UK Indymedia

Solway's Silver Bullet

08-07-2003 14:44

The Gulf War started a long time before we saw it on outr t.v.'s. Depleted Uranium contamination shows the contempt the British State has for the people of Scotland - and the time for opposition is now.

"Unborn children of the region are being asked to pay the highest price, the integrity of their DNA."
Ross B. Mirkarimi¹

A new kind of nuclear war is being waged. It's already being fought in Scotland and the combatants are you and me. Our attackers are the Ministry of Defence, a force which has already poisoned its own soldiers and threatened the health of the civilian populations of the former Yugoslavia, Kuwait and Iraq.

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Gatecrashers Ball Marred by Chaotic Policing and 3 Arrests

07-07-2003 23:00

On Friday 4 July,thousands of citizens across the UK held parties at US military bases (Fairford, Plymouth 1, 2, 3) as part of 'Independence from America Day'. One of the main events was the 'Gatecrashers Ball' held at the US's Menwith Hill Spy Base, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and hosted by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB). As usual, chaotic policing led to three arrests and the walk around the base being curtailed. Police also closed off the public footpath for no stated reason. One of the arrestees was detained for 'assaulting a police officer' whilst apparently trying to protect his partner from pushy police. Another was chased and arrested for refusing to remove their mask, and the third arrest was for trespass.

There is an appeal for witnesses.

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RAF Fairford - Independence from America

06-07-2003 21:59

On Friday 4th July, American Independence Day, a number of people from Oxford met with other local activists and marched on RAF Fairford. The demonstrators assembled in Fairford village at 3pm, with many in fancy dress as the event formed part of the "Gatecrashers' Ball". Some of the men came in black tie, with women in comedy ball gowns. The procession went to the main gates of the base waving banners and enjoying some of the Arabic music someone had brought along. On arrival, the Declaration of Independence from America was read and signed. The protesters stayed to have a picnic of cucumber sandwiches and fairy cakes, and eventually drifted off home. The protest passed off entirely peacefully, with only some irritable car drivers raising objections to the protest.

pictures 1 / pictures 2 / Fairford Peace Watch

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July 4 - Independence from America Day: Gatecrashers Ball at Menwith Hill Spy Base

04-07-2003 02:24

As millions of Americans celebrate 'Independence Day', thousands of citizens across the UK are today holding their own parties at US military bases as part of 'Independence from America Day'. One of the main events is taking place just a half-hour drive away from Leeds at the notorious Menwith Hill spy base near Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

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Leeds Says No To War on Iraq: Round-Up

01-07-2003 00:00

The anger against the US-UK war on Iraq, which millions saw clearly as a war for oil and US empire, produced the monster international protests on February 15^th when up to 2 million people in Britain alone took to the streets of London. Over 40 coaches went from Leeds. Although a strong anti-war movement had already emerged, February 15^th inspired the biggest demonstrations that Leeds had seen for decades.

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Oxford peace activists seem to be winning the legal battle

25-06-2003 14:25

Update: Charges of obstruction of the highway against Anna and David have been dropped. However, the case of another Oxford activist accused of causing 8,333 pounds worth of damage to the main gates of USAF Fairford has been transferred to Cirencester Magistrates Court.

Toby and Phil, the 'B-52 Two', were granted bail Friday the 20th and finally have their freedom! Charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage when they tried to disarm a B52 warplane at RAF Fairford in March 2003, they pleaded not guilty as they acted lawfully to uphold international law. The Gloucester Crown Court will make a judgement on the legality of the war on 19 September.

Several other people with Fairford related cases had good news also. Two Oxford activists were offered bindovers in place of charges of aggravated trespass, a citizen from Oxford pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal damage and aggravated trespass - the case was adjourned, and two others had their charges of criminal damage to the main gate of Fairford completely dropped. Mysteriously the gate -related charge of another Oxford activist is still being pursued and was adjourned for the time being.

* The "B-52 Two" WEBSITE
* pictures of Phil and Tobi getting out of jail
* video of a vigil held by supporters of Phil and Tobi outside Gloucester Prison
* Prisoners for Peace website

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Peace activist on trial.

