Police have stepped in to begin arresting protesters at the 'No more
Fallujahs' peace camp in Parliament Square, where over thirty tents have
been erected in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament to demand an
immediate end to the UK/US military occupation of Iraq.

Protesters hope to resist the police intervention and stay until Monday
morning, when Maya Evans and Milan Rai will repeat the name reading
ceremony, for which they were arrested last year, opposite Downing
Street.

>> Pre-event press release >>

HUNDREDS TO PROTEST AGAINST IRAQ OCCUPATION IN ILLEGAL
24-HOUR PEACE CAMP OPPOSITE PARLIAMENT
Convicted vegan chef Maya Evans to repeat name reading “offence”

12 noon, Sunday 29 October to 12 noon Monday 30 October 2006,
Parliament Square, London

Hundreds of people will be taking part in an “unauthorized” 24-hours
peace camp in Parliament Square – risking arrest, a criminal conviction,
and a fine of up to £1,000 [B] – to demand an immediate end to the UK/UK
military occupation of Iraq. Dozens of tents, decorated with anti-war
artwork, will be erected in the Square, alongside scores of placards
bearing the names and photographs of Iraqi civilians who have died as a
result of US/UK military action in Iraq.

Among those taking part will be Maya Anne Evans (26) - who last year
became the first person to be convicted of taking part in an
“unauthorized” demonstration near Parliament [C] – author Milan Rai [D],
and Iraqi poet
and artist Haifa Zangana [E]

The peace camp – part of weekend of nonviolent resistance to the
occupation backed by CND, the London Federation of Green Parties and
Stop the War – will mark the second anniversary of the devastating
November 2004 US/UK attack on Fallujah, in which hundreds of Iraqi
civilians were killed [F].

Other events during the "No More Fallujahs" weekend include a book
launch on Friday 27th October and a peace journey from Britain’s
military nerve centre in Northwood on Saturday 28th October [G].

Maya Evans said: “The occupation has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis,
helped to push Iraq into a state of civil war, and is acting as a
recruiting sergeant for extremists across the Muslim world, endangering
both Iraqis
and ourselves. Moreover 78% of Iraqis believe the occupation is causing
more conflict than it prevents. It’s time to end Britain’s participation
in this disastrous and immoral occupation.”

TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW WITH MAYA EVANS, MILAN RAI, HAIFA ZANGANA OR ONE
OF THE ORGANISERS CONTACT 0845 458 2564 or 07791 486484.
For more info see www.rememberfallujah.org

SCHEDULE

The peace camp will start at 12 noon on Sunday 29 October with reading
the names of Iraqis and British soldiers who have been killed in Iraq,
until 1 pm. There will be workshops and other events for participants
throughout
the afternoon.

On Monday 30 October, Maya Evans and Milan Rai will repeat the name
reading ceremony, for which they were arrested last year [C], opposite
Downing Street. Barring no police action, this event will last from
8.50am
to 12 noon. The peace camp will end at 12 noon on Monday.

ENDNOTES

[A] This event, "No More Fallujahs" has been organised by the Mass
Action Group and is supported by over 50 peace groups including CND,
Labour Against War, London Federation of Green Parties, Musicians
Against Nuclear Arms, Stop the War, Voices UK. The Mass Action group
were involved in organising the 2 April "Naming the Dead" mass act of
civil disobedience in Parliament Square (the first mass act of civil
disobedience against the occupation of Iraq to take place in the UK
since the 2003
invasion - see  http://tinyurl.com/orq9e).

[B] Under section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act
(April 2005) organising an “unauthorised” demonstration within 1km of
Parliament is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for up to 51
weeks and a £2500 fine. Participating in such a demonstration is a
criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1000. For more info. see
www.parliamentprotest.org.uk

[C] Maya Evans and Milan Rai were arrested in October 2005 for reading
out the names of Iraqis and British soldiers who had died as a result of
the war in Iraq, opposite the Cenotaph. In December 2005 Maya Evans was
convicted of participating in an “unauthorized” demonstration within 1km
of Parliament. See: “MPs condemn arrest of woman who spoke out”, Daily
Mail, 8 December 2005 ( http://tinyurl.com/zoep7)

[D] Milan Rai is tha author of “Chomsky’s Politics” (Verso, 1995), “War
Plan Iraq” (Pluto, 2002), “Regime Unchanged” (Pluto, 2003) and “7/7: The
London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War” (Pluto, 2006).

[E] A political prisoner under Saddam Hussein’s regime, Haifa Zangana is
also a regular contributor to The Guardian.

[F] November 2004 saw the start of the second, and most devastating,
offensive in Fallujah. Many hundreds of civilians were killed, four
fifths of the city’s population left the city and half the city’s
housing was severely
damaged or rendered uninhabitable. Hundreds of British troops were
redeployed to support the attack on Fallujah, during the attack US
forces committed numerous war crimes, including the imposition of a
strict night-
time shoot-to-kill curfew (The Times, 12 November 2004, see
 http://tinyurl.com/8qh7n) and the bombing of a health clinic, killing 59
people (The Nation, 13 December 2004, see  http://tinyurl.com/cfq6m)

[G] At 7.30pm on Friday 27 October, Maya Evans will be launching her new
book “Naming the Dead – A Serious Crime” at Housmans Bookshop, 5
Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DX.

On Saturday 28 October, people will assemble at Northwood Military HQ in
North London to commemorate the deaths of civilians in Fallujah by tying
the names of the dead to the fence of the base. Northwood HQ is the UK's
Permanent Joint Headquarters from where 'operational command of UK
forces assigned to multinational operations led by others' is exercised.
 http://www.northwood.mod.uk/nwood/norindex.htm