Two peace protesters, Maya Evans and Milan Rai, were arrested opposite Downing Street today for organising a peaceful remembrance ceremony comprised of just themselves.
Arrest of two-strong 'demonstration'
Today, Tuesday 25 October, two peace activists were arrested in Whitehall shortly after 9am for organising an unauthorised ‘bell-ringing’ remembrance ceremony marking the anniversary this week of the Lancet estimate that 100,000 people have died in Iraq of war-related causes.
Milan Rai, coordinator of Justice Not Vengeance, became the first person to be arrested as an organiser of an unauthorised demonstration under new legislation governing protests in the vicinity of Parliament.
The maximum penalty for being an ‘organiser’ of such a demonstration is a prison term of nearly a year, compared to a maximum fine of £1,000 for being a ‘participant’ in an unauthorised demonstration. All previous arrests connected with the new legislation have been of ‘participants’ rather than organisers.
The remembrance ceremony was to have consisted of four hours of bell-ringing to mark the deaths of 250 Iraqis and 97 British soldiers in the Iraq war, as part of an international project known as ‘100,000 Rings For Iraq’ www.iraqmortality.org. Rai and his colleague Maya Evans were to have read out the names of Iraqis and British soldiers while ringing a bell once every minute.
The 100,000 death toll estimate was published in the Lancet on 29 October 2004. Rai said: ‘Over a hundred thousand Iraqis have died. It’s time to replace British and US troops with a UN force.’
Milan Rai, coordinator of Justice Not Vengeance, became the first person to be arrested as an organiser of an unauthorised demonstration under new legislation governing protests in the vicinity of Parliament.
The maximum penalty for being an ‘organiser’ of such a demonstration is a prison term of nearly a year, compared to a maximum fine of £1,000 for being a ‘participant’ in an unauthorised demonstration. All previous arrests connected with the new legislation have been of ‘participants’ rather than organisers.
The remembrance ceremony was to have consisted of four hours of bell-ringing to mark the deaths of 250 Iraqis and 97 British soldiers in the Iraq war, as part of an international project known as ‘100,000 Rings For Iraq’ www.iraqmortality.org. Rai and his colleague Maya Evans were to have read out the names of Iraqis and British soldiers while ringing a bell once every minute.
The 100,000 death toll estimate was published in the Lancet on 29 October 2004. Rai said: ‘Over a hundred thousand Iraqis have died. It’s time to replace British and US troops with a UN force.’
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Good luck
25.10.2005 11:37
Activefist
e-mail:
activefist@hotmail.com
solidarity
25.10.2005 12:42
Freedom to Protest
Any oppressive laws can be rendered unworkable
through protest, non-co-operation and defiance
Wherever there is injustice or oppression,
there is protest and resistance
deep
more pics and short film
25.10.2005 17:20
film at
unfortunately there's a problem with the small quicktime film (audio only), but the larger mp4 film seems ok for the broadband blessed. will try to repost a smaller version later.
rikki
Voice of Reason
26.10.2005 08:50
I very much doubt that considering that the last anti-Iraq war march in London attracted only about 8,000 people. Even the so called 2million strong march on February the 15 2003 was far smaller than the organisers stated. More like 400,000 the same size as the Countryside Alliance march the week before. Both marches had similar length routes and consisted of two routes for most of their length. So how on earth the anti-Iraq war march could have been bigger than the countryside march is beyond me. Especially as central London was packed out to capacity by the 400,000 strong countryside march. Then there are the logistics of transporting so many people into and out of central London. London transport could not have coped with two million demonstrators, it barely copes with half a million commuters entering and leaving central London everyday.
You are also trying to make out that you are martyrs for demonstrating against the Iraq war, yet you can still legally demonstrate if you get prior permission. In other parts of the country most local councils require that organisers of demonstrations apply for permission and inform the police weeks in advance. You are proving nothing by holding unanounced demonstrations and getting yourselves arrested!
I don't think there are millions who support the arrested demonstrators.
not only that but this so-called 'London' is a myth
26.10.2005 10:37
But really, think about it - a city with a population of millions, supposedly more people in it than in the whole of Scotland, which is like a proper country with space and mountains?
Yeah right.
And these alleged millions are all from different ethnic and religious groups yet live and work together in peace? I mean, it stands to reason that can't possibly work expect in deranged left-liberal cloud-cuckoo land!
And let's not forget it's part of this alleged city that are supposed to have elected George Galloway, which obviously no real people would ever do.
Don't be sheeple - open your eyes, 'London' is a pc myth!
a nonny mouse
reply to Voice of Reason
26.10.2005 13:45
muzikin
relative estimates of march sizes
27.10.2005 08:55
"The CA had people stationed at gates counting the crowd so we know that 400,000 is fairly accurate. The anti-war march took around twice as long to complete the route, so from that we can calculate that there were at least 800,000. And given that the CA marchers were brisk walkers whilst the anti-war crowd were, let's say, a little more laid back, I can see every reason to add another 200,000 and round it up to a million."
If the Anti-war march was moving *more slowly* than the Countryside Alliance one, then the number of people passing any particular point on the route in say an hour, must have *fewer*, so how can you add another 200,000 to your estimate ?
puzzled
For whom the bells truth
29.10.2005 23:49
BADDIES!
Support the courageous and remember those lost to wars, agression, conflict and capitalism.
Sadly, still ringing daily in Iraq.
Speaking truth to power