Brian Haw 1949-2011
Long time Parliament Square peace campaigner Brian Haw has sadly passed away in hospital in Germany after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 62.
His nearly decade long presence in London’s Parliament Square caused the establishment no end of problems. He was arrested many times, was assaulted by an employee of the US Embassy and by an Israeli – both assaults resulted in a broken nose and hospitalisation. Parliament even brought in legislation (SOCPA - Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005) specifically to get rid of Brian and his protest by making it illegal to demonstrate within a one kilometre radius of Parliament without police permission. However he successfully argued that as his protest predated the legislation it did not apply to him.
I first met Brian in 2002 and was so taken by his efforts that I tried to get down to London from Edinburgh at least once a year. I wrote a number of Indymedia reports – here is one from 2010 which marked 9 years of the campaign in Parliament Square:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/06/452634.html Brian’s heroic effort of living 24/7 in such austere conditions will surely not be forgotten. The campaign he started will continue with Melbourne born Barbara ‘Babs’ Tucker.
Here is the website for the campaign:
http://www.brianhaw.tv/index.php As Brian himself would have said: Love…peace…justice…for all.
Paul.
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