photos and short report london lebanon demo 22/7

7 - 30,000 protestors, depending on who you believe, marched from whitehall to hyde park today. then they went home

usual suspects

culture mix

home-grown placards

negotiate

powerful images

solidarity

numbers
numbers

police line near american embassy

nightmare placard

shout lebanon

tomorrow's sunday telegraph?

no entry

imperial statue

the crowd assembled in whitehall place, and at just after 1 o clock, they set off up past trafalgar square. tension seemed quite high at first, with a full-on police surveillance operation. soon after the start, a group of ultra-orthodox jews tried to join, and in a total misunderstanding (i heard one cop saying they were being provocative!), forward "intelligence" officers tried to move them away, but they were beckoned in to the front of the march by slightly more intelligent folk who realised they were there in solidarity.

i watched the whole of the march pass me in a wide street outside the institute of directors and it took more than half an hour, and was packed for most of that time. certainly way over 7,000. there was a wonderful full range of ages and cultures.

things slowed outside the american embassy, and i heard that some of the barriers had been torn down earlier despite a massive police presence with riot police on stand-by in nearby streets, armed police inside the compound, and a show of uniformed police in front of the embassy.

i got to thinking, here we are protesting about the israeli invasion of the lebanon and palestine, and about our own government's collusion in respect of the fact that, unlike most of the rest of the international community, the uk is not calling for a ceasefire. and yet, the march moves away from our government buildings, and does not pass the israeli embassy - strange!! however, i suppose since we all know america is behind a lot of this, there's some sense in going there first. but why not the israeli embassy. someone said it's because they are based in a private road - is this right?

anyway, the march ended up at the corner of hyde park and the usual suspects made their speeches. numbers thinned out rapidly at the end, possibly partly because many people had received a soaking in the occasionally torrential rain.

there was word going around for protestors to return to trafalgar square in time for a bbc 'big dance' live broadcast and some possible direct action, but it seemed people's appetite for protest had been exhausted and it was a no show.

still, we made a few seconds on the bbc bulletins - but no mention of the use of depleted uranium by israeli forces, and the burnt bodies of small lebanese girls targetted by white phosphorus munitions (the new 'legal' napalm).

you never know, if enough people knew about that stuff, they might not be quite so content to march from a to b and listen to speeches.

rikki
e-mail: rikkiindymedia@googlemail.com

Additions

a tear in my eye

04.08.2006 18:59

after looking at your photos from the london demonstration, it occured to me that the youth are once again leading the way in common sense, much like we did back in the 60's and 70's

this is a good thing for many reasons, primarily, young people just don't take no for an answer and are more likely to have the time to bitch

your photos looked so much like the anti vietnam shots i did, that it makes my spine shiver to think how stupid we remain in our quest for war

robert saint amour
mail e-mail: jamast@telus.net

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

An odd conclusion

23.07.2006 00:10

"you never know, if enough people knew about that stuff, they might not be quite so content to march from a to b and listen to speeches"

Thanks for the photos, but I have no idea what you mean by this comment. Were you hoping they'd set themselves on fire or something?! You sound like you disapprove of such demonstrations.

Richard W
Homepage: http://rwillmsen.livejournal.com

Nice pictures

23.07.2006 02:09

If the sunday telegraph girls were on all demo's it might draw in a wider audience!?

Pervert

Israeli Embassy

23.07.2006 14:47

going past the israeli embassy, in kensington, would have made for a rather long march. anyway i think marching past the american embassy is a better move politically, because the middle east crisis is not merely the result of - for example - israeli zionism. in fact US imperialism and power politics is at the root of the suffering in lebanon and elsewhere, and it is important to make this distinction.

anon

so...

24.07.2006 11:15

... you have shown you have the stamina to walk a few miles.

Big deal.

Have you the guts to fight for what you believe in?

Or will the opportunity pass ... like the lebanese nation?

I call for a demo outside (and inside - until the flames become uncomfortable) at the source of the problem.

You all know where it is, what it is called ...

Next satuday 12 oclock sharp.

Bring plenty of bottles for the heat (!?!).

jackslucid
mail e-mail: jackslucid@hotmail.com

fuckin simplicism

28.07.2006 17:49

talking of indymedia, but in the same time be part of the cheapest propaganda... "hizbollah is attacking in self-defence" - i really laugh about that shit!
who are you marching with???
hizbollah is a fuckin fascist organization and you should get much more informed about the situation in israel before you cry out some stupid shit against israel and march along with nationalists and fascist, who fight against emacipation in middle-east...
so good luck with your "peace movement"! i give a shit!!!

disappointed

Birds eye view

29.07.2006 20:24

a birds eye view of the march would have helped to assess "who to believe" for those of us who are still non the wiser from the photo's shown!

