Anti-war groups widen protests
Stuart Millar
Tuesday October 9, 2001
The Guardian
The British anti-war movement shifted into high gear last night with a nationwide series of vigils and demonstrations against the bombing of Afghanistan.
 http://politics.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,9174,565985,00.html


Anti-war protesters hold peace protests
By Andrew Sparrow, Political Correspondent
(Filed: 09/10/2001)
ANTI-WAR campaigners responded yesterday to the start of attacks against Afghanistan by organising protest events.Peace vigils were held at more than a dozen locations all over the country last night.
 http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/09/nmus209.xml


Anti-war groups pledge to protest across Britain while bombings continue
09 October 2001
Thousands of anti-war protesters have gathered in cities across Britain to demonstrate against the military strikes on Afghanistan.
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=98479


Tuesday, 9 October, 2001, 07:55 GMT 08:55 UK
Demonstration over US air strikes
A group of anti-war demonstrators have staged a protest at the US Consulate in Belfast.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_1586000/1586376.stm



....And this - good coverage from the Scottish Herald - except they get the numbers in london wrong, putting them at just 100 (they must have seen a report from much earlier on in the day or before the march arrived) instead of 1500 - 2000:


Anger spills on to streets in protests across globe
ANNETTE McCANN
 http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/9-10-19101-1-43-24.html

THOUSANDS of protesters staged demonstrations across the globe yesterday as anger spilled on to the streets over the night raids on Afghanistan.



Across Europe, police struggled to contain a series of anti-war demonstrations. In Greece, more than 2000 anti-globalisation activists and leftists marched on the US Embassy in Athens. Hundreds of riot police surrounded the building, while demonstrators chanted Americans murderers of the peoples, and Bush you are the terrorist.

Thousands of people also took to the streets in Stockholm and Helsinki, while German left-wing and far-right parties held marches in Berlin.

Protests also went ahead in cities across Britain organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in London and the Stop the War Coalition which staged demonstrations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester.

A CND spokesman said the movement's concerns over the military offensive would be expressed at a demonstration outside Downing Street but the turnout was disappointing with just 100 people attending.

Tony Blair's three-car convoy took a rarely-used route from Downing Street through the courtyard of the Foreign Office, avoiding Whitehall, where anti-war protesters were expected.

However, there was no sign of demonstrators, apart from a large police presence and dozens of crush barriers being erected. This was in contrast to scenes of two weeks ago when more than 3000 CND activists met in Whitehall insisting that military action was not the way forward.

A spokesman for the Stop the War Coalition said that members of the Muslim community had joined in the UK protests. "These attacks are acts of war wholly outside all accepted legal, democratic and civilised norms. They will outrage people across the world."

In Glasgow, six people were arrested following a demonstration at a Ministry of Defence building in Brown Street. It is understood three men and a woman who had climbed on to a window ledge outside Kentigern House at 3.50pm were arrested at 6.30pm. Strathclyde Police said a further two pro-testers on the ground were arrested.

A police spokeswoman said that the protesters had managed to scale the first floor ledge and position themselves 14ft up while unfurling a banner saying "What do the dead eat?"

A spokesman for the Faslane peace camp said at the scene: "Bush and Blair are nothing short of murderers themselves. If they have proof against Osama bin Laden they should bring him to trial through the international law courts."

More than 400 protesters also descended on George Square in Glasgow to take part in a two-hour vigil that attracted a range of people from students and single mothers to city workers and MSPs.

Tommy Sheridan, the Scottish Socialist Party MSP was among the speakers. He said: "Missiles are not the answer, if you really want to tackle hatred and injustice you have to start a war on poverty in every corner of the world."

Aamer Anwar, a human rights activist also gave a speech condemning the "retaliation" being carried out in Afghanistan.

He said: "The Government says it does not want the destsruction of the World Trade Centre to lead to a racist backlash against Muslims but they have contributed to such an atmosphere by virtually equating Islam with irrational violence."

In Edinburgh, 200 peaceful protesters gathered in Parliament Square holding banners with the messages Justice not Revenge, and Terror is no antidote to Terror. Mick Napier, from Stop the War Coalition, said the protesters had gathered to commemorate "those dead and those about to die".



Monday, 8 October, 2001, 20:38 GMT 21:38 UK
Protesters arrested after demonstration
Six anti-war protesters from Faslane have been arrested after staging a demonstration in a Ministry of Defence building in Glasgow. They said the demonstration was in protest at the bombing of innocents in Afghanistan.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid_1587000/1587401.stm