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.

Support Military Families - Send a protest email today

MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR via Respect Supportesr Blog | 14.09.2006 15:39 | March 18 Anti War Protest | Anti-militarism

Protest at Manchester City Council ban on Peace Camp.

As previously reoterd on Indymedia:

In February 2003, Blair's Government tried to ban what was to become the biggest protest demonstration in British history, claiming that they were worried about the safety of people 'walking on the grass' in Hyde Park.

Now, New Labour in Manchester is trying to go one better by attempting to ban a peace camp by bereaved military families on the pretext that 'Providing facilities for the campers would not be logistically possible.' This is an extraordinary claim from a council that found it perfectly logistically possible to provide facilities for over 5,000 athletes and officials in the 2002 Commonwealth games.

The activists who plan to pitch tents in Albert Square on the 21st and stay until the Time to Go demonstration on the 23rd, have been told that the ban is for their health and safety.

Rose Gentle (pictured above at her son's funeral ) whose young son Gordon was killed in Iraq said, "We think it's because it's the Labour conference and they don't want us going and voicing our opinions because Mr Blair is going to be there. They say it's health and safety. They said they don't want drunks thinking it's somewhere they can sleep. But we've got our own security."

She accused the council of 'doing New Labour's bidding' and repeated that they still intend to go ahead with the camp.

Labour NEC member and Peace veteran, Walter Wolfgang, who was violently ejected from last year's Labour conference has accused officials of behaving like 'heavy handed idiots'. Mr Wolfgang said: "These are people who have lost members of their family who are members of the Armed Forces in a war which should never have taken place.

"They have got every right to protest, and I think we will find they will protest. Whoever is responsible for this are idiots. This is very heavy-handed and sounds like it comes from the same people responsible for the treatment given to me last year. They are very foolish to do this."


On February 15th 2003 New Labour were forced to back down. Now their minions in Manchester are taking on some of the most determined and courageous protesters we have ever seen. Let's hope that Manchester City Council also have the sense to back down and reverse this shameful decision.
....................................
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO HELP:

You can visit the Peace Camp to offer your support from Thursday 21st September, or send messages of support to  letters@mfaw.org.uk

Click here to visit the Military Families against the War website at:
 http://www.mfaw.org.uk/

Click here to send a protest e-mail to Manchester City Council at:
 http://www.mfaw.org.uk/manchester.html

MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR via Respect Supportesr Blog
- e-mail: neilwilliams1952@gmail.com
- Homepage: http://respectuk.blogspot.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