STW Events

[Annie]

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 2006/23
8 July 2006
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Telephone 020 7278 6694
Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) TIME TO ROOT OUT BLAIR’S EXTREMISM
2) TRIDENT: HYPOCRISY WITHOUT END
3) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH SPEAKS
4) AFGHANISTAN: A FIASCO BEYOND BELIEF
5) GAZA: KILLING A COUNTRY TO RESCUE A SOLDIER
6) CLOSE DOWN GUANTANAMO DEMONSTRATION
7) STOP THE WAR AT BESTIVAL

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1) IRAQ: WHY IT'S TME TO GO
Tony Blair says that Muslims should "root out extremism" in their
communities. He adds, "I am probably not the person to go into the
Muslim community. It's better that we mobilise the Islamic community
itself to do this."

Tony Blair is right when he says he is "not the person to go into the
Muslim community". He is right because he and George Bush are already
'in' the Muslim communities of Iraq and Afghanistan, where the extremism
and terrorism of the US and UK invasions has left a trail of
devastation, massive loss of life and the collapse of public services.

By the day, the statistics coming out of Iraq become unimaginably more
horrific. Even the Pentagon now admits that 50,000 have lost their lives
since March 2003, a figure which must be a massive underestimate, given
that Baghdad's central morgue alone received 30,204 bodies in the same
period, most of whom died violent deaths. (See http://tinyurl.com/ombam)

The Red Cross says that Iraq's health service, which once had "a high
level of technology and state of the art medical care" comparable to any
country in the world, has been "bombed into the middle ages." The World
Health Organisation says life expectancy for those who don't die violent
deaths is now 51 for men and 61 for women. 20 years ago Iraqis had the
same life expectancy figures as anyone in the West. (See
http://tinyurl.com/feq8q)

Despite the attempt by the US military, with the usual connivance of the
mainstream media, to present random killings, torture and abuse as rare
activities of a few "bad apples", there is a clear pattern of collective
punishment, intimidation and terror -- from the torture chambers of Abu
Ghraib to the revenge killings in Haditha from the massacres in Ishaqi
and Qaiem to the wholesale destruction of cities and towns such as
Fallujah and, just recently, Ramadi. (See http://tinyurl.com/lp722)

The terrorism in London on 7 July 2005 was an appalling atrocity, for
which there is no justification. But in the scale of atrocities it is
dwarfed by the carnage inflicted on Iraq in the past three years. Blair
may say, as he did this week, that Muslims have "a completely false
sense of grievance against the West" but a police report has just
confirmed what the majority of people in this country have always
known -- that July 7 was a direct consequence of the carnage inflicted
on Muslim communities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Neither Muslims nor non-Muslims need nauseatingly hypocritical lectures
from Tony Blair, when he says, "We can only defeat extremism if we have
people in the community who are going to stand up and not merely say
'you are wrong to kill people through terrorism'".

On Saturday 23 September, the eve of the Labour Party Conference in
Manchester, we will all have the opportunity to do exactly what Blair
says. The TIME TO GO demonstration, organised by Stop the War and CND,
will bring protestors from every corner of Britain to demand the rooting
out of Tony Blair's extremism, which has caused so much death and
suffering among millions of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, which
threatens more illegal wars in Iran and elsewhere and which is a threat
to the security of us all, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

TIME TO GO DEMONSTRATION
Troops Out of Iraq, No Attack on Iran
No Trident Replacement
SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER
ASSEMBLE 1PM ALBERT SQUARE
Organised by Stop the War and CND

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
* Distribute flyers, available from Stop the War.
* Get your trade union branch, campaign group, church or mosque to
support the march
* Help raise money and organise local transport to Manchester
* Contact your local Stop the War group
* Encourage your family, friends, work colleagues, fellow students to
join the
TIME TO GO demonstration

FOR LEAFLETS, POSTERS, BADGES ETC AND INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSPORT OR
YOUR LOCAL STOP THE WAR GROUP, CONTACT STOP THE WAR COALITION:
Phone: 020 7278 6694. Email: office@stopwar.org.uk. Web:
www.stopwar.org.uk

ARRANGE YOUR TRANSPORT NOW
Coaches are now being organised all over the country. There will be a
special train to take people from London to Manchester (more information
soon), as well as many coaches organised by London STW groups.

