Emergency Fallujah demo Sunday 2pm Parl Sq.
Voices in the Wilderness | 06.11.2004 20:48
With the attacks about to start, and many thousands of Iraqi civilian lives at risk, this protest needs to be big!
FLOWERS FOR FALLUJAH: Emergency Demonstration Against the Looming Attacks on Iraq's Cities.
SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, LONDON
Meet 2pm, Parliament Square
Bring white flowers & come and make your protest in your own way!
PRESS RELEASE / PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Contact: Jonathan Stevenson, Stop the Attacks, 07818 651124
PARLIAMENT SQUARE PROTEST DEMANDS END TO FALLUJAH ATTACKS
Sunday 7th November, 2pm, Parliament Square
Anti-war protesters will take part in an emergency demonstration in Parliament Square on Sunday against the current military escalation in Iraq.
The protestors will display images from previous US attacks on cities in Iraq and bring white flowers to lay in Whitehall to mark the tens of thousands of Iraqis - and scores of British soldiers - who have died since the March 2003 invasion.
US officials have predicted that the looming massive assault on Fallujah will be “very bloody and nasty” [A].
A recent analysis of 300 contemporary media reports concluded that during the US assault on the city in April – an assault which included attacks on ambulances, sniper fire at children and the aerial bombardment of residential areas – roughly 600 of the approximately 800 reported deaths were civilians with over 300 of these being women and children [B]. A recent study published in the Lancet, based on a carefully conducted sample survey in Iraq, concluded that “about 100,000 excess [Iraqi] deaths, or more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and airstrikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths” [C]
Jonathan Stevenson, 23, from London, a supporter of Stop the Attacks, said: “This barbaric
offensive will have a catastrophic effect on hearts and minds in Iraq. Isn’t 100,000 dead Iraqis enough for Mr Blair?"
ENDS
Contact: Jonathan Stevenson, Stop the Attacks, 07818 651124
ENDNOTES
[A]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34612-2004Oct15?language=printer
[B] http://www.iraqbodycount.net/press/
[C] Lancet report link & critique of coverage:
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~mhl24/LancetPMOSrebut011104.htm
BACKGROUND
'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place, US forces have already started - and are planning to widen - a campaign of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct).
Bush's re-election makes immediate and sustained opposition to the escalation more urgent than ever.
A massive attack on Fallujah, where US forces massacred hundreds of Iraqis in April, is now imminent and will, in the words of one US official, be "very bloody and nasty" (Washington Post on-line edition, 16 Oct).
IT'S TIME
"Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now. It's time." (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug)
BLAIR WAVERED
When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources (Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US
Government 'den[ying] . heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20 Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US]take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct).
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks.
Please join us on the 7th November!
Called by Stop the Attacks - an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists old and new.
tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail:
stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm
SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, LONDON
Meet 2pm, Parliament Square
Bring white flowers & come and make your protest in your own way!
PRESS RELEASE / PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Contact: Jonathan Stevenson, Stop the Attacks, 07818 651124
PARLIAMENT SQUARE PROTEST DEMANDS END TO FALLUJAH ATTACKS
Sunday 7th November, 2pm, Parliament Square
Anti-war protesters will take part in an emergency demonstration in Parliament Square on Sunday against the current military escalation in Iraq.
The protestors will display images from previous US attacks on cities in Iraq and bring white flowers to lay in Whitehall to mark the tens of thousands of Iraqis - and scores of British soldiers - who have died since the March 2003 invasion.
US officials have predicted that the looming massive assault on Fallujah will be “very bloody and nasty” [A].
A recent analysis of 300 contemporary media reports concluded that during the US assault on the city in April – an assault which included attacks on ambulances, sniper fire at children and the aerial bombardment of residential areas – roughly 600 of the approximately 800 reported deaths were civilians with over 300 of these being women and children [B]. A recent study published in the Lancet, based on a carefully conducted sample survey in Iraq, concluded that “about 100,000 excess [Iraqi] deaths, or more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and airstrikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths” [C]
Jonathan Stevenson, 23, from London, a supporter of Stop the Attacks, said: “This barbaric
offensive will have a catastrophic effect on hearts and minds in Iraq. Isn’t 100,000 dead Iraqis enough for Mr Blair?"
ENDS
Contact: Jonathan Stevenson, Stop the Attacks, 07818 651124
ENDNOTES
[A]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34612-2004Oct15?language=printer [B]
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/press/ [C] Lancet report link & critique of coverage:
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~mhl24/LancetPMOSrebut011104.htm BACKGROUND
'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place, US forces have already started - and are planning to widen - a campaign of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct).
Bush's re-election makes immediate and sustained opposition to the escalation more urgent than ever.
A massive attack on Fallujah, where US forces massacred hundreds of Iraqis in April, is now imminent and will, in the words of one US official, be "very bloody and nasty" (Washington Post on-line edition, 16 Oct).
IT'S TIME
"Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now. It's time." (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug)
BLAIR WAVERED
When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources (Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US
Government 'den[ying] . heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20 Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US]take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct).
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks.
Please join us on the 7th November!
Called by Stop the Attacks - an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists old and new.
tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail:
stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm
Voices in the Wilderness
e-mail:
voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.voicesuk.org
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