March 2008 marks the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Over 50,000 people rallied in Trafalgar Square to protest the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the on-going siege of Gaza, and the threats of attack on Iran.
March 2008 marks the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Over 50,000 people rallied in Trafalgar Square to protest the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the on-going siege of Gaza, and the threats of attack on Iran. As Tony Benn pointed out, on this day in 50 cities around the world, from Puerto Rico to Korea, from Iceland to New Zealand, people gathered to protest the occupation. The protesters were not small isolated groups here and there, but rather one united mass represented the people of the world.
People started gathering at Trafalgar Square at 12 noon. Most of the printed banners were familiar with a few new additions. Palestine Solidarity were represented by their popular "Free Palestine" flag and the newer "End the siege of Gaza" placard, the Stop the War coalition sported their themed "Out of Iraq and Afghanistan" and "Don't attack Iran" placards, with CND having similar messages on theirs. The Green Party had the powerful message "No more blood for oil" on their placards. It was the banners of British Muslim Initiative that perhaps best reflected the dire situation in Gaza with the message "Stop the holocaust in Gaza". This is no idle exaggeration, just two weeks ago the israeli deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai promised the Palestinians a "holocaust" in Gaza, and with the strikes on Gaza it is clear he is keen to keep his promise.
The speeches began 45 minutes later with hosts Andrew Murray, chair of the Stop the War Coalition; Kate Hudson, chair of CND; and Ismael Patel representing the British Muslim Initiative. It commenced with a message by London's popular mayor Ken Livingstone. He talked about the demonisation of the Muslim community, which given than one in three Muslims in the UK lives in London and 1 in 10 Londoners is a Muslim, is an important issue for the mayor of London to address.
Many of the speakers, including Green MEP Caroline Lucas, pointed to the connection between the cut in public services over here and the cost of the on going occupation over there. She also talked of the human rights clause in the EU-Israel Agreement which Israel has breached time and time again without any penalty, this she had repeated on several demos - perhaps the lack of action on this merits its reminder.
Dr Daud Abdullah, a researcher at the Palestine Return Centre as well as of the MCB, spoke passionately about the suffering of the Palestinians in the "holocaust" in Gaza. One month before the israeli promise of a holocaust in Gaza the MCB for the first time participated in the commemoration of Holocaust Day which exclusively focuses on Jewish suffering, denying a mention to non-Jewish victims of genocide for example in Vietnam, Rwanda, Bosnia, Chechnya, the American Indians, and those murdered in the slave trade.
Sami Ramadani, an exile of Saddam's Iraq and opponent of the occupation, spoke of the risks of escalation if Iran is attacked, 10 years down the road it could lead to a world war.
Jenny Tonge spoke of how the world turns a blind eye to any crime Israel chooses to commit.
School Students Against the War were represented by Ryan Ahmed who spoke of the reality of war - an Afghan boy orphaned by the American attack on Kabul had just joined his school. His speech gave us hope in the next generation.
Human right lawyer Louise Christian spoke of Guantanamo Bay reminding us that 300 people are still caged and tortured there and that none of us are innocent bystanders - we all have a responsibility.
Sarah Colborne of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign described Gaza as a war crime and shared harrowing statistics on the situation of the people of Gaza.
Sister Sharif Al-Sharifa was a voice we had not heard before. She is from Hebron in Palestine. She spoke passionately for her people, and described the conflict in terms any one could understand - she wants to live a normal life, be allowed to live in her home, wake up in the morning with her family alive to enjoy the sunshine the day brings, but Israel is stopping her with its occupation of her home and its killing of her people.
Nick Broomfield, director of 'Battle for Haditha', was another face we had not seen before. His suggestion that Bush and Blair should be in the dock for war crimes was welcomed but it was unclear whether he was suggesting that they should be in the dock instead of or with the soldiers already charged with war crimes. The Geneva Convention is clear on the individual responsibility of each soldier not to commit war crimes regardless of his orders - "Bush told me to do it" doesn't wash.