SEND DETAILS OF COACHES BOOKED
The Stop the War office is already getting many requests for details of
transport from around the country. Local STW groups should send details
of their coaches to the office as soon as possible, so they can be
publicised on the website and passed on to people contacting us for
information.
FOR COACH DETAILS: GO TO http://tinyurl.com/h74zb OR CONTACT STOP THE
WAR COALITION: Phone: 020 7278 6694. Email: office@stopwar.org.uk.

ALL LONDON STW ACTIVISTS MEETING
TUESDAY 11 JULY 6.30PM
ST PANCRAS CHURCH HALL
LANCING STREET NW1
(opposite EUSTON STATION, off EVERSHOLT STREET)
For Stop the War's 14 previous national demonstrations the rest of the
country has come to London. This time London is going to Manchester and
a London wide meeting for Stop the War activists has been called for
Tuesday 11 July to plan and co-ordinate London's mobilisation for the
TIME TO GO demonstration. We want to ensure the biggest possible turnout
from the capital. The meeting is open to all. Every London Stop the War
group should make sure it is represented and encourage all of its
supporters to join the discussion on Tuesday, at 6.30pm in St Pancras
Church Hall, Lancing Street, NW1. Opposite Euston Station.

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2) TRIDENT: HYPOCRISY WITHOUT END
There are no depths to which Tony Blair's hypocrisy cannot sink. With
his partner in war crimes, George Bush, he is threatening Iran for its
plans to develop nuclear power, which is entirely legitimate under the
conditions of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. At the same time
Blair is planning to break those conditions himself by spending £25
billion on a replacement for the Trident missile.

As well as calling for the removal of troops from Iraq and the end to
threats of war against other countries, the TIME TO GO demonstration,
organised by Stop the War alongside CND, is a protest against Blair's
plans to replace Trident with a new generation of weapons of mass
destruction. Each Trident submarine carries 48 nuclear warheads, each of
which has an explosive power which is 8 times the power of the atomic
bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, killing an estimated 140,000
people.

CND believes that Trident is illegal, immoral and a waste of resources.
It does nothing to increase world security and undermines international
efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This is the
first national demonstration to include a specific anti-nuclear message
for many years and CND is urging all its supporters to join us in
Manchester to show the Labour Party our opposition to a new generation
of nuclear weapons.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://tinyurl.com/s5crh

***************************************
3) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH SPEAKS
The highlight of A Night on Conscience on 28 June was a video message
from Malcolm Kendall-Smith. Malcolm was court martialled on 12 April
2006 and sentenced to eight months imprisonment for refusing to return
to Iraq. He was two weeks ago under outrageous conditions which subject
him to a 6.00pm to 6.00am curfew until September and forbid any contact
with the media until December.

Over 650 people attended the completely sold out fund raising benefit at
St James's Church, Piccadilly, organised by Stop the War to help pay the
£20,000 legal costs imposed on Malcolm. Tony Benn introduced comedians
Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, film director Ken
Loach, playwright David Edgar, actors Simon Callow and Janet Suzman,
fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, singer Ed Harcourt and many more.

In the video filmed at his home, Malcolm regretted that the curfew
prevented him joining A Night of Conscience and thanked the many people
throughout the anti-war movement who have given him support. He urged
everyone to continue the struggle for peace and justice in Iraq.
TO SEE THE VIDEO, GO TO http://tinyurl.com/rnp6o

Among the many message many messages we received following A Night of
Conscience were:

TONY BENN: Congratulations on organizing that inspiring and wonderful
event at St James'. You did a really magnificent job and I was very
moved by it all.

JANET SUZMAN, ACTOR: That was a great evening last night - one of the
most varied and interesting I can recall, but then the whole raison
d'etre is unique and I was so pleased and proud to be part of it.

SAMI RAMADANI, IRAQI EXILE AND ACADEMIC: It was a difficult and very
emotional evening for me and Fenik. I was terribly distressed beforehand
reading about the war victims. Everyone I talked to thought it was the
type of meeting that made them feel they should do more.

AUDIO EXERTS FROM A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE STOP
THE WAR WEBSITE SOON. Malcolm Kendall Smith's first public appearance
will be at the Stop the War National Steering Committee meeting on
Saturday 15 July, which is during the day, thereby not breaking his
curfew.

