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Peace Vigil to commemorate the fallen British soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

Mikko Takkunen | 02.02.2006 23:57 | Anti-militarism | World

Images from the Peace Vigil organised in Aberdeen on February 1 2006 , as part of dozens similar ones across the UK, to commemorate the 100 dead British servicemen and the thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003.

Most people were strongly in favour of pulling the British troops from Iraq.
Most people were strongly in favour of pulling the British troops from Iraq.


Britain lost its 100th soldier in Iraq on 31st of January 2006 and on February 1st , there were a large number of vigils across the UK to commemorate the fallen soldiers and the dead civilians of the illegal war on Iraq. The names of the hundred dead soldiers as well as hundred names of the thousands of dead Iraqi civilians were read out loud in a sombre seremony. The Aberdeen vigil gained further poignancy from the fact that the 99th dead soldier was a 22 year Allan Douglas from Aberdeen.

Mikko Takkunen
- e-mail: mikko_takkunen@hotmail.com

Comments

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look carefully at the words used

03.02.2006 01:49

QUOTE
to commemorate the fallen soldiers and the dead civilians of the illegal war on Iraq.
UNQUOTE

So the soldiers and resistance fighters of Iraq that were butchered in their tens of thousands for the crime of trying to defend their innocent nation are sub-human, and not worth remembering, eh? The spirit of Hitler is obviously alive and well in Aberdeen this week.

How easily it would have been to say "ALL those children, women, and men murdered in Iraq as a result of Blair's and Bush's supreme war crime, AGGRESSIVE WAR AGAINST IRAQ". MY choice of words are not controversial or inaccurate, or in dispute by those that support the anti-war movement. However, those that LEAD the movement on behalf of Blair would rather die than see their master slandered. So out goes Blair's name, out goes 'AGGRESSIVE WAR', out goes 'murder', and in goes that sickening use of the word 'civilian', that turns anyone that would seek to defend their family or land into a non-person.

You see, my accusation against these vigils, and the motivation of those that arrange them, and produce the written statements, are easy to prove. Blair's people have to meet a whole list of goals and objectives. In doing so, they give themselves clearly away. what depresses me is that many that attend the vigils do so with the best of motives, but are not prepared to use even a fraction of their intelligence to calculate the difference between honest leadership, and clear manipulation. Hitler did not inherit a land full of raving racist Nazis. Even at the height of his power, only a tiny proportion of his population could be consider thus. However, he KNEW how to manipulate the vast majority of his people, regardless of the fact that he could never convert them.

twilight


You look carefully Twi't

03.02.2006 15:48

The phrase used was

"to commemorate the fallen soldiers and the dead civilians of the illegal war on Iraq"

That includes all soldiers and all civilians ( including the Brityish civilians who have been killed in terrorist attacks since the invasion).

So your points are invalid because your superior intellect failed yet again to follow the smug advice you ask everyone else to follow. Don't you read what you write ? Probably not since you obviously don't read what other people write. Every fucking post you write makes similar basic and self-contradictory logical and/or factual errors and the only purpose they serve is to give ammunition to those who post here slagging off IndyMedia. If you genuinely care about the issues that you profess to, you should stop discreditting them by posting drivel.

Danny


Reading out the names of the dead in a sombre seremony.

04.02.2006 00:13


Another image from the Aberdeen peace vigil on February 1st 2006. Reading out the names of the dead British soldiers and some of the thousands of dead Iraqi civilians was done by dozens of different people.

Mikko Takkunen
mail e-mail: mikko_takkunen@hotmail.com


A member of the military family lighting a candle in commemoration

04.02.2006 00:23


Another image from the Aberdeen peace vigil on February 1st 2006. Several military families were present in the gathering to commemorate the dead British soldiers and the thousands of Iraqi civilians. The local Stop the War Coalition has been bery active in getting military families to back the campaign demanding the withdrawal of the British troops from Iraq.

Mikko Takkunen
mail e-mail: mikko_takkunen@hotmail.com


Rally For Peace

04.02.2006 01:40

No, Agent Concerned, the war was illegal, and leaked documents prove that Bliar and Bush knew this.

Don't just commemorate the dead, do something for them, and remove these criminals from power NOW, before they drag us all into their planned Perpetual War and the rebirth of Fascism.

Reclaiming the “Orange Revolution”
by Jordan Thornton
www.dissidentvoice.org
September 18, 2005

Cindy Sheehan's courageous actions in Texas have captured the imagination of an American public desperate for an end to this madness. We must give them something they can get behind, while the Bush/PNAC Regime is vulnerable, and before the next big Distraction we all sense is imminent. Let's send an unmistakable message of unity and determination to the world, and end this now before things get any worse.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Since the demonstrations which reversed the electoral decision in the Ukraine, I've heard and seen many Ukrainians talking about large groups of foreigners who were pivotal to their planning. Many of these groups were the ones responsible for paying for the food, shelter, and orange banners used by the protestors. I didn't think much of this, or the accusations of funding from agencies such as the CIA, until I saw the same thing occurring in Lebanon.