Students at University College London are the first to throw the military out of their campus by banning all military recruitment. Its an example which need to be followed by all campuses in the country, it would effectively put an end to the recruitment of new officers. Sam Godwin, the Student Union General Secretary at University College London, spoke at the rally. She explained that in desperation the university had unconstitutionally suspended her and tried to annul the democratic vote of the students banning military recruitment from campus.
George Galloway talked of the "slew of useful idiots that are now being dragged out to prepare the way for the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran" and "the khaki war machine now has its pink contingent" referring to groups like Outrage! who have been previously been caught lying about Iran in order to further their own political aims. During last years Quds Day demo (
http://www.inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10214) their on-line leaflets opposing Quds Day initially featured a photo of a stoning which the they claimed occurred in Iran. The photo was a fake - they were taken straight of out a fictional dutch movie (De Steen 1994) with the israeli actress Smadar Monsinos playing the role of the stoned woman. When the fake was exposed they came up with new leaflets this time they featured the case of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni whom they described as kids who were executed in Iran for being gay. When Amnesty, Human Right Watch and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission investigated their claims they discovered that the pair were not kids (at least one was 19) and that they were guilty of kidnapping a young 13 year old boy and raping him at knife point. After speaking with the boys father, Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission conceded "it was not a gay case" and further condemned Tatchell (leader of Outrage!) for his "racially charged language" against Muslims. It was later revealed that the story was planted by the MKO/NCRI - the Iranian dissident group/cult sponsored by Saddam and accused by Human Rights Watch for having tortured its own members and committed atrocities on others including massacring the Kurds on behalf of Saddam. The group, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by both the EU and USA, has been defended by Tatchell who has compared it to the ANC saying it "is no more a terrorist organisation than the African National Congress in South Africa or the anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe during World War Two".
Galloway also alluded that having failed to stop the invasion of Iraq perhaps it was time for the anti-war movement to change tactics with the run up to a possible attack on Iran "our anti-war movement has been peaceful and lawful, maybe a little too peaceful, maybe a little too lawful.. We need to step up our opposition so that we bring politics as usual in Britain to an end." This clearly struck a cord with the crowds.
Dr Azzam Tamimi also spoke of the need to take action for change. He referred to the political system which doesn't bring any change despite elections as 'liberal hypocrisies'. He also mentioned the book fairs in France and Italy which on the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of a whole nation, they are honouring the criminals who carried out the crime rather than show solidarity with its victims. Many authors who were to be featured in the book fair are furious and have boycotted the book fair.
Member of parliament John McDonnell gave an insightful speech on the government. He recalled the run up to war and how his fellow MP's chose ambition over principle and voted with Blair for war. He spoke of our duty to oppose attacks on civil liberties with the vote on detention orders of 42 days coming up - "will not stand to one side when they come to lock us up, and seek to silence us by threats of arrest". He also concluded that the "bizarre" discussions on britishness initiated by the government and echoed by the media were designed to divide us - "we tell them very clearly, we are members of one race - the human race. We are human beings, we have human rights - the same human rights, the same civil liberties what ever area of the planet we occupy. And we tell them we will not be divided". In our opinion it was one of the best speeches of the rally.
Lindsey German, the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, revealed that this year we in Britain spent, through our taxes, 3 billion pounds on the war, this at a time when we are seeing hospitals close due to lack of money. She also mentioned the resignation of the head of US Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, who was a lone voice against attacking Iran, as a ominous sign of impending war.
Billy Hayes, the general secretary of the communication workers union, reiterated the link between cuts here and the cost of war - he advised trade unionists that "when you campaign for more investment in public services you also need to campaign against the waste of lives, and waste of money that's taken place in our name in places like Iraq".
Tony Benn gave perhaps the best speech of the rally, a real gem which no doubt people will ponder over. He said "there is no railway station called peace, your children, and your grandchildren, and their grandchildren are going to have to fight the same battle again and again and again. But at least our campaign will inspire them, just as so many in the past have inspired us."