MESSAGES OF SUPPORT AND DONATIONS TO THE FUND TO HELP PAY MALCOLM'S
COSTS CAN BOTH BE MADE TO MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR:
http://www.mfaw.org.uk/.

***************************************
4) AFGHANISTAN: A FIASCO BEYOND BELIEF
Not content with waging illegal war in Iraq, Tony Blair has now
committed five thousand troops to one of the most dangerous areas in the
world, the Helmand province in Afghanistan. Within weeks of deployment,
six British soldiers are dead and something near panic has struck
government circles. In an answerable article, Guardian columnist Simon
Jenkins voiced what everyone knew when Blair first announced he was
intending to send yet more soldiers to kill and be killed in someone
else's country. "The dishonesty and stupidity behind this Afghan fiasco
is beyond belief," writes Jenkins, in calling for the government
ministers responsible to be held to account.
(Read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/jyrdt)

In another devastating depiction of reality for the British army in
Afghanistan, read the report from Christina Lamb of the Sunday Times, an
"embedded" journalist with the British army, who describes how a British
unit on a "hearts and minds" mission to an Afghan village was subjected
to ferocious attack just at the point when the Major in charge (called
appropriately Blair) said, "I thought that went rather well."
(Read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/kd2t9)

But what is Blair's response? To announce that the one billion pounds
already earmarked for this disaster will now become a blank open cheque
and more equipment and troops will be sent to try and pacify a people
exercising their right under international law to resist occupation by a
foreign power.

TO READ STATEMENTS FROM STOP THE WAR COALITION AND MILITARY FAMILIES
AGAINST THE WAR TO THE AFGHAN FIASCO, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/nkyol

***************************************
5) GAZA: KILLING A COUNTRY TO RESCUE A SOLDIER
Not a word of condemnation has come from George Bush and Tony Blair, as
Israel has violated no end of international laws in invading Gaza,
destroying much of its infrastructure, including power and water supply,
kidnapped most of the Palestinian government and killed dozens of
civilians, including women and children. The United Nations says the
whole of Gaza is on the brink of humanitarian disaster.

Even as this was being reported across the mainstream media, Tony Blair
was insisting that Muslims who oppose his foreign policy, which includes
uncritical support for Israel, regardless of how many atrocities it
commits against the Palestinian people, have "a completely false sense
of grievance against the West".
FOR LINKS TO A SERIES OF ARTICLES BY WRITERS WHO ARE MORE IN TOUCH WITH
REALITY THAN BLAIR, SUCH AS JOHN PILGER, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/fek53

***************************************
6) CLOSE DOWN GUANTANAMO DEMONSTRATION
SATURDAY 15 JULY 2006,
ASSEMBLE MARBLE ARCH 12 NOON
MARCH TO US EMBASSY
End detention without trial, illegality, torture, deaths and Guantanamo
Bay as a whole. Called by the National Guantánamo Coalition.
Demonstrations will also be held in the United States, Australia, Kuwait
and Bahrain.
FOR MORE DETAILS:
Email: bhamguantanamocampaign@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 07721427690
Web: www.guantanamo.org

***************************************
7) STOP THE WAR AT BESTIVAL
ISLE OF WIGHT: 8-10 SEPTEMBER
Following the hugely successful Stop the War Gig last December, when
Rachid Taha, Brian Eno, Mick Jones from the Clash and others packed
London's Astoria, we are a featured organisation at BESTIVAL, one of the
musical highlights of the year. Petshop Boys and Scissor Sisters
headline the 3-day Bestival on 8-10 September on the Isle of Wight, when
Rachid Taha with special guest Brian Eno will again be appearing for Stop the War.

BRIAN ENO EXPLAINS WHY HE'S APPEARING FOR STOP THE WAR COALITION:
http://tinyurl.com/o8xqv
ARTISTS APPEARING AT BESTIVAL: http://www.bestival.net/

VOLUNTEERS WANTED:
If you are interested in helping Stop the War Coalition at Bestival,
contact the StWC office on 020 7278 6694. We will be publicising the
TIME TO GO demonstration on 23 September, selling T-shirts, badges,
posters etc to help fund the demonstration and encouraging people to get
involved with the anti-war movement.

WATCH OUT FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MORE BIG NAME STOP THE WAR GIGS IN THE
NEAR FUTURE.