Dear friends,

We have seen tragic events during this month, to which we urgently need to formulate a response.

INNOCENT DEATHS

Following the bombing of London’s transport system, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent people, we now have the tragedy of Jean Charles de Menezes. An entirely innocent man, Mr de Menezes was followed by plainclothes police as he left his home to go to work. He was then chased into an underground train, caught, held immobile on the floor by two policemen and shot eight times (seven times in the head and mouth) by a third. Eye-witnesses have described the sheer terror on his face. July has been a month when the “war on terror” has come home in the most horrifying way.

CATASTROPHIC DENIAL

Through all this, our government has been in a state of catastrophic denial – refusing to accept the existence of any connection between these events and its foreign policy in Afghanistan and the Middle East. This is not an argument which convinces many but is repeated over and over again. Instead of acknowledging his culpability, Tony Blair is looking for scapegoats and has targeted Britain’s Muslims – blaming an ‘evil ideology’ of ‘hate’ which is growing within the Muslim population. The head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair, claims the Muslims are in a ‘state of denial’ about terrorism. The government is also about to introduce a package of extremely repressive legislation, designed to curtail various democratic rights, including freedom of speech.

NEW CHALLENGE

If there were any doubts about the continued need and relevance for the anti-war movement, these have been dispelled by the shocking events in London this month. Stop the War Coalition vigils, marches and meetings are more important now than they have ever been. We need to rise to this new challenge with a renewed, united anti-war, anti-racist and pro-civil liberties response.

COME TO THE MEETING

Please come to Thursday’s important meeting, where we will be discussing these issues and deciding what that response should be. We will also be having a brief discussion about other future activities.