WE WILL DEFY GOVERNMENT BAN ON ANTI-WAR MARCH London 08/10

[Disco_Destroyer]

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 1020
02 October 2007
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) WE WILL DEFY GOVERNMENT BAN ON ANTI-WAR MARCH
JOIN THE DEMONSTRATION. SPREAD THE WORD
2) TONY BENN'S LETTER TO THE HOME SECRETARY
3) GORDON BROWN OPEN LETTER PUBLISHED 3 OCTOBER

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1) WE WILL DEFY GOVERNMENT BAN ON ANTI-WAR MARCH
JOIN THE DEMONSTRATION. SPREAD THE WORD
Stop the War President Tony Benn has delivered a letter to the
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to make clear why our Troops Out
demonstration at Parliament on Monday 8 October will take place,
despite the ban by the government and police. It is essential
that the voice of the antiwar majority in this country is present
at Parliament when Gordon Brown makes his long awaited statement
on Iraq.

That is why we are asking every anti war activist to sign the
letter protesting against the ban, to join the demonstration on
October 8 and to do everything possible to publicise the protest.
(Sign here: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ )

Stop the War has designated tomorrow, Wednesday 3 October, as a
day of action to build support for the demonstration and to
create a mass sign-in campaign, using a special NOT ONE MORE
DEATH postcard, designed by eminent artist David Gentleman. The
postcard calls for troops out now and for the British government
to break with US war policies. (See postcard here:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ )

It is our basic right to demonstrate. As Tony Benn says, "The
authority for this march derives from our ancient right to free
speech and assembly enshrined in our history, of which we often
boast." This is why Tony will be joined on our march by Labour
Party NEC member Walter Wolfgang, musician Brian Eno and many
more soon to be announced.

Comedian and broadcaster Mark Thomas, announcing his
participation, said, "This is a ham-fisted attempt to prevent us
from demonstrating. We will ignore the ban. We have the moral and
logical high-ground. I will be marching on Monday 8 October."

Stop the War has been inundated by phone calls and emails from
across the country, expressing outrage at this attack on our
right to protest peacefully, many saying they will be travelling
to London to join the demonstration, both to insist that all
British troops are withdrawn from Iraq and to defend our civil
liberties.

The situation in Iraq is worsening by the day, with hundreds
being killed each week and the virtual collapse of most public
services. The cause of this horrific suffering is George Bush's
occupation and British troops are only in Iraq to give him
political cover. Every day the troops remain prolongs the death
and destruction for the Iraqi people.

Our demonstration will call for the immediate withdrawal of
British troops from Iraq. We will also call for all troops to be
withdrawn from Afghanistan, for an end to the British
government's subservience to US foreign policy and for Gordon
Brown to oppose George Bush's current threats to attack Iran.

We urge everyone who has opposed our government's war policies
and who has been appalled by the repeated attacks on our basic
rights to join our demonstration.

DEMONSTRATE: PARLIAMENT MONDAY 8 OCTOBER
NOT ONE MORE DEATH - BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW
ASSEMBLE FOR RALLY 1.0 PM TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Speakers include:
TONY BENN
MARK STEEL, comedian and writer
BEN GRIFFIN, ex-soldier who served in Iraq
BOB WAREING MP
GEMMA TUMELTY, president, National Union of Students
LINDSEY GERMAN, national convenor, Stop the War
BILLY HAYES general secretary, Communication Workers Union
More details and updates: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

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2) TONY BENN'S LETTER TO THE HOME SECRETARY

To: The Right Hon Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA
Monday October 1st 2007

Dear Home Secretary,

I am writing to you as President of the STOP THE WAR COALITION,
to give you advance notice that there will be a demonstration in
Trafalgar Square the day Parliament meets calling for the
immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq and
Afghanistan at which I shall be speaking along with others.

Afterwards many of those present - including myself - will be
marching along Whitehall to the House of Commons to meet MPs and
urge them to support this call for a withdrawal, as I shall be
doing in approaching Malcolm Rifkind my own local MP. We shall be
doing this in an orderly manner and I am making available to
those who wish to have one, a postcard over my printed signature
as a Privy Councillor, asking the police, and others to assist
them. I enclose a copy of this postcard.

The authority for this march derives from our ancient right to
free speech and assembly enshrined in our history, of which we
often boast and which we vigorously defended in two world wars.

I am copying this letter, and its enclosure, to Jack Straw, the
Commissioner of the Metropolis, and as a courtesy, to the Prime
Minister's
office.

I hope that you will be able to re-assure me that those who
demonstrate and march down Whitehall will enjoy your full support
and the support of the police. But it is only fair to tell you
that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I will be among
those marching.

Yours in peace
TONY BENN

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3) GORDON BROWN OPEN LETTER PUBLISHED 3 OCTOBER
Stop the War's open letter to Gordon Brown calling for the
withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq will be published in
The Guardian on Wednesday 3 October in a full page advert funded
by supporters of Stop the War (See http://tinyurl.com/3xafku ).

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[TonyGosling]

The Metropolitan police have covered up for the real London bombers, who may be the Israeli Army, (by the way the IDF have just been blamed in new evidence from the Chicago Tribune for the destruction of the USS Liberty) The Met. are iin a hypnotic racist psychosis so some kind of confrontation was inevitable.

In a way this is great news that the police bigwigs and control freaks with no understanding of ordinary people have finally lost it publicly.

I'm quite sure this news will bring many more people to London that would have otherwise come !!

BTW - can't this be shifted into the news section since it's not often we get good news like this?

Now where else is it that peaceful protests like this are illegal?? Let me think....


There appears to be a real attempt from the top to provoke civil unrest going on here.

[spiv]

As a person who has lived on this planet for in excess of 50 years (I know, I know, all the usual leg pulls and jibes.... ) and as a law abiding person who has no criminal record whatsoever, not even a speeding or parking ticket, I can tell you that I would have no qualms whatsoever in joining this march, be it legal or illegal. It is time that ordinary citizens looked to our Government and said "enough is enough of your stupid repressive laws, I will make my statement to you, I will defy you as you have driven me to that"

Good luck with the peace march.

If I lived closer I would be there, but I will be there in spirit. And Gordon Brown, shame on you for not immediately bringing our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Shame on you for not telling Bush his wars for oil are illegal.

And shame on you for not rounding up the war criminals who ordered our troops to go to these countries, in particular oil rich Iraq. The first arrest should be of Blair, of course, and then they should all be sent to the Hague for trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[Linda]

And shame on Gordan Brown for signing all those cheques that funded the so called War, he should also be on trial alongside the warmongers in the Hague

[karlos]

And shame on anyone who ever votes for Labour again because the blood of all those murdered people will be on your hands as well as Brown and Blair's.