25-06-2003 13:08

On the 10th of march 2003, Danish peace activist and grandmother, Ulla Roder, was arrested for damaging a Tornado war-plane at RAF leuchers in Fife so it couldn't be used in an attack on Iraq.
Other Tornados from Leuchers were involved in the bombing of Iraq using cluster bombs and radioactive Depleted Uranium.
Ulla is currently on remand in Cornton Vale Prison, and her trial will start soon.

More information under these links:
Free Ulla Campaign
Trident Ploughshares
Scottish CND

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Peace in the Park

23-06-2003 19:33

Hundreds of people gathered on Devonshire Green in Sheffield City Centre on Saturday 21st June 2003 for the Peace in the Park festival of peace and solidarity.

It was also the first public event that Sheffield Indymedia attended — the IMC stall went down well.

[Report | Photos: 1 | 2]

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Pict Defence Force: There Is No Scotland - Only Aberforth!

11-05-2003 23:00

The Latest News From Occupied Scotland

1. Text of interview with Pict Defence Force spokesperson:
May 9th, 2003 (19 Pitn, 2542 in old money)
(Pict Defence Force spokesperson, flanked by members of its political wing, emphasises a point at an interview given to various press agencies at a secure location in Aberforth ("Edinburgh") on May 9th, 2003, corresponding to 19 Pitn, 2542

[ read more.. | picture ]

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Nuclear Warheads Transport In UK

11-05-2003 13:36

A nuclear transport is heading from a factory in Reading for a nuclear bomb store at Coulport - north of Glasgow, and expected to arrive on Monday 12th afternoon. Each of the 3 lorries in the convoy is thought to be carrying two nuclear warheads which, each of them, have a destructive capacity eight times the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Civilian weapons inspectors from Scottish CND, Trident Ploughshares and Faslane Peace Camp will be monitoring the convoy as part of the UK Nukewatch network. The civilian weapons inspectors will attempt to stop the convoy for a close-up inspection.

[ Full report ]

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Scottish human right observer under arrest and to be deported from Gaza!

10-05-2003 00:00

Nick from Scotland, and his friend Alice, are currently held by Security Forces in Israel.
They were arrested at 8:30 PM on Thursday evening, May 8, 2003.
Their phones were temporarily confiscated, giving them no means of contacting friends, activists, or lawyers.
However, the activists called the British Embassy to inform them of the detention.
No formal charges have been brought against them, but they were told to be under arrest, although there are no grounds for legal action against them.
Nick and Alice are being held as part of the overall execution of a plan to remove Internationals from the West Bank and Gaza.
Another condition to enter Gaza is to fill in a form, which absolves Israel of all responsibility in the case an International is injured or killed and in addition forces the Internationals to waive all basic rights.

[ report on Friday | update on Saturday | update on Sunday ]

For further info:
Palestine Solidarity

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Faslane Trident Nuclear Submarine Base Blocked by Peace Protesters

23-04-2003 00:00

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Faslane Anti-Nuke/War Blockade

22-04-2003 05:10

Faslane Nuclear Submarine Base in Scotland was blockaded by campaigners of all ages and from many countries for almost ten hours on Tuesday 22nd April.

Starting before 7am the annual big blockade saw over 600 people taking part in the acion, many locking themselves together using chains and plastic tubing as they blocked the access gates of the base. There were over 170 arrests, including seven people arrested during breaches of the base.

Banners were hung on the fences and giant puppets danced in the street to the sounds of a samba band as three different waves of activists arrived at the base. One campaigner said: "This has been a great action with so many people with such a diversity of age, nationality and background willing to put themselves on the line to disrupt these horrifying weapons of mass destruction."

See Full Timeline of events
Faslane Film from day
Collection of 69 pics
Six different sets of pics
More pictures in big file size.
Report / Irish report and pics 2 and 3
Report in german
IMC public access point at Peace Camp (pics)

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April 12th: International Anti-War Protests

12-04-2003 10:15

LONDON:
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday April 12th for the Stop The War coalition's national demonstration. As two marches joined at Parliament Square (pics), a minutes silence was observed in memory of the dead in Iraq as flowers were laid in rememberance (pics). Hundreds more flowers were also laid opposite Downing Street to shouts of "Blair Out!" (pics).

