Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Iraq Procurement Protest 27 April 2004

Hugh Mann | 28.04.2004 23:30 | Anti-militarism | Globalisation | London

Having arrived at the protest, guided to the protest by the sound of a distant megaphone through what has become in my experience as my wettest day in London, I arrived at one of the smallest yet dramatic protests I have yet experienced.... and by the end I came away with the deepest wish that the work of these brave few could have chipped away even in the smallest way at the relentless force that confronts the hope of our future through such an admirable display of human spirit and perseverance.

Pig Mask
Pig Mask

Bomb and Buy Sale Hat - Code Pink Action
Bomb and Buy Sale Hat - Code Pink Action

Making a killing out of Iraq
Making a killing out of Iraq

Code-Pink Banner
Code-Pink Banner

Tony Blair - food for thought
Tony Blair - food for thought

Who Pays Who Profits - Speaker
Who Pays Who Profits - Speaker

Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army
Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army


Iraq Procurement Protest, London -

It seemed as if for those few hours between 6 and 9:00 and infront of the Connaught Rooms in London on the 27th April 2004, had been born to test not only the will of the protesters but the police that day, as the rain and lightening thundered down around them. I cannot express how moved I was by the bravery and persitence of those there that day. I managed initially to position myself opposite the protest literally underneath the Connaught Rooms armed with my cameras to watch through the unbelievable rain, thunder, and even hail the awesome conviction of those protesting at the Iraq Procurement meeting where the heads of the big oil multi-nationals to carve up the Iraqi peoples national inheritence while our species seem intent on slaughtering each other there day by day for something none of them will take beyond their graves.

Recording the events unfolding, witnessing the heroic and energetic protesters in the front ( you know who you are ), exposed to the elements, nearly brought me to tears. The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, with hilariously crippling pathos, also demonstrated the sublime in their holy antics and served as an integral relief from the idiocy of having to protest for the simplest requirements of our humanity. There were a few arrests that ensued, each one demonstrating the both humiliating yet honouring insight into the heroic sacrifice of the individual for a greater cause.

The latter half of the protest, combined with the Samba band put the thunder to shame, and the as the rain cleared, we were rewarded with food and impassioned and informative speeches from both British and Iraqi nationals touching on the reality of the people of Iraq, the women of Iraq, and the unspeakable injustice that we are currently having to witness on our fellow humans in the name of "liberation" and "democracy". My salutations to all of you for standing up for those who couldnt speak out.

Thank you so much, you are all remarkable.

Namaste,

Hugh Mann

The photo's that follow were a sample of what I managed to glean when I remembered to get my hand out of the position of the flash (lesson learned). With time on my side, some video will follow shortly.

Hugh Mann
- e-mail: imagine_everyone@hotmail.com

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech