STOP THE ATTACK ON FALLUJAH ETC
PHONE MAN | 31.10.2004 18:37
This must not happen unopposed. Today- Sunday- in London, a group of half a dozen people took to the streets to raise awareness and make their dissenting voicres heard.
Actions took place throughout London- Leicester Square, Oxford Street, and most recently: Downing Street. They had tried to hand a letter in to the PM, but- not allowed to do so and not content with being penned in nearby, one man climbed the Downing St gates and has been removed by police.
PHONE MAN
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Cool!
31.10.2004 21:17
Joe
direct action success
01.11.2004 12:26
Last night a small group of anti-war activists, the affinity group Random Block, took part in several highly successful actions around central London to raise awareness of the forthcoming military attacks on Iraqi towns and to show disgust at the re-deployment of British troops.
The day consisted of actions around Oxford St and Leicester Square where roads were blocked and people were encouraged to get involved. This was particularly successful around Oxford Circus where an impromptu action blocking the road attracted crowds of 400+. The feedback and support from the public was fantastic, people involuntarily came to sign petitions, to wish the protesters good luck and there were words of encouragement from passing Iraqis and members of the armed forces. Some people were even so encouraged that they agreed to join in with the action, sitting down on the road with the activists.
The day culminated with an action in Downing Street. While the police were diverted by activists asking to hand in a petition, activist Les Gibbons managed to climb the gates of Downing St and in an act of defiance refused to come down. This gained significant attention from passers by and within minutes several police vans turned up and escorted other members of the group across the road. The protest continued for 45 minutes with members of the group, holding banners and speaking to the gathering crowd about the importance of to taking action to stop the escalation of the war and encouraging people to join the day of actions next Sunday at 2pm in Parliament Square. (For more info on that action contact stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm or check out the Voices website event diary on www.voicesuk.org)
These actions only involved 5 people. But we managed to bring oxford circus to a halt, get loads of people to sign petitions and scaled the gates of Downing Street. It goes to show what fantastic things can be achieved if people work together strategically and in an organised way. It is crucial that people get together to take action against the imminent military onslaught in Iraq. According to senior US officers this new assault ''w[ill] be the largest and potentially the riskiest since the end of major combat operations in May 2003' (New York Times, 27 Oct). Next Sunday at 2pm there will be a day of protest against these attacks in Parliament Square. If you wanna do something about this madness. Be there.
yasmin
e-mail: yasmin.khan@opermail.com