Organisers estimated up to 200,000 people attended, while the police maintained only 20,000 people took part in the rally in Hyde Park (many observers said it was closer to 100,000). There were three arrests in the park, one for alleged assault on a police officer as police harrassed people at an information stall, eye witness reports tell a different story however (read report and pics here). There were speeches from dozens of speakers (streamed and archived here) throughout the afternoon.
London timeline + tactics discussion
General pictures, Samba pics, Stop the War Coalition pics.

GLASGOW:
2000 people marched through the city centre of Glasgow in protest of the war in Iraq and for justice. Police presence was small and the atmosphere was sombre and quite restrained. Speeches were made by the various political parties.
Glasgow report

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Barcelona Against The War: Protests And Strike

11-04-2003 11:37

The city of Barcelona was shaken on Thursday 10th as thousands of people took to the streets in a day of protest against the killing in Iraq and the permanent war. Many businesses were closed, following a call by several anarchosindcalist unions [CGT | CNT | SO] for a general strike of 24 hours. Actions were continuing until the late evening.

Read entire feature with first hand reports, images and background info in IMC-UK World Page

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Peace Protesters still active!

09-04-2003 23:00

In Scotland anti war actions are still taking place nearly every day, despite the police tactics getting more and more restrictive for the protesters. On Thursday 3rd of april the autonomous demonstration suceeded in blocking an Esso garage for about an hour, following on from the demonstration a week earlier on the 27th of april.
On Friday the school students suceeded in blocking the traffic with a sit-in before marching of in a cordon of police to the American embassy. Friday saw also a mass mave-in of posters and postcards as a solidarity action for a protester, who was arrested alongside with others on the anti-war demo the 22nd of march for his design of the American flag.
An anti-war exhibition by local artists also opened on Friday, to be seen untill the 13th of april, in the Roxy Art House.
On Saturday, activists went to protest in front of the BP headquaters in Grangemeouth, Fife.
Peace Vigils were also held on Monday, 7th of april in front of the US consulate. The next women's vigil will take place on Saturday, 12th of april Night outside City Chambers on Royal Mile from 9-10pm.
More actions are also to take place on Wednesday,9th of april, when Glasgow activists have announced a demonstration, starting off at Kelvinbridge Underground at 5pm to march to BBC studios, Queen Margaret Drive.
On Saturday, 12th of april, another mass demonstration will take place in Glasgow and in London, following on from the one on the 29th of march.

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Variety Of Actions Against The War

05-04-2003 03:15

'Art Against the War' activists are busy camouflaging phone boxes. In Manchester, 200 mourners attended a Peace funeral. 15 coffins were carried slowly around town for 2 hours ( pics). In Cambridge, a demo gently blocked traffic. Many motorists honked in support as they passed by in the opposite direction. In London a big banner reading "Wake the f*UK Up!" was dropped on Oxford Street.

The Irish Anti-War Movement is calling for a mass demonstration opposing Bush's visit in Belfast on Monday. In Northern Ireland, peace campaigners are organising emergency protests. Derry has already held a protest.

In Edinburgh, 100 blocked an Esso petrol station. School students held a demo on Friday. Later in the day, demonstrators used masses of postcards with a "Fuck Bush" design. The week before, on March 22, an activist had been charged for holding up a placard with the same design (report).

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Local Anti-War Actions M29

29-03-2003 04:59

As the attack on Iraq continues people around the country are showing their opposition to the war by taking to the streets all over the UK. The mainstream media, including the BBC, which was confronted last night at a public discussion has largely ignored the peace movement, which today is participating in further localised actions.

Protesters in York held a die-in in the town centre with flowers being laid on the 'dead'. This was followed by a noisy demonstration through the city centre. In Cambridge 800 people marched in a protest organised by Cambridge Campaign for Peace. In a hastily arranged protest, the march ended with several speakers advocating civil disobedience. In Leeds protesters marched with someone present questioning the effectiveness of A-B marches with speakers at the end. In Norwich in East Anglia, Stop the War Coalition made a banner drop from a castle co-inciding with a noisy protest. Cardiff saw the city centre taken over as 500 protesters and a samba band made their way past rugby fans going to watch a game. Oxford had a heavy police prescence around their protest, which was attended by 800 people. Police even cordoned off a rally which was held at the end of the march. see pic. A march in Leicester attracted around 1500 protesters in a broad based demo. Thousands attended a demo in Sheffield where the theme was a funeral procession, with coffins at the front.