It was a hard act to follow, and the last speaker of the day Bruce Kent from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament started by graciously describing himself as "the poor mans Tony Benn". He talked about nuclear disarmament, how 185 countries were ready to see the end of all nuclear weapons but one of the obstacle countries was the UK with its Trident system.
It was a good rally with some great speeches, but unfortunately it was slightly marred by 4 or 5 people near the front who spent the whole time heckling the speakers, even throwing bottles and cans at them. We are not sure why the stewards tolerated such abuse directed at the speakers. It seemed that at least some of the same elements that tried to disrupt last years Quds Day demo were involved in this latest incident. Galloway referred to them as 'idiots' we cannot disagree.
After the rally we marched down Whitehall past Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament and on to Westminster Bridge. After crossing the Thames we continued along the river to Lambeth Bridge and crossed that to head towards Parliament Square. The loop across the two bridges is a distance of around 2 miles. Whilst the tail end of the demo was still joining Westminster Bridge the front of the march had already completed the loop and was seen returning from Lambeth Bridge. The protesters had literally surrounded parliament. At Parliament Square people gathered to hear a few more speeches from the Stop the War podium and other independent makeshift podiums.
Concluding impressions were that is was a good turnout but people are beginning to question the effectiveness of demonstrations on their own when the government and corporate media just ignores them and the war continues unabated. There was a feeling that the momentum is there for more direct forms of action and civil disobedience in order to stop the war machine, indeed many of the speakers reflected these views. The war wont be stopped by demonstrations alone - more is needed.
Full photo report including videos and audio are provided of all the speeches, both streaming and for download with text summaries. The mp3 audio is sorted in to tracks with album art included.
http://www.inminds.co.uk/world.against.war.15.march.2008.php
People started gathering at Trafalgar Square at 12 noon. Most of the printed banners were familiar with a few new additions. Palestine Solidarity were represented by their popular "Free Palestine" flag and the newer "End the siege of Gaza" placard, the Stop the War coalition sported their themed "Out of Iraq and Afghanistan" and "Don't attack Iran" placards, with CND having similar messages on theirs. The Green Party had the powerful message "No more blood for oil" on their placards. It was the banners of British Muslim Initiative that perhaps best reflected the dire situation in Gaza with the message "Stop the holocaust in Gaza". This is no idle exaggeration, just two weeks ago the israeli deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai promised the Palestinians a "holocaust" in Gaza, and with the strikes on Gaza it is clear he is keen to keep his promise.
The speeches began 45 minutes later with hosts Andrew Murray, chair of the Stop the War Coalition; Kate Hudson, chair of CND; and Ismael Patel representing the British Muslim Initiative. It commenced with a message by London's popular mayor Ken Livingstone. He talked about the demonisation of the Muslim community, which given than one in three Muslims in the UK lives in London and 1 in 10 Londoners is a Muslim, is an important issue for the mayor of London to address.
Many of the speakers, including Green MEP Caroline Lucas, pointed to the connection between the cut in public services over here and the cost of the on going occupation over there. She also talked of the human rights clause in the EU-Israel Agreement which Israel has breached time and time again without any penalty, this she had repeated on several demos - perhaps the lack of action on this merits its reminder.
Dr Daud Abdullah, a researcher at the Palestine Return Centre as well as of the MCB, spoke passionately about the suffering of the Palestinians in the "holocaust" in Gaza. One month before the israeli promise of a holocaust in Gaza the MCB for the first time participated in the commemoration of Holocaust Day which exclusively focuses on Jewish suffering, denying a mention to non-Jewish victims of genocide for example in Vietnam, Rwanda, Bosnia, Chechnya, the American Indians, and those murdered in the slave trade.
Sami Ramadani, an exile of Saddam's Iraq and opponent of the occupation, spoke of the risks of escalation if Iran is attacked, 10 years down the road it could lead to a world war.
Jenny Tonge spoke of how the world turns a blind eye to any crime Israel chooses to commit.
