The Peace and Liberty march organised by The Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain attracted 10,000 people across communities, races, ethnicities, cultures, religions, sexes and ages. They came together on a Saturday afternoon in London to ask the Labour Government to stop the attacks on Iraq, to take the British troops out, to end the injustices carried out in Iraq, Israel, the Congo, Cuba and Britain by a British government whose self proclaimed democratic stance was seen to have similarities with fascism. This was a peace and liberty march that attracted an extremely diverse crowd. Amongst those protesting were a notable number of elders from British society. Pakistani, Indian, Muslim, Turkish, English, British, British-Muslim, Black British, Black, Scottish, Irish, American, Chinese, Congolese, Japanese, Brazilian, Christian, Tibetan, women and men protesting in words and song. Time and time again speakers asked protesters to look around, to see the collective whose faces reflected the diversity and richness of Britain. Where white youth using the Black Panther outstretched symbol of power walked alongside Muslim youth whose protesting voices illustrated their unwillingness to be marginalised and silenced in the face of growing hostility by the British media and government. A hostility and marginalisation which according to the Muslim Council of Britain has created a fear amongst the wider community of Muslims and a fear amongst Muslims of the wider community. The Muslim Council of Britain spokesperson alluded to the fragmentations and divisions created, recreated and nurtured in Britain by the rhetoric of Tony Blair and a racist British media. Whilst suggesting that the problems of race were not to be found within the society but within the political infrastructure. The spokesperson from the Muslim Council of Britain ended his speech vehemently stating, “we Muslims are citizens here, and we will fight for our civil liberties” a speech received with rapturous applauds and cheers. Amongst the speakers were families of troops killed in Iraq their message to Tony Blair was simple “get the troops out”. Tony Benn’s speech began by questioning the Christian rhetoric and justification given by Bush and Blair when invading Iraq. A rhetoric used time and time again to create Edward Said’s the us and the thems, the clash of civilisations and the end of “our” democratic values. Values Tony Benn cogently argued had been used to erode our civil libertys, and erode the UN as an authoritative international body for the protection of humanity. In ending Tony Benn suggested that the flames of anger that drew the protesters together should be put towards achieving justice and building a better future. From Hipha Zangaro came the story of the systematic murder of 300 Iraqi scientists. Scientists whose names, 500 in total in 2002 had been given to the UN. By 2005, 200 of those scientists are alive, the others had been shot in the head, according to Zangaro systematic killings since the occupation. The person held responsible for the killings in Iraq today is Tony Blair. Who has “his hands covered with blood and who will never be able to clean them”. The legacy left in Iraq by Tony Blair’s war was suggested by Zangaro to be the Iraqi armed resistance seen to be a legal, moral and an obligation to be carried out by every Iraqi. Political resistance within civil society was claimed by Zangaro to be carried out by parents in schools, and within the wider community. Her speech ended with a poem, for poetry in Arabic is the language of resistance. Tariq Ali’s speech brought attention to the forgotten men in Belmarsh prison in South East London. Here Muslim prisoners have been detained without charge for 3 months. The treatment prisoners faced led to three being moved to Broadmoor prison, a prison for those with mental problems. Men who did not have mental problems beforehand have been reduced according to Ali to “insanity”. When calling people to fight against the acts that created such perversions of justice, Ali put forward the case that such injustices inspired the youth to oppose the government. In order to guide the youth into fighting injustices through peaceful and democratic means so too must the government act in a true democratic manner, not one in which democracy was recast through manipulation, lies and racism. Ending with the call “we have to defend rights against democracy.” The message of a common purpose, a willingness to come together in peaceful unity to form a collective voice against military and government injustices in which racial and ethnic divisions in British communities was not a major concern was today clear. Yet the desire to create an image of a nation who stands strong, whilst not being divided by racism and Islamaphobia rang hollow. The fact that racist attacks have risen 60% since the 7th July, Muslim women are now openly protesting on the protection of the Hijab for women who wear the Hijab have been disproportionately attacked since the 7th July. In addition men and women from the S. Asian community have been attacked because their ethnic identity is linked by racists to Pakistan or Indian origins. Such incidents and racial tensions within British society were not addressed and must not be forgotten in the fight against injustices. Otherwise we fall foul to the pretence that Britain is a stable multicultural society, not taking the opportunity to open dialogues however difficult across racial and ethnic divides that would enable movement forward through peaceful forms of conflict resolution.