[ From our Arab correspondent in London ]
[ BBC has more info on the situation ]
Emergency Demonstration Against the Looming Attacks on Iraq's Cities.
SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, LONDON
Meet 2pm, Parliament Square
Bring white flowers & come and make your protest in your own way!
'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place, US forces have already started - and are planning to widen - a campaign of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct).
Bush's re-election makes immediate and sustained opposition to the escalation more urgent than ever.
A massive attack on Fallujah, where US forces massacred hundreds of Iraqis in April, is now imminent and will, in the words of one US official, be "very bloody and nasty" (Washington Post on-line edition, 16 Oct).
IT'S TIME
"Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now. It's time." (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug)
BLAIR WAVERED
When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources (Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US Government 'den[ying] ... heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20 Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US] take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct).
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks.
Please join us on the 7th November!
Called by Stop the Attacks - an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists old and new.
tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail: stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm
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[B] CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR ACTION IF THE MASSIVE ATTACK ON FALLUJAH STARTS
* LONDON:
- Stop The War vigil on the night of the major onslaught (or the night after), 5pm-7pm, opposite Downing Street. Organised by the Stop the War Coalition: www.stopwar.org.uk.
- Nonviolent Direct Action. Meet 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar Square). Called by an ad hoc collection of nonviolent activists.
* OUTSIDE LONDON. On day of onslaught (next day depending on timing):
- CARDIFF: 5.30pm- at Nye Bevan Statue, Queen Street.
- CREWKERNE, S SOMERSET: 12pm, front of Victoria Hall. Black clothes preferably, banners. Coordination Pat Read, 01460 74043.
- EDINBURGH: 5pm, Parliament Square (off the Royal Mile).
- EXETER: 5.30pm, Exe Bridges.
- LEEDS: 5-6pm, Dortmond Square, Headrow, Leeds town centre.
- MANCHESTER: 5pm-, Picadilly Gardens, City centre, Manchester.
- SOUTHAMPTON: 6pm, Outside the Civic Centre, opposite the Marlands.
- SHEFFIELD: 4.30pm, Outside Sheffield Town Hall.
- SWINDON: 6pm, Cenotaph, Regent Circus.
- YEOVIL: 11am following Saturday, Millenium Clock Tower, High St.
If you are organising an action then please make make sure to send info. to the following e-mails when you publicise your event: office@stopwar.org.uk, iraqfocus@riseup.net and voices@voicesuk.org.
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