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.

Bush visit: Parliament Square protesters demand protection and rights

Global Women's Strike | 18.11.2003 17:29 | Bush 2003 | Repression | London

President Bush’s visit:
As huge sums are spent on security arrangements, MPs call for protection for Parliament Square protesters and their rights

On 13 November, John McDonnell MP tabled Early Day Motion 1914, which reads: “That this House expresses its deep concern that the visit of George Bush, President of the USA, may be used as an occasion to undermine the right to protest by removing the peaceful anti war protestors in Parliament Square, Brian Haw who has been there 24 hours a day for over two years and the Women’s Community Picket which joined him at the start of the war against Iraq; notes the extensive arrangements to ensure the safety of the US President contrasted with the inadequate protection afforded to Mr Haw who has suffered serious physical assaults, and calls upon the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to allow Mr Haw and the Women’s Picket to continue their protest in the square and to ensure that policing arrangements provide for their safety.” With the police under pressure from the US to protect their universally unpopular president when he visits Britain this week, the media is reporting plans for unprecedented draconian restrictions on the right to protest. They include giving US security men the right to shoot anyone they think looks threatening.

Is our right to protest a further casualty of this unjustifiable war and occupation which have already cost so many lives? Will the right of protesters in Parliament Square and other protesters be upheld? The continued presence of Brian Haw’s peace protest and the Women’s Anti-War Community Picket are an embarrassment to MPs who voted for the bombing of Iraqi civilians and the occupation which has followed – a nagging daily reminder of the massive anti-war movement which urged the government not to go to war, predicting the horror we have witnessed since the first bombs fell.

While £4 million is being spent on protecting an unwanted self-invited guest, Brian Haw has suffered a number of assaults in the past six months and cannot get the police at Parliament’s gates to cross the road to protect him. MPs have intervened twice with Early Day Motions calling on the Metropolitan Police to ensure his safety, and have written to the Police Commissioner.

· On 11 June, at 2am, Nils Tolling, who said he was a US marine (denied by the US embassy), physically assaulted Mr. Haw, breaking his nose, and tried to set fire to his placards. Mr. Haw spent the night in hospital under constant observation. Four months later he is still in need of medical treatment. Although the assault occurred in full view of the police across the road, Mr. Haw had to wait 20 minutes for help to arrive from the Royal Parks Police. Evidence was available on CCTV and from two people who made witness statements, and Mr. Tolling was arrested, then released on police bail. The police took no further action until they had medical evidence three weeks later. By 4 July, when they returned to arrest Mr. Tolling, he had left the country. We are not aware of any police complaint to the US embassy.

· In July, a man tried to tear down Mr. Haw’s placards. A woman who had joined Mr. Haw’s protest was hit in the stomach with a placard wielded by the attacker. This time Mr. Haw made a citizen’s arrest and took the man to the police across the road, asking that he be taken into custody. The police refused and let the man go without charge.

· On 20 September, an Israeli man violently broke Mr Haw’s nose again, for which he will require a further operation. The injury makes breathing difficult, particularly given the pollution in Parliament Square. He was not arrested.

For over two years Mr Haw has been braving the elements to express his opposition to this government’s warfare without end, first against Yugoslavia, then Afghanistan and now Iraq. He is particularly angry about the genocide of Iraqi children, to which his line-up of placards and banners along Parliament Square bear witness. He has won a precedent ruling based on his right to freedom of speech under the Human Rights Act. Mr. Haw’s protest and the Community Picket, receiving global media coverage, have become a meeting point for visitors as well as weekly regulars.

In their reply to John McDonnell MP, Charing Cross Police claimed concern for Mr. Haw’s safety, but refused any extra officers on the grounds that: “The area in which [Mr. Haw] conducts his protest is one of the most heavily policed in the UK.” (31 July 2003) Why then can’t Mr Haw get the police to protect him? Why can officers always be found to tell our picket to be quiet and threaten to confiscate our sound system, but no officer comes when one of us is assaulted?

A number of officers have quietly expressed their support for Mr. Haw and for the Community Picket; they clearly respect the public’s right to protest. But officers at Parliament’s gates have mocked Mr. Haw with words and gestures – they laughed as a peaceful supporter was chased and threatened with violence.

We ask our elected representatives to sign MP John McDonnell’s EDM and to stand up for our right to protest and our safety as protesters against this week’s US invasion. Why should we pay for the security of an uncaring oil billionaire with no regard for life or human rights, while those who oppose war are unprotected?


For interviews or more information contact:
Brian Haw 07743 689 045
Community Anti-War Picket 020 7482 2496; fax 020 7209 4761;
Email:  womenstrike8m@server101.com

Global Women's Strike
- e-mail: womenstrike8m@server101.com
- Homepage: http://womenstrike8m.server101.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