Blockade the Foreign Office - 21st August

Bernardine | 09.08.2006 22:47 | Lebanon War 2006 | Anti-militarism | London

When: August 21st
Where: Whitehall - Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Time: 8am

print ready flier to photocopy - application/pdf 2.6M

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the leadership of Margaret Beckett and Geoff Hoon, is complicit in the continuing destruction of the Middle East. From the bombing of Beirut to the bloodshed wrought in Iraq and Afghanistan their overt, or tacit, support has seen thousands die with more suffering the same fate everyday.

Whilst individual ministers and civil servants, such as Kim Howells, may make meek protestations against the violence, as a department it is central to the continuation of these brutal wars and the human suffering they bring.

Shutting the department down for the day will make it clear that we will not stand by passively whilst people are being massacred across the globe by our government.

“bring the war home”

Also:
Live performance from Palestine!
Balata refugee youth dance troupe
performing 8-9

Accommodation may be available:

bringthewarhome2006@yahoo.co.uk

Bernardine
e-mail: bringthewarhome2006@yahoo.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 13 comments

blockade foreign office

09.08.2006 23:50

how close will you get with all this pre-publicity? or it that the point and they'll end up blockading it with/for you? sounds like an action where it'd be important to bring enough water, food, tobacco, rizla, etc to last several hours of a pig pen, although for an important cause and probably worth the hassle...

justme

8am is way too early for a demonstration!

10.08.2006 10:19

8am is way too early for a demonstration. No one will get there by that time. remember many people will be travelling quite some distance in the first place to get there, we don't all live in central London. Make it 11:30am. That gives people plenty of time to get there from quite a long distance away.

8am is perfect time

10.08.2006 11:16

I didn't organise this action but I think its spot on.

What's the point in arriving at 11:30 when the civil servants etc will already be inside.

The point of the blockade is, I imagine, to disrupt work for the day inside a key government department directly culpable for the murder of civilians, Palestinian, Lebanese, Iraqi and, I think, Israeli civilians as well *

Its not just a symbolic demonstration, which, as you say would then be better later on, but direct action to actually do something concrete to try and stop the massacre rather than a demonstration / civil disobediance to lobby the governement to change its policy.

* because I think that those responsible for attacking Lebanon well knew that Israeli civilians would get killed in return, but the Israeli goverment is as cynical as every other government in its attitude to those it pretends to serve.

Alice
mail e-mail: sei531@yahoo.com
Homepage: http://www.jfjfp.org/

8am is when people start work...

10.08.2006 11:17

So if anything meaningful is going to happen - like actually shutting the FO down - then people need to get there early. If you look at the post whoever's organised it said there's accomadation, so you can come down on the Sunday and be up bright and early in central London on the Monday. It sounds like a cool idea to me!

Its a good idea but no way will you be able to get thousands there by 8am.

10.08.2006 12:08

It is a good idea to try to stop the workers getting in by turning up early at 8am but no way will you be able to get thousands of people there by 8am. All that will happen is that a few dozen people will turn up who will then be instantly harrassed and arrested by thuggish police. I personally don't see any point in making myself a martyr. I want to change things not be a martyr like Brian Haw.

activist

activist comment

10.08.2006 14:49

I wonder activist or deactivist??

supporter of plan

Address of Foreign and Commonwealth Office

10.08.2006 15:04

The address of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is King Charles St London SW1, next door to Downing St (sort of!) The leaflet has not included this info duh!

Here is a multimap link for a map:

http://tinyurl.com/zsukt

FCO

activist

14.08.2006 13:35

We need more people like Brian Haw not naysayers! Has anyone ole PSC or Stop the War how need to spread the word to activists

jang

Hello Guardian journalists!

15.08.2006 11:54

Protesters plan to blockade Foreign Office over Lebanon

http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,,1844385,00.html

anon

I hope I'm wrong but I doubt this will be as successful as the organizers wish

17.08.2006 22:10

The authorities will be forewarned and no doubt the area will be full of police. They will probably place an exclusion zone around the building and place a Section 14 Public Order Act on the demo.

Anyone turning up will be told to stand in a certain 'designated area' for protest and if they refuse they will be arrested. I doubt anyone will be able to get close enough to the building to blockade it properly.

Of course this is only speculation but the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised. To give an example a few wweks ago there was a protest in Dover against the live export of animals. A perfectly peaceful affair but the police used a Section 14 and harassed the protesters. Worse still, a coach from London was made to turn around and go back on the pretext that the demo was 'illegal' - it wasn't, the police don't have to be notified about a static demonstration, only a march or 'procession'.

I just hope I'm wrong about this one...

Paul Gravett
mail e-mail: paulg@rbgi.net

Section 14s do not apply in this area - SOCPA does

20.08.2006 21:28

The SOCPA legislation which bans unauthorised protests in the Designated Area around Parliament is likely to be used to stop the blockade. In fact Section 14s are no longer valid in this area:

"Section 132 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005....

(6) Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 (imposition of conditions on public assemblies) does not apply in relation to a public assembly which is also a demonstration in a public place in the designated area."

Parliament Square Peace Campaign
mail e-mail: info@parliament-square.org.uk
Homepage: http://www.parliament-square.org.uk

put whore in a burqa

22.08.2006 22:43

I am member hezbollah.

we dont want whores protest on beahalf us.

she is dirty infidel in tight shirt and no covering.

if we see her we beet her in to submision.

Hezbollah

How did it go?

31.08.2006 21:48

Did you manage to close down the FCO?

Rt Hon Angus Ogilvy
mail e-mail: RtHon@ngusOgilvy.net