School Students Against the War were represented by Ryan Ahmed who spoke of the reality of war - an Afghan boy orphaned by the American attack on Kabul had just joined his school. His speech gave us hope in the next generation.
Human right lawyer Louise Christian spoke of Guantanamo Bay reminding us that 300 people are still caged and tortured there and that none of us are innocent bystanders - we all have a responsibility.
Sarah Colborne of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign described Gaza as a war crime and shared harrowing statistics on the situation of the people of Gaza.
Sister Sharif Al-Sharifa was a voice we had not heard before. She is from Hebron in Palestine. She spoke passionately for her people, and described the conflict in terms any one could understand - she wants to live a normal life, be allowed to live in her home, wake up in the morning with her family alive to enjoy the sunshine the day brings, but Israel is stopping her with its occupation of her home and its killing of her people.
Nick Broomfield, director of 'Battle for Haditha', was another face we had not seen before. His suggestion that Bush and Blair should be in the dock for war crimes was welcomed but it was unclear whether he was suggesting that they should be in the dock instead of or with the soldiers already charged with war crimes. The Geneva Convention is clear on the individual responsibility of each soldier not to commit war crimes regardless of his orders - "Bush told me to do it" doesn't wash.
Students at University College London are the first to throw the military out of their campus by banning all military recruitment. Its an example which need to be followed by all campuses in the country, it would effectively put an end to the recruitment of new officers. Sam Godwin, the Student Union General Secretary at University College London, spoke at the rally. She explained that in desperation the university had unconstitutionally suspended her and tried to annul the democratic vote of the students banning military recruitment from campus.
George Galloway talked of the "slew of useful idiots that are now being dragged out to prepare the way for the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran" and "the khaki war machine now has its pink contingent" referring to groups like Outrage! who have been previously been caught lying about Iran in order to further their own political aims. During last years Quds Day demo (
http://www.inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10214) their on-line leaflets opposing Quds Day initially featured a photo of a stoning which the they claimed occurred in Iran. The photo was a fake - they were taken straight of out a fictional dutch movie (De Steen 1994) with the israeli actress Smadar Monsinos playing the role of the stoned woman. When the fake was exposed they came up with new leaflets this time they featured the case of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni whom they described as kids who were executed in Iran for being gay. When Amnesty, Human Right Watch and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission investigated their claims they discovered that the pair were not kids (at least one was 19) and that they were guilty of kidnapping a young 13 year old boy and raping him at knife point. After speaking with the boys father, Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission conceded "it was not a gay case" and further condemned Tatchell (leader of Outrage!) for his "racially charged language" against Muslims. It was later revealed that the story was planted by the MKO/NCRI - the Iranian dissident group/cult sponsored by Saddam and accused by Human Rights Watch for having tortured its own members and committed atrocities on others including massacring the Kurds on behalf of Saddam. The group, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by both the EU and USA, has been defended by Tatchell who has compared it to the ANC saying it "is no more a terrorist organisation than the African National Congress in South Africa or the anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe during World War Two". Galloway also alluded that having failed to stop the invasion of Iraq perhaps it was time for the anti-war movement to change tactics with the run up to a possible attack on Iran "our anti-war movement has been peaceful and lawful, maybe a little too peaceful, maybe a little too lawful.. We need to step up our opposition so that we bring politics as usual in Britain to an end." This clearly struck a cord with the crowds.
Dr Azzam Tamimi also spoke of the need to take action for change. He referred to the political system which doesn't bring any change despite elections as 'liberal hypocrisies'. He also mentioned the book fairs in France and Italy which on the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of a whole nation, they are honouring the criminals who carried out the crime rather than show solidarity with its victims. Many authors who were to be featured in the book fair are furious and have boycotted the book fair.
