[ FULL ARTICLE WITH SPEECHES (Real Audio) VIDEO and PHOTOS please visit:  http://www.inminds.co.uk/stopbush-1-20nov03.html ]



The largest weekday demonstration in the history of Britain was held to oppose Bush's visit to the UK. On a busy working day over 300,000 people poured out on to the streets of London, bringing it to a stand still, to denounce George Bush and Tony Blair as terrorists.

As with past events, it was jointly organised by the Muslim Association of Britain, Stop the War Coalition, and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament(CND).

Starting from the University of London the march set off at 2pm down Malet Street. It crossed Waterloo Bridge and then Westminster Bridge, going past the Houses of Parliament and 10 Downing Street to culminate after dusk in a rally at Trafalgar Square. Speakers addressed the crowds and a 18 foot statue of George Bush was pulled down to thunderous cheers of hundreds of thousands of people.

The image of the statue of George Bush being toppled was flashed around the world, and it became a humiliation for Bush, a symbol of British peoples opposition to his visit, and to his policies of empire building.

During Bush's three day visit he was kept a virtually prisoner in Buckingham Palace. Afraid of protestors his state procession down the Mall - an obligatory protocol, was cancelled. His address to parliament was also cancelled due to fears of MP's walking out on mass and boycotting his address.

We have many of the speeches given at Trafalgar Square available on this page in real audio format (both for listening and downloading).

The british poet Adrian Mitchell read out his famous poem "To Whom It May Concern" which begins " I was run over by the truth one day. Ever since the accident I've walked this way..."

Wilson Borja, a Colombian congressman, who was himself the victim of US sponsored assassination attempts, accused the US of "causing suffering through out the world". He spoke of an "unjust war being waged in Colombia... this war is fuelled by american weapons, american money, and american troops."

The human rights lawyer Louise Christian, representing three of the britons held in Guantanamo Bay, described Guantanamo as "a huge concentration camp" and their captivity as "gross racism against young Muslim men, an affront and abuse of human rights".

The head of the lecturers union NAFTHE, Paul Mackney, after blasting Bush "we're here to give Bush the push", he questioned tax spending "the UK has to spend one tenth of its tax revenue on defence while tripling the cost of a university place..."

Member of the European Parliament, Caroline Lucas, representing the Green Party took the US government to task over a whole range of issues: "we are against a Unites States administration that wants to be the biggest military super power in the world, that flaunts every principle of natural justice at Guantanamo, which rips up international treaties, that refuses to sign the Kyoto protocol, and which exports a lifestyle which is based on production and consumption patterns that are driving this planet to the edge of extinction and the people with it!"

Azzam Tamimi of the Muslim Association of Britain accused George Bush of waging war on the world and causing terrorism.

Bruce Kent of CND pointing to Bush (statue): "I do not welcome criminals, I do not welcome liars, and I do not welcome the most dangerous man in this world.. this man has.. 15,000 nuclear weapons and he is making more.. and he is tearing up the treaties that were meant to stop them, .. he's saying to other people you can't have nuclear weapons but I can and the Israelis can..." And he remembered Mordecau Vannunu, imprisoned by Israel for 18 years for revealing to the world Israel's stockpile of nuclear warheads.

A tribute was paid to Tom Hurndall, the British man shot by Israeli snipers whilst trying to protect young children. Tom, still in a comma at the time of the rally, has since passed away.

Ron Kovic, the Vietnam war veteran turned peace activist whose life the film "Born on the fourth of July" is based, told the crowds that they have a rendezvous with history: "You were born to this time and this moment in history. It is your destiny, your sacred birth right to take this country back on behalf of the people...". He was given the honour of calling the countdown to toppling the statue of Bush. As the statue came down cheers resonated through the centre of London.

Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn pointed to a history of american war mongering: "George Bush and Tony Blair at their rather curious joint press conference stated 'We will go anywhere, any place, any time to fight any war until we win the peace'. Well I'm old enough to remember President Kennedy saying that in 1960 and President Johnson, and that led to the carnage of Vietnam and all those lives that were destroyed there..." and he urged the American people to "stand against your government and stand for peace around the world!" He finished by quoting John Pilger that there remain two superpowers in the world - the USA and US the people of the world.

Linsey German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition spoke of the movement: "Our movement is not going to go away, we are in solidarity with the Iraqi people, we are in solidarity with the people around the world - the Palestinians who are oppressed, all the people around the world who suffer so much from american foreign policy."

In a statement that was read out on her behalf, Jari Sheese, the wife of an American soldier serving in Iraq questioned the President: "George Bush where are the weapons of mass destruction that sent my husband to war? The only weapon I have witnessed is the weapon of fear that has taken hold of our entire country breeding millions of patriotic zombies who are too afraid to even ask questions."

The Genral Secretary of the TNG Union, Tony Woodly, spoke of peace and justice: "there cant be any justice and peace across the world unless there is peace and justice in the middle-east, and that means justice for Palestine and the Palestinian people."

George Galloway spoke of the importance of the coming European elections: "we are going to use the European parliament elections next June to unite all the forces on this march in this country who have disinherited, who are disenfranchised, who don't have a voice, who wont be heard, we are going to unite them in one mighty movement on that election day and we are going to drive nails in to the political coffin of Tony Blair!"

The rally ended with poems and lyrics in different styles being recited. Among them was Pain Of Life: "...the rain's made of metal when apaches blaze, light up the sky turn the warm nights cold, you know 10 people murdered and you're 10 years old, and it's so real you come face 2 face, wida smell o' da dead that the missiles trace, and there's one less stone in one less hand, and one less boy to become a man, yo it's no jokes we watch the world bleed..."

The London rally was not alone, similar protests took place over the three days all across the whole country.


[ FULL ARTICLE WITH SPEECHES (Real Audio) VIDEO and PHOTOS please visit:  http://www.inminds.co.uk/stopbush-1-20nov03.html ]