on 25th october 2005, maya evans and milan rai stood opposite downing street, rang a bell, and read from a list of names of civilian and military casualties of the iraq wars. because of the new (at the time) SOCPA law, they were both arrested. the case eventually became the first one to go to court under the new act, and made front page news. today, the law still stands. it is used sporadically and unevenly by police, and in this case, they allowed the protestors to mark the ninth anniversary of the invasion of afghanistan. the protest was timely because today too, chiefs of staff were visiting the MOD and the cabinet office to fight for their budgets, and so had to pass the protest and hear the names of some of the people they had murdered while carrying out this pointless war.

at 9am this morning, peace activist maya evans began ringing a bell opposite downing street, while others used a megaphone to read names of dead, both british soldiers and afghan civilians, killed in the nine years of war in afghansitan. maya was supported by members of 'justice not vengeance', the 'catholic worker', a buddhist sect, and other activists.

back in 2005, i filmed a similar protest being cut short by the arrest of maya and her fellow activist, milan rai. they became the first people to receive criminal records under the then new SOCPA act.

nowadays, the police use the act unpredictably, and today was no exception. the protestors were soon threatened with arrest if they didn't move into the special 'free speech zone', a pen of metal fences hidden away at the back of the pavement opposite downing street. the protestors refused, despite being berated by seriously armed police at one point.

the police also warned that the use of the megaphone was illegal under SOCPA, and maya received a warning that if she didn't move in twenty minutes she would be arrested.

however, when the deadline came, police told her that if she gave her name and address, they would leave the group alone. they did not make clear this was for the purpose of a summons, so if there is any further action against maya it may well turn out to be unlawful.

the rest of the day passed uneventfully, and apart from a short break for refreshments, the protestors kept up a steady stream of names for eight hours - a depressing roll-call of wasted lives and murdered civilians.

today, by chance, all the military chiefs of staff were in town, with meetings at the ministry of defence and the cabinet office. they passed the protest in all their military regalia, hearing the names of just a few of the civilians killed by their sordid campaigns in afghanistan. while they argued against budget cuts in the cabinet office, eventually doing a deal over aircraft carriers, the list of names resounded on and on across the road.

today's mainstream news hints at power-sharing deals with the taliban, making the last nine years a pointless waste of lives, time, and resources.

it's time the killing stopped.

justice not vengeance website