Member of parliament John McDonnell gave an insightful speech on the government. He recalled the run up to war and how his fellow MP's chose ambition over principle and voted with Blair for war. He spoke of our duty to oppose attacks on civil liberties with the vote on detention orders of 42 days coming up - "will not stand to one side when they come to lock us up, and seek to silence us by threats of arrest". He also concluded that the "bizarre" discussions on britishness initiated by the government and echoed by the media were designed to divide us - "we tell them very clearly, we are members of one race - the human race. We are human beings, we have human rights - the same human rights, the same civil liberties what ever area of the planet we occupy. And we tell them we will not be divided". In our opinion it was one of the best speeches of the rally.
Lindsey German, the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, revealed that this year we in Britain spent, through our taxes, 3 billion pounds on the war, this at a time when we are seeing hospitals close due to lack of money. She also mentioned the resignation of the head of US Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, who was a lone voice against attacking Iran, as a ominous sign of impending war.
Billy Hayes, the general secretary of the communication workers union, reiterated the link between cuts here and the cost of war - he advised trade unionists that "when you campaign for more investment in public services you also need to campaign against the waste of lives, and waste of money that's taken place in our name in places like Iraq".
Tony Benn gave perhaps the best speech of the rally, a real gem which no doubt people will ponder over. He said "there is no railway station called peace, your children, and your grandchildren, and their grandchildren are going to have to fight the same battle again and again and again. But at least our campaign will inspire them, just as so many in the past have inspired us."
It was a hard act to follow, and the last speaker of the day Bruce Kent from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament started by graciously describing himself as "the poor mans Tony Benn". He talked about nuclear disarmament, how 185 countries were ready to see the end of all nuclear weapons but one of the obstacle countries was the UK with its Trident system.
It was a good rally with some great speeches, but unfortunately it was slightly marred by 4 or 5 people near the front who spent the whole time heckling the speakers, even throwing bottles and cans at them. We are not sure why the stewards tolerated such abuse directed at the speakers. It seemed that at least some of the same elements that tried to disrupt last years Quds Day demo were involved in this latest incident. Galloway referred to them as 'idiots' we cannot disagree.
After the rally we marched down Whitehall past Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament and on to Westminster Bridge. After crossing the Thames we continued along the river to Lambeth Bridge and crossed that to head towards Parliament Square. The loop across the two bridges is a distance of around 2 miles. Whilst the tail end of the demo was still joining Westminster Bridge the front of the march had already completed the loop and was seen returning from Lambeth Bridge. The protesters had literally surrounded parliament. At Parliament Square people gathered to hear a few more speeches from the Stop the War podium and other independent makeshift podiums.
Concluding impressions were that is was a good turnout but people are beginning to question the effectiveness of demonstrations on their own when the government and corporate media just ignores them and the war continues unabated. There was a feeling that the momentum is there for more direct forms of action and civil disobedience in order to stop the war machine, indeed many of the speakers reflected these views. The war wont be stopped by demonstrations alone - more is needed.
Full photo report including videos and audio are provided of all the speeches, both streaming and for download with text summaries. The mp3 audio is sorted in to tracks with album art included.
http://www.inminds.co.uk/world.against.war.15.march.2008.php 
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A Few Clarifications...
31.03.2008 20:21
"Galloway also alluded that having failed to stop the invasion of Iraq perhaps it was time for the anti-war movement to change tactics with the run up to a possible attack on Iran "our anti-war movement has been peaceful and lawful, maybe a little too peaceful, maybe a little too lawful.. We need to step up our opposition so that we bring politics as usual in Britain to an end." This clearly struck a cord with the crowds."
Well, yes. It struck a chord with the crowds five years ago, too. Galloway needs to start putting his money where his mouth is - and the STWC need to start helping people plan and execute direct actions against the war, instead of discouraging and condemning anyone who does. Legitimate protest is legitimate because it's safe - if we want to present a threat to the status quo, we need to start taking risks.
"Students at University College London are the first to throw the military out of their campus by banning all military recruitment."
A fine action and a great start. Yet also a harsh reminder that working within the system achieves little - with her suspended, the university will find a way to overturn the decision. What's needed now is for the students to physically prevent the recruitment stall from operating (say, by forming a human cordon) - which they could have done anyway, without needing half as many people.
