Forwarding this from ARROW/Voices:
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From: Milan Rai
Organization: ARROW / Voices UK
Reply-To:  milanrai@btinternet.com
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 10:59:28 -0000
Subject: [Aftermath-announce] Shut Down Britain's Cities - 17 March A Direct
Action proposal

Thoughts Towards A Strategy for Nonviolent Direct
Action to Prevent War on Iraq by Milan Rai (author,
War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq)

If you think these ideas are useful, please do forward.

1) A LIKELY TIMETABLE FOR WAR
2) MAXIMUM POLITICAL IMPACT
3) THE NEED FOR SOLELY NONVIOLENT MEANS
4) A PROPOSAL - 17 MARCH 2003
5) LONDON RESISTANCE GATHERING - 1
MARCH

Dear friends

ARROW received an email recently which asked us
why we weren't organising protests on the scale of
the fuel protests. We haven't had a good response to
that question.

This is an attempt to address the issue of nonviolent
direct action, and a response to the Reclaim the Bases
idea ( http://www.reclaimthebases.org.uk).

We have to decide whether we are seriously trying to
prevent the war, or whether we are just trying to
mitigate its effects by shaping the way the war is
fought.

If we want to prevent the war, then I think there are
two questions which should be at the centre of our
thoughts: when is the war likely to start? and what is
the biggest political impact we can have before then?

A LIKELY TIMETABLE FOR WAR

The start of the war is hard to predict, but currently
the US seems to want to start soon after 3 March and
the UK is urging another couple of weeks or so. The
US strongly prefers to start on a moonless night, and
new moons in Iraq are 3 March or 1 April. (FT, 19
Feb, p. 7) The US prefers March, but I suspect
(optimistically) we are heading for 1 April, despite
rising temperatures.

The UK is pushing for the crunch meeting of the
UNSC to be 14 March (Times, 19 Feb, p. 1), which is
also the French position. This would fit with 1 April
deadline.

If this analysis is reasonable, the war will either start in
early March or early April. 5 April actions are
therefore unlikely to be helpful in stopping the war,
they are more likely to be a protest against the way
the war is being fought.

MAXIMUM POLITICAL IMPACT

While actions at bases are important, I think that they
are politically marginal. I think that maximum political
impact comes in Britain's major cities.

I think the question confronting us right now is the
question Stop the War has posed (but done little to
answer): how do we shut down Britain?

For those of us who want to prevent the war, the
question is: how much of Britain can we shut down by
nonviolent means before the war is likely to take
place, as a powerful signal to Blair?

I think that doing actions at weekends is easier for
numbers but weakens the political impact enormously.

Let's ignore the 3 March deadline. Time is too short
for us to achieve much if war is really starting by then,
and the political momentum is for the deadline to drift
back.

I think the question the nonviolent direct action wing
of the movement needs to confront is: How much of
urban Britain can we shut down on a weekday at least
a week before 1 April?

Do we go just for London? Do we go for the capital
cities? Do we go for the major cities?

THE NEED FOR SOLELY NONVIOLENT MEANS

Certainly we could shut down enormous parts of the
country with bomb threats and triggering fire alarms
and so on. We must avoid this temptation completely
and rigorously. Actions which spread fear and panic
risk creating stampedes and leading to injuries or even
deaths.

We must act within the spirit of nonviolence not just
because it is morally right, but because it is tactically
sound. If we can be portrayed as irresponsible vandals,
we damage the anti-war movement and we damage
the chances of averting this war. We damage millions
of people in Iraq.

Nonviolent action also means being nonviolent among
ourselves, preparing honestly and thoroughly to go to
the limits that we are prepared for and no further.
No pressure on people to do more than they feel
comfortable or confident doing.

Nonviolent action means forming supportive strong
affinity groups and carrying out proper legal briefings
and practical training to make sure everyone knows
what they are getting into.

A PROPOSAL - 17 MARCH 2003

I would like to suggest, on a purely personal basis, not
representing any group or organisation, that we
should be aiming to shut down business as usual, by
strictly nonviolent means, in as many English, Scottish
and Welsh cities as possible during working hours on
Monday 17 March 2003.

This could mean creating traffic problems through
very slow or immobilised car or bike actions, or
through die-ins/sit-ins/etc. (Please be aware of the
need to provide access for emergency vehicles,
though.)

It could mean disrupting government offices through
lock-ons/sit-ins/fax blitzes and so on.

It could mean street parties, political strikes, banner-
hangs, a home-makers' strike.

It would be a Day for Peace.

RESISTANCE GATHERING - 1 MARCH 2003

ARROW is calling a Resistance Gathering in London
on 1 March ( http://www.j-n-v.org) partly for people
who have signed the Pledge of Resistance, but mainly
to help people organising nonviolent direct action to
come together to exchange ideas and strategies for
the future.

Most of the actions suggested above would not be
publicised in advance and would best be organised by
small existing affinity groups. Others could be called
publicly and organised in a more open way (Critical
Mass bike ride-type actions, for example).

If you would like to discuss organising an open action
either on 17 March or on some other date, please do
come to the Gathering on 1 March. Please do not
come to discuss covert actions in the meeting, as
discussing them openly will probably scupper your
chances of achieving your goals.

Finally, I would ask the groups behind Reclaim the
Bases to reconsider putting enormous energy and
time into the 5-6 weekend of actions. I really think
that at this point our focus should be cities and March
rather than April.

Best wishes in all your work for peace

Milan Rai
ARROW and Voices in the Wilderness UK
(but in a personal capacity)
 milanrai@btinternet.com