On the eve of Bush's visit to Britain yesterday, protestors from a diverse range of concerns converged on the International Convention Centre (I.C.C.) in Birmingham to protest at Tony Blair's arrival at the annual conference of the C.B.I. (Confederation of British Industries).
Independence from Bu$h
Inside the CBI conference
Passively resisting arrest ;0)
Protestors demands ranged from calls to halt the illegal occupation and continued bombing of Iraq, to stopping the unrestrained lobbying power of the C.B.I. Protestors were also united in expressing their outrage at the appalling human rights record of the United States, and Blair's complicity in denying detained British Citizens their human rights in Guantanamo Bay. Protestors were also outraged at George Bush's visit to Britain and his stay at Buckingham Palace.
Last night people also came to protest at Britain's most powerful industry lobbying group, the C.B.I. According to one protestor from Birmingham Friends of the Earth;
'The C.B.I. lobbies government for harmful business practices that are detrimental to both people and the environment. They lobby against important environmental legislation and they continue to oppose the climate change levy, which should tax businesses for their green house gas emissions. They are by nature a secret and undemocratic organisation.'
Protestors were also accompanied by two activists dressed in orange overalls, symbolising the illegally incarcerated and tortured detainees in Guantanamo Bay. They attempted to register for the C.B.I. conference to counter-lobby the assorted corporate interests of the War of Terror's war machine. They also felt obliged to correct Blair's intentionally misleading statement concerning the threat to world peace and security by so-called 'terrorists'. Instead the activists felt compelled to remind delegates that the combined State Terrorism of Britain and the US was far more likely to precipitate global terrorism and the threat of nuclear war.
They successfully occupied the entrance of the ICC for some time whilst waiting for Blair's arrival. At Blair's arrival they knelt down, with their hands behind their backs and their masked heads down. This was intended to remind Blair and his entourage of their complicity in the denial of British Citizen's civil rights, legal support and the torturous conditions that detainees are enduring in U.S. occupied Cuba.
Birmingham's International Convention Centre yesterday hosted two of the most secretive and unrepresentative organisations in Britain. On the one hand we have the C.B.I. who possess powerful unmediated interests and industries that make up the machinery of the War of Terror. And on the other, an unrepresentative Prime Minister who has made an undemocratic and unilateral decision to illegally go to war and occupy what were two sovereign states in the Middle East. Both shadowy organisations put profit before people and the environment and are directly related to the industry of War.
Last night people also came to protest at Britain's most powerful industry lobbying group, the C.B.I. According to one protestor from Birmingham Friends of the Earth;
'The C.B.I. lobbies government for harmful business practices that are detrimental to both people and the environment. They lobby against important environmental legislation and they continue to oppose the climate change levy, which should tax businesses for their green house gas emissions. They are by nature a secret and undemocratic organisation.'
Protestors were also accompanied by two activists dressed in orange overalls, symbolising the illegally incarcerated and tortured detainees in Guantanamo Bay. They attempted to register for the C.B.I. conference to counter-lobby the assorted corporate interests of the War of Terror's war machine. They also felt obliged to correct Blair's intentionally misleading statement concerning the threat to world peace and security by so-called 'terrorists'. Instead the activists felt compelled to remind delegates that the combined State Terrorism of Britain and the US was far more likely to precipitate global terrorism and the threat of nuclear war.
They successfully occupied the entrance of the ICC for some time whilst waiting for Blair's arrival. At Blair's arrival they knelt down, with their hands behind their backs and their masked heads down. This was intended to remind Blair and his entourage of their complicity in the denial of British Citizen's civil rights, legal support and the torturous conditions that detainees are enduring in U.S. occupied Cuba.
Birmingham's International Convention Centre yesterday hosted two of the most secretive and unrepresentative organisations in Britain. On the one hand we have the C.B.I. who possess powerful unmediated interests and industries that make up the machinery of the War of Terror. And on the other, an unrepresentative Prime Minister who has made an undemocratic and unilateral decision to illegally go to war and occupy what were two sovereign states in the Middle East. Both shadowy organisations put profit before people and the environment and are directly related to the industry of War.
Comments
Hide the following comment
Icey Reception at the ICC!
18.11.2003 16:02
were assembling, at B'ham's ICC, today, off Centenery Square. What's so
special about that, then? It was no ordinary CBI National Conference. Star
speaker, of the day, was the PM himself, Mr. Anthony Blair.
In 1998, I - having passed through stringent security - was amongst a crowd
of a hundred, or so, outside the Council House. At the time, B'ham was
center of the planet, as the G8 Summit was taking place here. World leaders,
such as Yeltsin, Kohl & Clinton arrived, intermittently, usually waiving to
the crowd, or even going around "pressing flesh", as they say. I was
privileged to shake hands with TB & his wife, Cherie, even wishing them a
nice time in B'ham (what a creep, eh?). The PM was then full of his usual
charm, smiling from ear to ear. - About a year ago, he was at B'ham Uni,
inaugurating some new Institute. Still cheerful, he waived & smiled at peace
protesters, but, this time, from a distance. - Today, some 40 or 50 of us,
after only very short notice, turned up with our banners, placards,
megaphones, sirens etc. We - no doubt, all of us suspected of lifetime al
Qaida membership - made sure to excercise our vocal chords, behind heavy
metal barriers, with appropriately unwelcoming slogans. - When, eventually,
ca 45 minutes past schedule, Mr. Blair arrived, the numerous police &
security present were, on full alert.
The Honourable Member for ...Durham, speedily disembarked
from his limousine, together with cronies, sorry, entourage, plus security.
We, the troublemakers (although none of us are ever likely to drop
cluster-bombs!) were not acknowledged, not even with a brief glance. But I
did catch sight of the man, scurrying towards the ICC entrance, with head of
hair. Next time in B'ham, one wonders, will he turn up with a brown paper
bag over his head? But, even the charisma & charm of a Tony Blair no longer
suffices, sometimes even he must feel distinctly unloved. As for his Texan
pal, Dubya....
Two orange-suited "detainees" of Guantanamo Bay, near the main entrance,were
unceremoniously, bundled away, by police, & dumped on our side of the
barriers. If the detainees achieved nothing else,
they reminded us of 600+ arbitrarily detained persons - or should one say
non-persons? - including 3 from Tipton & one from Birmingham. All of them
are, currently, recieving punishment without trial nor sentence.
Afterwards, a group of us dispersed to 'Bread & Roses', for refurbishment.
It had been a worthwhile few hours, & in from the cold outside, I thoroughly
enjoyed my cup of hot chocolate!
BG