"Tony Benn gave perhaps the best speech of the rally, a real gem which no doubt people will ponder over. He said "there is no railway station called peace, your children, and your grandchildren, and their grandchildren are going to have to fight the same battle again and again and again. But at least our campaign will inspire them, just as so many in the past have inspired us.""
Am I the only person depressed by this? If our grandchildren need to do the same thing our grandparents did, perhaps it's a sign we've been doing something wrong. It's not enough to be inspired by past campaigns - we need to learn from them too. And also from the history of this campaign...
"The protesters had literally surrounded parliament."
You're aware that politicians have saturdays off, right? Mind you, if we'd all stayed there for two days, that would certainly have exerted some preassure!
"It was a good rally with some great speeches, but unfortunately it was slightly marred by 4 or 5 people near the front who spent the whole time heckling the speakers, even throwing bottles and cans at them. We are not sure why the stewards tolerated such abuse directed at the speakers."
There were rather more than five of us, but this is the sort of number-twisting I expect from certain quarters. Still, at least we got a mention, I thought we were going to have disapeared into the mysterious ether of unscrupulous reporting!
We were also extremely selective about which speakers we heckled, choosing our targets carefully and tailoring our heckles. We cheered that lovely old woman who didn't want to say anything, and left the likes of Tony Benn alone. But if you think I'm going to stay quiet whilst scabs, union bureaucrats, and womanisers attempt to co-opt the anti-war movement for their own advancement and glorification, then you're sadly mistaken.
If anyone can come up with any evidence for the claim that cans and bottles were thrown, then I'll discuss it. Meanwhile, I'll trust the evidence of my own eyes, and treat those spreading such rumours for their own ends with the contempt I feel they deserve.
The stewards didn't exactly tolerate us - we were yelled at and glowered at, and once the actual march started at least two comrades were physically shoved about by STWC stewards - one for having a flag near the front of the march and thus "co-opting the movement" (a beautifully ironic accusation typical of an SWP front group) - and also had a steward attempt to steal said flag - and another for getting too near to Gorgeous George and "ruining it for everybody". I've said it before and sadly I suspect I'll need to say it again - STWC stewards are effectively policemen by proxy.
"Concluding impressions were that is was a good turnout but people are beginning to question the effectiveness of demonstrations on their own when the government and corporate media just ignores them and the war continues unabated. There was a feeling that the momentum is there for more direct forms of action and civil disobedience in order to stop the war machine, indeed many of the speakers reflected these views. The war wont be stopped by demonstrations alone - more is needed."
I'll agree with this all the way. Five years ago, two million people marched against the war. Then the STWC managed to co-opt the movement by pretending it was their idea all along. In fine SWP tradition, they proceeded to organise march after march with the same speakers whilst codemning and undermining everyone trying to do something more direct and effective. Five years later, with anti-war feeling at a new high, the protest has shrunk to a mere 50,000!
Protests and marches have a place in any movement, but it should only ever be a supporting role. Without the teeth provided by direct actions, the movement is effectively neutered - if we pose no real, immediate threat, what forces can we bring to bear, how can we even bring the government to the bargaining table? The approach of the SWP merely provides a spectacle of resistance. Any growing rebellious tendencies get absorbed into this spectacle until they become burnt out, frustrated, feeling impotent and isolated. How we've managed to retain even 50,000 supporters in a political movement that makes people feel so powerless and ineffective is surely a miracle.
What gives me hope has been the vast outpouring of support for the hecklers after the march, both on the internet and on the street. Thanks to disruptive actions like this, people are realising that there is another way - and for a lot of them, it's looking extremely attractive. I never thought I'd say this, but groups such as Class War* are actually looking to be in a very strong position to save the anti-war movement in this country. Not by seizing power or organising people, which only ever leads to stagnation and infighting, but by their example and inspiration. CW folks, my hopes are pinned on you - turn that legendary love of action against the people responsible for this war! And that goes for the rest of you too. At the very least, find your local recruitment office and let them know what you think. Wink wink, nudge nudge.