KOJO BRUNI
mail e-mail: kojowudi@blueyonder.co.uk
Homepage: http://scallyteacher.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Stop this demostration rubbish

31.07.2006 10:13

All these demonstrations get on my nerves!!! The majority of people attending dont have a clue as to what is going on. They are not well informed of the situation in the Middle East to enable them to make an informed decision as to what to believe. Therefore they are just a bloddy waste of space!! As for the ones who not only dont know what's going on, but have the little common sense to collude with the terrorists, extremists and fascists of this world, namely Hizbollah, Al-Qaida, Hamas and all those bastards who care so little about their brothers and sisters that they operate within city neighbourhoods, hidding behind innocent people, what can I say: go back home and engage in something your brain will manage, ie: watching big brother.

pro-Israel

Flames

03.08.2006 18:54

Many of these posters are the sort of inflammatory rhetoric that doesn't protest so much as offend.

"It is because of the Israeli dream, that the rest of the world lives in a nightmare."

In June 1922 the League of Nations passed the Palestine Mandate. The Palestine Mandate was an
explicit document regarding Britain's responsibilities and powers of administration in Palestine
including "secur[ing] the establishment of the Jewish national home", and "safeguarding the civil and
religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine".

I am opposed to this current Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Its a horrible slaughter, and also completly counterproductive from a militaristic standpoint. However, to suggest the Hizbollah is acting in self-defense is a total misconception. While there are legitimate issues that an organization like Hamas may have, Hizbollah is solely bent on the offensive and destruction of Israel (now perhaps with more support). Undoubtely they would be launching an equally destructive campaign on Israel if, the resources were available.

But, I loathe the simple assesment that this is simply the fault of one party or the other. The world is not insular, countries need suport from others. This is how problems are solved, diplomacy and justice--not war and blame.

Terrorism, Agressor, Invader, Militant, all these terms need to be re-evaluated by the powers that be, perhaps then we can move forward with diplomacy and finding real solutions.

-Some dumb Jew

Enough

Even Hitler said 'We acting in self-defence'

04.08.2006 20:15

''Hiz-bollox acting in selfdefence" ?!
This is mad. Even Hitler said ''We acting in self-defence"

Chiquita

Taking the wrong sides

13.08.2006 09:29

All over the world people seem to have been demonstrating for "peace", yet almost everywhere the slogans have been anti-israeli/anti-zionist, and the organisers have been authoritarian marxist anti-imperialists, arabic nationalists and apologists for islamic resistance. This is a seemingly one sided view of peace, and I would not like to live in a world run by these people. Look through the photos on many international indymedia sites and you will find pictures of children in military uniforms waving palestinian/hisbollah flags and banners calling for the destruction of the Israeli state. Peace through continued war - exactly what the Israeli military and state are saying. Neither the barbaric Israeli high-tech aggression, nor Hisbollah home made Katushka rockets attacks are justifiable. Waving national flags is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Nor is the destruction of Israel. Anti-zionism is a form of anti-semitism, an end to the Israeli state (founded not as a US colony, but to protect the survivors of the nazi genocide) would mean the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands of jewish people, many of them already displaced after persecution and pogroms in arab countries in the fourties and early fifties. Support for Israel is also no answer. Peace will not come from taking sides in this conflict, but by supporting people and groups promoting emancipation, self-management and co-operation, regardless the borders keeping them apart, whether national, sexual or skin colour.
No bosses, no masters, no borders, no nations. For anti-national solidarity, against militarism, racism and fascism.

Frank Richardson - Schaefer, Germany.

Not necessarily

13.08.2006 10:00

" an end to the Israeli state (founded not as a US colony, but to protect the survivors of the nazi genocide) would mean the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands of jewish people, many of them already displaced after persecution and pogroms in arab countries in the fourties and early fifties."

And end to the Apartheid State in South Africa didn't result in the oft predicted deaths and displacement - so it doesn't follow that it would in Israel.

You're presumably not going to argue that no-one should have taken sides during the Holocaust, are you?

Asymetric warfare does demand a response from ordinary people.

Graham

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