Lancashire hot spot

Friday, March 31, 2006

My third day in the north west of England protesting about Condoleezza Rice's visit. So far we have scored a couple of victories. The Blackburn mosque has cancelled the invitation it originally extended because of outcry from the Muslim community across Lancashire.

In the Orwellian tones we've come to expect from government spin doctors, this has been portrayed as a health and safety issue, the visit cancelled because protestors threatened to 'invade the mosque'. No we didn't, but Muslims were going to have their own peaceful sit down protests after prayers. Others of us would have been outside.

We were discussing last night why Straw and Rice think they can get away with these visits. After all, there are now going to be a series of protests,at a Blackburn school this morning where hundreds are gathering, at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts this afternoon, and then at the Philharmonic hall tonight. Tomorrow it's all eyes on Blackburn again.

All the questions to her from the press this morning were apparently about the protests. So why come? Two reasons I think: they keep thinking they can put Iraq behind them, and keep finding out the hard way. Secondly they are surrounded by people who tell them what they want to hear and who don't know the strength of feeling on this issue.

Jack Straw is using his re election last year as a mandate for the war and his foreign policy. But Labour lost a million votes in that election, mainly due to the war. Both main parties standing in that election were pro war, so the wonder is that anti war candidates did as well as they did.

Another victory was Roger McGough and Cathy Tyson pulling out of compering the concert. Plus we get loads of tip offs about where she's going and when. We protested at the Hope Street hotel she was staying in last night, then went off, then got a call that she was about to land at the airport, so hastily recalled a small picket.

My friend Carmel, also press officer who lives up here, and I made our way back, without placards and on our own. There were a few balloons with the name Gordon Gentle (a young soldier who died in Iraq and whose wonderful mum was in Liverpool and Blackpool with me speaking on Wednesday night)tied to a lamppost. We struggled to untie them, helped by a policeman with a Swiss Army knife who was amazed we were protestors.

Another policeman said rather grumpily he thought we weren't coming back. So did we but by now we had our picket right outside the hotel with our chant, No Bush, No Rice, No Straw, No war.

So we managed to protest at her arrival. Today in the Liverpool Daily Post, there's a picture of us plus balloons against the imposing background of the Catholic Cathedral where we're assembling tonight.

You certainly see the sights in the anti-war movement. Join us if you can or in Blackburn tomorrow.

3/31/2006 09:51:00 AM | Permalink

Money to burn

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Strikes on both sides of the channel today: in France over the curtailing of young people's employment rights and here in Britain because they want public sector workers to work longer before they get their pensions.

The supposed reason for these attacks by government is the usual neo liberal one: that the money isn't there to pay decent wages or pensions.

Strange that logic never applies when we're talking about war. A recent parliamentary answer revealed that we are spending £2.8 million per day on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last year we spent £1.1 billion on Iraq and £220 million on Afghanistan. Total costs of the war so far, including this year's spending projection to £5.6 billion in both countries.

By far the lion's share of this has gone on Iraq, where in the past four years we have burned £4.2 billion.

That would pay for a lot of people to retire at 60, or would solve the schooling crisis, or would care properly for our old people.

None of this makes headline news. We have gone to war on a lie and now the government is spending with impunity. Maybe more MPs _whose pensions are incidentally bigger and better protected than any other public sector workers and who are so quick to criticise the low paid _could scrutinise where our public money is going and what the priorities of government are.

And wouldn't it be nice to see money for caring services protected in the way that military spending always seems to be.

3/28/2006 10:59:00 AM | Permalink

Pots and kettles

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Could you make it up? Norman Kember, released after four months in captivity after being kidnapped in Iraq, is now facing a barrage of attacks from the military and the press. His crime? Having been in Iraq in the first place and showing insufficient gratitude for his rescue.

The phrase pots and kettles comes to mind. The troops are the people who shouldn't be there, and while there is no sign that Iraqis have done anything but welcome Norman and his fellow campaigners that can't be said of the troops. Demonstrations regularly call for them to go and the highest votes in last year's election went to anti occupation candidates.

As for the claim that costs of Norman's rescue ran into millions and that soldiers risked their lives rescuing him, the facts seem rather different. There appears to have been an uncontested handover of the hostages, the kidnappers having fled. It seems hard to understand how this could have cost millions, unless he was flown back in a private jet. But no, he was on a BA scheduled flight from Kuwait.

This claim about costs looks a little thin in the light of the billions already spent and the fact that we the British taxpayers pay for mercenaries to run private security in Iraq.

Norman and Christian Peacemakers surely have a right to be in Iraq, since they see this as the way to bring peace to the Middle East. Even if you disagree with that way of campaigning (and personally I think our most effective camapigns are those carried out in solidarity with Iraqis here)you should accept that they have gone there to try to help. If only all of the westerners who had gone there in recent years had the same aim.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for government calls for Halliburton, the oil companies and the 'private security' firms to quit.

3/26/2006 03:04:00 PM | Permalink

Sweet enough

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Good news today that Norman Kember and the Canadian detainees have been released after spending months kidnapped in Iraq. Congratulations to Anas al Tikriti from the Muslim Association of Britain for campaigning in Iraq on their behalf.

I hope the government isn't going to claim credit for this. Norman Kember was in Iraq campaigning for peace. What he went through is what many Iraqis go through and is just one part of the mosaic which is the hell of Iraq.