And one last point...
"...London's popular mayor Ken Livingstone."
*sniggers* You mean the guy who no longer even dares go to rallies because he gets booed so much?
Courage and a brick, comrades. Let's make sure our children never have to fight again.
*I'm not a member, before anyone asks.
Innocent Dave
Heckling
01.04.2008 02:04
Now we have videos available we can all see the "evidence of our own eyes" and see the projectiles. Previously I had said two had been thrown during Galloways speech but now with the video evidence I see it was 3 - a plastic bottle when he started to speak (1:08 on video, to his right - missed the stage), then something else which seems big as Kate Hudson can see it coming in - it lands on stage near her but its off camera so not sure if its a bottle or can (4:22-4:24 on video) and finally a can is thrown centre stage but goesn't reach Galloway (you can see it on video at 4:30 and actually hear the tin can land!)
You said - "Class War are actually looking to be in a very strong position to save the anti-war movement in this country". After they stood, unrepentant, shoulder to shoulder with zionists waving Israeli flags against a pro-Palestine demo no one who supports Palestine will ever back Class War or believe they are anti-war, for me anti-war has always meant anti-Israeli occupation.
observer
Heckling
01.04.2008 08:29
Louise Christian got heckled for some rather foolish and pointless remarks (such as "we knew human rights would suffer when the war started"), but the heckling on the video seems to be that drunk guy who was yelling at the hyperactive palestinian academic as well. Not quite sure his issue was with any of it. The main reason you can hear him on the video appears to be because he's quite close to the right of the camera, whereas the main heckling contingent, the one I was with, was off to their left.
Having watched the videos you mentioned, I have now seen the projectiles (dammit... time for a new-labour style u-turn :P ). And, as promised, I'll now debate the rights and wrongs of it. I wouldn't normally support it, because it's not really my style, but I will point out that Gorgeous George is a total prat and in a situation with less chance of random bystanders being hit, I'd probably be in full support of someone throwing an empty drinks can at him.
For now though, I'd like you to do an experiment for me. Go grab a tin of beer, drink it, and then see how far you can throw the empty can with any degree of accuracy. As an former teenage alcoholic, i can assure you that those cans were thrown from far closer to the stage than I was, which means that our views of George have some more supporters nearer the front! Seems we're not just a lunatic fringe...
Now, watch the video again and listen to Galloway's rantings. He refers to the iranian gay rights movement as a fringe to their armed forces, and then refers to their supporters in britain and to the hecklers at the front as "usefull idiots" and accuses them of being an essential part of the war effort. I believe I have every right to throw things at homophobic bigots, and I stand in full solidarity with those who choose to do so.
I assume your last paragraph refers to last year's Al-Quds demo? I've been looking all over and don't see any of class war around. I see alleged members of Worker's Liberty ("handing out condescending leaflets" - how could they!?). I see Peter Tatchel, seemingly suggesting that a democratically elected government in an effective two-party system may not be the best answer to palestine's problems (because the ballot in other countires is sacred. It's only in the UK that we can dare challenge an elected government), and I see some people expressing the (obviously foolish) opinion that the government of iran may not be the same thing as the people of iran. Do I see Class War? No. Do I see a lot of hysteria, sectarianism and implicit support of fundamentalism? Yes.
Until someone can find me a photo of Ian Bone wrapped in a zionist flag*, I'm going to treat this as the STWC and their allies doing the usual SWP-style trick of defending their imagined moral high ground by making stuff up about everyone else.
*and I really hope nobody can find one, or I'll look foolish again...
Innocent Dave
Heckling
01.04.2008 10:27
If someone were to show you a photo of Class War wrapped in a zionist flag would you then condemn them or would you like you did with the bottles and cans go and find excuses for their despicable action?
Funny I didn't see the brave lads of Class War throwing any bottles or cans at the police or their FIT team.. cowards.. or were they saving them all for their real enemy - the Stop the War Coalition?
observer