Dublin saw a massive demo take place and the video can be watched here. Another big demo took place in Edinburgh, with 10,000 protesting. The protest also involved a sit down protest, see pics here and here. In Manchester two seperate marches converged to the BBC in Manchester, with one banner reading 'STATE TV PROPAGANDA'. Some arrests were made after police violently pinned in a small group of protesters Newcastle saw a crowd of 1,000 attend a rally, before heading off to a war memorial for a two minute silence. Police attempted to block their path but protesters used various routes to meet up at the war memorial. A small group of Protesters starting from the London School of Economics dispersed after police vans were in attendance at the meeting point. Meeting at Covent Garden, they set up a 'Food not Bombs' trolley handing out free sandwiches, before being stopped. Determined they moved around Central London blocking traffic. In South London, three seperate marches converged in Brixton, where speeches were made, after which people occupied the streets outside the Lambeth Town Hall [report and pics]. Hackney saw 1500 people marching from Dalston High Street to London Fields where a rally took place.
Enfield, London had a small demo of 200 through the main shopping area and in Todmorden West Yorkshire, activists managed to shut down an Esso station. Around 5000 attended a protest in Newham which contains a large Muslim community. School students joined the protest which was very lively, with one arrest made.

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Anti-War Protests Set To Continue

26-03-2003 05:05

Protests were pausing after Saturdays mass demonstrations, but local protests such as road blockades and smaller actions at bomb depots and military bases continue as more demonstrations are announced.

Localised demonstrations across the country have been called by the Stop The War coalition for this Saturday, as well as a national demonstration in London on Saturday 12th April. See list of anti war events over next 2 weeks collected by ARROW, as well as a call to picket local army recruitment offices. April Fools Day (1st) a day of Disobedience and Reclaim the Media event has also been called. Protests at 9 military bases are scheduled for the weekend of April 5 and 6 under the banner "Reclaim the Bases".

On Wednedsay 26 Hulme bridge in Manchester was closed for 6 hours by a single protester. Students against the War also called a demonstration to the US embassy in London for Thursday March 27, in which around 1000 people ended up surrounded by police [video]. Thursday night also saw protests in Cardif [reports 1 and 2] and Leeds.

Direct Action is also announced for Scotland.

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UK: Summary Of Latest Anti-War Actions

24-03-2003 05:58

Over the last week and the weekend anti-war protests were seen in the whole of Britain, showing to the politicians that the war still has no support from the public [UK Round up]. More than half a million people all over the UK threw off apathy, lethargy and resignation to continue their resistance against the War in Iraq - significant numbers, considering that the million-strong anti-war protests on February 15th were prepared for since the European Social Forum.

On Saturday 22nd major protests were held at Menwith Hill, the US spy base, and U.S. Airbase Fairford.Resistance to the war has been shown in Scotland, Manchester [1 | 2 | 3], Bristol [1 | 2] and Wales [1 | 2]. Reports of anti-war actions from Newcastle, Tyneside, York [1 | 2], Cambridge, Hereford, Hulme and Liverpool

In London up to half a million people took part in the national demonstration that finished with a rally in Hyde Park. Once the speeches had finished, several groups of people took again to the streets to blockade major roads in central London. Oxford Street saw the biggest crowd when up to 1000 people blocked the street for several hours until police made at least one arrest and then moved to surround the crowd [pics 1 | 2 | video]. Another blockade of around 700 people took place in Park Lane where police used violent tactics to cordon off the crowd for a couple of hours. There were also reports of another crowd of 200 people blocking Charing Cross Rd and then marching towards Parliament Sq.

• See M22 Timeline of Events with reports and photos of demonstrations and actions from several UK cities.
• List of audio reports from Saturday 22.
• See IMC-UK World Page for M22 anti-war protests around the world.
• Electronic resistance against the War [1 | 2 | 3 | 4]