I am not British but I happen to live in this country, in which the media are shamelessly conducting a pro-war campaign. I was astonished on Sunday evening when no TV channel has changed their programs to broadcast news on the war or at least a talk show where different points of view are debated. Only quite late some more news were given. According to the British TV channels Sunday evening was a normal evening.
Ask anybody in the rest of Europe: they will tell you that their TVs have promptly interrupted all programs to discuss the attacks and to give news. Had they not done so, there would have been massive protests. Noone complained in Britain.

I was also astonished to see that no clear news (and no visible news at all) had been given about the demonstration that was taking place in London that evening. Not only, but the demonstration on Monday evening was very poorly advertised (to my knowledge only by a post on indymedia uk and by www.resist.org.uk, although the times given did not agree).

I have been at the antiwar protest on Monday evening in London and I was impressed by the disastrous organization. What I found in (a corner of) Trafalgar square was a small group of people with little intention of making themselves visible. No information was being given to people around the square, or in the neighboring streets. No music, no noise (yes, they are important to make people notice the demonstration); two (competing?) groups of speakers were talking, one hidden in the back of the small crowd.

At some point someone tried to give me a no-war banner where one quarter of the visible space was taken by the socialist alliance logo. I am sorry, I am not socialist, but yet I am against the war. So I didnt accept the banner, eventually I took a socialist worker poster and I ripped off the part where it said socialist worker. I listened to the speeches for a while and almost every speaker wanted to make propaganda for their own ideas. The slogan no class war but the class war was shouted several times. Fine to me if they think so, but maybe I dont agree with that so I feel I have joined a demonstration where my presence is being exploited to make statements different from "I disagree with the war"; and I find this extremely irritating.

As someone on indymedia has mentioned already, several people were selling a variety of socialist/communist magazines. Fine to me if you sell them from a stand only, but it looks quite ridiculous if no less than 20 people ask me if I want to buy one. Not the right place, sorry.

Suddenly and without notice a group of people started moving towards Downing Street leaving one the speaker I was listening to wordless. What impression can this give, but of a fragmented and unorganised movement? The crowd followed very quickly (why? the point in a demonstration is to occupy the street for the longest possible time and be visible).

We then stood in front of Downing Street for a while, the police took lots of pictures, some press photographers took lots of pictures, some demonstrators took lots of pictures. Some speeches were given and then everybody left without making too much noise.

I don't want my comments to be negative for anyone; I am glad that someone called for a demonstration, but it was honestly the smallest and worst one I have ever been to. And the antiwar movement in Britain will not manage to grow if things are organised in this way.

As a little aside, a very practical advice: it would not be a bad idea to have one or more stands in London where volunteers give clean news about the war and the protests, all day, seven days a week; I stress that this has been made in hundreds of towns in Europe during the Gulf War, and it is perfectly feasible.