of the own supremacy of our own humanity, as if we are more human then other people, with our arrogance. Sleep comfortably. This is being done in our name.

What is wrong with us? How have we allowed this to become so normal and normalised? Shame up on us for allowing this to take place and living with this! We need to understand that humanity is one body, humanity is one body. We are not independent of any other part of that body. Much less living in the country which defined the borders of Afghanistan over a hundred years ago, and defined the borders of Iraq less than a hundred years ago. We are independent from no one.

We have to take this in our own hands, and take control of this situation, because it is clear they're people who are working against the interests of humanity.

And they talk about democracy in the Middle East and dictatorships in the Middle East. The biggest dictator in the Middle East, who has imprisoned the most people, who has ethnically cleansed the most people, who has displaced the most people, who has murdered the most people has a name: that is dictator is called the state of Israel.

And I will tell you this, you talk about democracy in Arab countries. If you had democracy in Arab countries, not one of the governments would be pro-Israeli, not one of them. Not one of them.

There wouldn't be anymore American military bases on their land. You think it takes a rocket scientist to work this out. Look at what people are chanting on the street, even in Tunisia. What are they talking about? They are not talking about peace and love with the state of Israel. It has tortured our people, what do you expect from people?

So the first one I want to do it called Terrorist, and when I say 'I'm all about peace and love', I want you to say 'I'm all about peace and love' back to me please. Okay.

They're calling me a terrorist
Like they don't know who the terror is
When they put it on me, I tell them this
I'm all about peace and love
Peace and love
They calling me a terrorist
Like they don't know who the terror is
Insulting my intelligence
Oh how these people judge..

It seems like the Rag-heads and Pakis are worrying your Dad
But your dad's favourite food is curry and kebab
It's funny but it's sad how they make your mummy hurry with her bags
Rather read The Sun than study all the facts
Tell me, what's the bigger threat to human society
BAE Systems or home made IED's
Remote controlled drones, killing off human lives
Or man with home made bomb committing suicide
I know you were terrified when you saw the towers fall
It's all terror but some forms are more powerful
It seems nuts, how could there be such agony
When more Israeli's die from peanut allergies
It's like the definition didn't ever exist
I guess it's all just depending who your nemesis is
Irrelevant how eloquent the rhetoric peddler is
They're telling fibs, now tell us who the real terrorist is

They're calling me a terrorist
Like they don't know who the terror is
When they put it on me, I tell them this
I'm all about peace and love
Peace and love
They calling me a terrorist
Like they don't know who the terror is
Insulting my intelligence
Oh how these people judge..

Listen, Lumumba was democracy – Mossadegh was democracy
Allende was democracy – Hypocrisy it bothers me
Call you terrorists if you don't wanna be a colony
We used to bow down to a policy of robbery
Is terrorism my lyrics?
When more Vietnam vets kill themselves after the war than died in it?
This is very basic..
One nation in the world has over a thousand military bases
They say it's religion, when clearly it isn't
It's not just Muslims that oppose your imperialism
Is Hugo Chavez a Muslim? Nah.. I didn't think so
Is Castro a Muslim? Nah.. I didn't think so
It's like the definition didn't ever exist
I guess it's all just depending who your nemesis is
Irrelevant how eloquent the rhetoric peddler is
They're telling fibs, now tell us who the terrorist is

So when we look, when we look at the history of the United States in relation to democracy in the quote-unquote 'third world', what happened to Mossadegh? He wanted to nationalise what is now BP (British Petroleum).

What happened to this man? What happened to Allende? What happened to Lumumba? What policies are they now pushing against Mr Chavez, Mr Morales in Bolivia, Mr Correa in Ecuador? These are democratically-elected leaders and because their policies are reflecting the will of the people they are going against the wishes of the United States and the CIA. It's not complicated. It's not complicated.

So the next one is going to be Long Live Palestine.

So when I say 'Long Live Palestine', I want you to say 'Long Live Gaza'. Are you ready? Yeah. Are you with me?

This is for Palestine, Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza,
This is for the child that is searching for an answer,
'wish I could take your tears and replace them with laughter,
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!

While we listen to tunes, made by ignorant fools,
Israel blocked the UN from delivering food,
They'll bring in the troops and you won't even glimpse at the news,
They make money of the products that we are quick to consume,
It's not simply a question of differing views,
Forget emotions, this is fact, what I spit is the truth,
Makes no difference if you're a Christian or if you're a Jew,
They are just people living in different conditions to you,
They still die when you bomb their schools, mosques and hospitals,
It is not because of rockets, please god can you stop it all,
I'm not related to the strangers on the TV,
But I relate because those faces could have been me,
Words can never ever explain the raw tragedy,
It's not a war they're just murdering more rapidly,
And we are automatically supporting pure savagery,
Imagine how you'd feel if it was your family,

This is for Palestine, Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza,
This is for the child that is searching for their answer,
I wish I could take your tears and replace them with laughter,
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!

This is not just a war over stolen land,
Why do you think little boys are throwing stones at tanks?
We will never really know how many people are dead,
They drop bombs on little girls while they sleep in their beds,
Don't get offended by facts, just try and listen,
Nothing is more anti-Semitic than Zionism,
So please don't bring bad vibes when you speak to me,
I know there's plenty of Rabbi's that agree with me,
It's your choice what you do with this message,
Don't get confused; I view this from a truly human perspective,
How many more resolutions have to be violated,
How many more children have to be annihilated
Israel is a terror state, there terrorists that terrorise,
I testify, my television televised them telling lies,
This is not a war, it is systematic genocide,
But whatever they try, Falestine will never die!

Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!
Long live Palestine, Long live Gaza!

Thank you very much. Peace and love