Then, a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Carol Off, did a piece explaining that the "spontaneous, grassroots" protests in the Ukraine were the result of CIA funding and planning over a period of ten years.

Sadly, the report lauded these tactics of Regime Change, but nonetheless, proved my point.

One thing I've noticed is the tightly-controlled Western media's willingness to ignore the unsubstantiated allegations made in Syria and Lebanon that the Central Intelligence Agency, or Israel's Mossad, or both, were responsible for actions like the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, and behind the recent Opposition Movements, while at the same time, parroting over and over the same unsubstantiated claims about Syria, emanating from the White House den of LIARS and thieves. Even media outlets which I consider better than the rest, like the CBC, are guilty of such irresponsibility. When pro-Syrian demonstrators turned out in the hundreds of thousands, proving the anti-Syrians to be the minority voice, the media downplayed these numbers.

Just feels a bit too staged for my taste ... What I find the most irresponsible about all of this is the fact that whoever is behind this, they are attempting (and succeeding) to divide the Lebanese People, and cause conflict both within the country, and towards Syria. This, of course, aids the Israelis and PNAC Americans, who both have an interest, and want to invade and occupy Syria (and perhaps Lebanon as well), as called for repeatedly by the agenda which has seen Bush/PNAC illegally invade two Arab nations already.

The CBC chose Janice Stein, a Zionist "Middle East Expert" to comment on the situation, and she said when she saw the demonstrations she "saw the colour orange". This was after the first anti-Syrian demo, when the colour scheme wasn't so pronounced. Since then, orange flags, placards, etc. have started “spontaneously" appearing in great numbers.

When I was in university, my Design professor brought in some Colour Researchers from the University of Edmonton, who lectured on the psychological, but also the PHYSICAL effects, colours have on the human body and mind. This red-orange colour is one of the "comfort colours", and you will no doubt remember seeing it in countless commercials (ING Direct, and the creepy, stereotypical European banker, anyone ...?).

Since the CIA, or some similar agency, is ultimately behind these carefully stage-managed displays, you know they understand what they're doing. I believe that we should be taking a cue from them, and striking while the iron is hot. This orange color scheme has been carefully crafted in order to transmit "armchair understanding" of these two manufactured crises, and make them appear to be popular uprisings.

Even though it was our Enemy putting it out there, for their own purposes, we should seize the opportunity to claim it for ourselves, since this IS a popular uprising, for the betterment of the world. After all, we have been granted an unprecedented peek inside the CIA's Handbook for Non-Violent Revolutionary Change, and you know damn well that they have studied all of the relevant psychological factors. We should not squander the opportunity we've been provided, and act while the soft underbellies of these monsters is exposed.

If you are to protest, from now on, DRESS IN ORANGE, and CARRY SIGNS OF ORANGE, rally at the feet of power, and the media, DEMANDING that the democratic Will of the People not be ignored. I guarantee this will send an instant message, not only to the Bush/PNAC/Bliar Regime, but to all Americans and to the world that sees it.

Keep your signs easy to read and understand, things such as "FIRE THE LIARS", "INVESTIGATE, IMPEACH, PROSECUTE" and at media centers, "LIARS", or "TRAITORS", or "COWARDS".

Groups should design some Talking Points, and designate members to speak with the reporters on-scene. In larger centers, you should inform the media of what's going to happen, and call the station’s News Director or Assignment Editor, and request to be interviewed. You could even take it further, and offer your services as an Activist Analyst for the day, just like they use ex-military personnel, and members of Right-Wing "Think-Tanks" to undermine our work. If they refuse, acknowledge their hypocrisy, stage a noisy rally at their front doors, contact their competitors, and when they arrive (and they will), talk to them.

Let's test these LIARS and War Criminals, and their media puppets, and see just how much they truly respect "Freedom & Democracy", the words upon which they attempt to justify the atrocities upon which they've built their fortunes.

Regardless of what happens, the message will be sent. We have nothing to lose. If something comes of this, then great. Follow up and celebrate. If the rallies are ignored, or treated by the police as those in the past, then you've just PROVEN these men to be the Hypocrites we all know them to be ... and this message will be transmitted in no uncertain terms around the world.

I'd like to see as many people as can not simply Rally for a few hours but for DAYS. Those who cannot make it there, plan and hold your own local rallies, and not only gather where your Government officials meet, but also where the media does its business.

Let's take this thing that was designed to dupe people into supporting what the Fascists in DC want, and turn it on its head. Let's use it as a tool for bringing that Fascism to its knees, and demonstrate the good intentions that were to be assumed about the "Orange Revolutionaries".

Remember, that we are the Majority, and Truth is our greatest Ally.

The only way we can fail, is if we fail to ACT.

P E A C E . . . ?

Jordan Thornton is an independent journalist, political activist, and screenwriter, who spent the past decade within the mainstream media, both in Canada and the United States. He can be contacted at pilgrim112 at hotmail.com

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