Messages from the demo keep flooding in. Hardly any are negative, and most of those are from the US. But we also get brilliant messages from the US. People write and say we are so glad you are doing something.

One mail today was about Palestine. Why do we raise this issue, surely it has nothing to do with the war on Iraq. But it has. Instability in the region is connected both to the wars, the presence of foreign troops and western support for Israel. This was shown graphically over the Jericho jail, where US and British observers left and allowed the Israelis to attack. Britain and France drew up the Middle East boundaries after the First World War and Israel was established after the Second World War.

Western policy and the new imperialism are intimately connected with Palestine and any solution to the Middle East crisis has to involve justice for the Palestinians.

It isn't all politics in the Stop the War office. Our biggest disputes are about chocolate and who is going to unload the van. There are a couple of people in our office (men I might add) who love chocolate although they're quite fussy about what sort. We get squabbles over the Green and Black's (which isn't easily available here in King's Cross) plus it is now obligatory whenever anyone goes abroad to stock up in the duty free. So we've had recently Lindt dark chocolate from Istanbul, Neuhaus from Frankfurt and chocolate from Venezuela so hard you had to cut it with a knife.

Just as well there's an international movement to keep us stocked up.

Off now to speak at City University on Guantanamo _pressure is building up and even the Guardian printed some good letters including our own. But then again it also printed an appalling apology for the US goverment's torture camp.

3/23/2006 04:27:00 PM | Permalink

The spoils of war

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Stop press. Gordon Brown has just announced another £800 million to be put aside for troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.(!)Obviously he hasn't been talking to John Reid who thinks we just have a few local difficulties there. Isn't it incredible that these sums of money are just allocated with no real public debate, whereas most schools and hospitals struggle to replace staff or buildings.

Britain had one of the largest anti war demos in the world last weekend but has some of the worst press about the war. The BBC's coverage of the 3rd anniversary barely touched on any opposition to the war or occupation. And what about the Financial Times, which covered a demo they claimed was a few hundred in Washington but said nothing about what happened in London.

Anti war protesters from elsewhere in the world say its the same for them _ they hear about our demos before they hear about their own. I notice there is a free speech demo in Trafalgar Square this weekend backed by the not quite reconstructed warmonger Johann Hari. I bet that gets coverage.

Meanwhile in the real world, we are mobilising against Condoleezza Rice's visit to Liverpool and Blackburn next week. The big question is what will be the programme for her visit to the Liverpool Philharmonic: Give peace a chance, Imagine or Masters of War?

Flight Lieutenant Kendal Smith is not being let off as easily as the terrible twins, Rice and Straw. He only refused to obey orders in an illegal war_rather than actually starting one_so he's up for court martial, not a night at the concert hall.

3/22/2006 04:34:00 PM | Permalink

March 18

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

What a marvellous response to the demonstration on Saturday. I've been reading messages and talking to people ever since. If I could have a pound for everyone who said they didn't think it would be this big, I would be rich. OK, not as rich as a Blair Lord, but doing OK.

The problem with a movement as long-established as Stop the War is bringing in new activists while persuading the older activists that there are new people around and that there is a point in booking the coaches, holding the meetings, filling the thermos flasks, making the sandwiches and heading down to London.

But there is a point and Saturday proved it. Firstly because governments do notice these demos - why else do you think John Reid made his trip to Iraq for the anniversary of the war where he lied through his teeth about how happy Iraqis are? His own Ministry of Defence conducted a poll recently where 80 percent of Iraqis questioned said the troops should leave!

Secondly they build support for the movement itself. They show us all that we're not alone and that many other people feel the same as us.

Blair said he would do it all again if he had the chance. So we'll have to do it all again to stop him.

3/21/2006 06:24:00 PM | Permalink

Blair & God

I was in Istanbul at an anti war conference when I heard of Tony Blair's assertion that god will judge him for the war in iraq. Most people looked bemused. I pointed out that most people would like him to be brought to account rather sooner than he plans, preferably judged by British people themselves.

He is also pushing his luck. He has already survived the Hutton whitewash and the Butler inquiry - the third time he might not be so lucky.

The delusional belief in his own rightness and his mystical refusal to deal with the realities of iraq has made life much harder for the rest of us. A growing number of people in Britain and around the world are opposed to the occupation, an increasing number of troops are dying, and the Iraqis themselves are demonstrating and organising for the troops to leave. But while he preaches democracy to the rest of the world, he refuses to be held accountable by anybody other than God.

After the conference I walked past the British consulate in Istanbul and looked at its new fortifications following the bombing there. British embassies around the world are being fortified, US embassies are being built outside of town like in Beirut, the list of countries that the Foreign Office advises British citizens not to visit is growing. Yet the madness of the war on terror - now rebranded the 'long war' by the Americans - continues.

Meanwhile, Condoleezza Rice is visiting Jack Straw's consituency of Blackburn. No doubt she will be surrounded by police and security to protect her from demonstrators. At the same time, we are having trouble from the police about our plans to sign petitions on Parliament Square on the day of our demo, March 18th. There is increasing restriction on this square, demonstrating on which can be judged a serious crime under last year's law. Maybe we should say we will only be judged by god.

3/21/2006 05:47:00 PM | Permalink