I’ve just returned home from the World Against War demo today in London. It was a fantastic event, with an excellent turnout (between 10-40,000, according to the BBC) and a great atmosphere. The march was called to mark five years since the invasion of Iraq, although Israel’s recent crimes in Gaza were definitely on everyone’s mind – which is excellent, of course. The march was convened by the Stop the War Coalition around three basic demands: troops out from Afghanistan and Iraq, no attack on Iran and an end to the siege of Gaza. On all three, as Tony Benn was sure to remind us, the marchers spoke for the majority of British and world public opinion.
Here are some pics from the event. Note: I mainly hung around with the “Free, Free Palestine!” crowd, so they’re probably disproportionately represented below.
People slowly filling Trafalgar Square, at around 12 noon.
“Viva, viva Palestina!”
“Occupation is a crime! Israel out of Palestine!”
“If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.”
We started with a rally in Trafalgar Square. There were the usual list of speakers – Tony Benn, George Galloway, Azzam Tamimi, Lindsey German (who is running for Mayor of London), Andrew Murray, Caroline Lucas MEP, and so on – as well some new ones, for example a Palestinian lady from Hebron and Nick Broomfield, director of the excellent Battle for Haditha. Da yoof was represented by the head of a student anti-war group – in 2003 children throughout the country walked out of school to protest the invasion.
Hiss!
This one caused a serious shortage in chalk supplies.
Following the U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in December 2006, the country is now suffering one of the worst refugee crises in the world, paralleled only by that in Iraq.
After the rally we marched across Westminster bridge, along the bank, back across Lambeth bridge and on to Parliament Square.
To give an idea of the scale of the protest, the picture above shows Westminster bridge, taken from Lambeth bridge. It’s not very clear, thanks to my rusty old four megapixel camera, but the bridge is packed with protestors. I stayed around for a while to see when it would end, but people just kept coming.
“End the siege of Gaza! Now, now, now!”
We finished in Parliament Square with a second, smaller rally. At the end, one of the leaders of the Palestinian flag group (a guy from the Palestinian Forum in Britain, who was Palestinian himself) made a very important point. He thanked everyone for coming to show solidarity with the Palestinians because, he said, they need all the help they can get. At the same time, he emphasised that it is not our place to tell Palestinians what they must or must not accept. When it comes to their rights, it is up to the Palestinians to decide for themselves. Our job as citizens of states which support and facilitate the Israeli occupation is to do what we can to force Israel to make the Palestinians a reasonable offer, and to strengthen the position of the Palestinians as much as possible through solidarity and protest.
Update: lenin has some more photos here. This one in particular is a cracker:
Cross-posted at The Heathlander
Thanks for the diary, heathlander. I really love that Moroccan architecture.
Thank you for being out there, Heatlander.
I want to say that this makes a difference. In part because I’ve been to so many similar events over a long number of years and that would like to know that we are making a difference. However, after seeing a few too many of these type of protests I’ve come to the conclusion that they do little more than give those of us who truly desire to effect change a vehicle to help ourselves to feel good about living within our own skins while the people we support suffer through unimaginable darkness and horror. In other words, a cleansing of our own guilt.
I would never discount the virtuosity of those who attend these events. I would though, challenge them, and myself, to go a step further. To take the steps that would make these gatherings at least a source of discomfort to the governments of the countries who host them. Because, at this stage, these gatherings amount to little more than large pep rallies, free of anything provocative, or dangerous. The governments that we fight against are fully aware that we offer no threat thus far and go about managing our outrage quite easily.
I assail myself daily with the same advice I’ve just given you.
Peace
Thank you for this. I am inspired by pictures like these. It’s wonderful to be reminded and to know that I’m not a freak and am definitely not alone.
Such gatherings may not change the world, but they do uplift the spirit. If we keep sharing that – cell by cell we humans will evolve together toward the beings we are meant to become.
And for many of us, it’s WAY more than five years on.
This is really bizarre. People claiming to be against war, and yet criticizing Jews, the most peaceful people on the planet. I hope everyone there had a good time, but they sure didn’t accomplish anything except help convince the world that people against American imperialism are anti-Semites who support Palestinian violations of international law and their use of violence.
The wars in Iraq and Israel have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, as any educated person knows. In Iraq, the Americans are illegally attacking a population that is much, much smaller than them, and do so in clear violation of international law. In Israel, the Israelis are merely defending themselves and their lands from a group of people about the same population who are attempting to kill them in very clear violation of international law. The Americans have absolutely no legal right to be in Iraq, while the Israelis have every legal right to be on land that’s been theirs for thousands of years.
People really ought to study a little history before they get involved in international affairs. Otherwise, they just embarrass themselves and discredit the people who are really concerned about ending American and British imperialism, which certainly doesn’t include the people at these demonstrations. These people care only about self-indulgence and criticizing others, not fighting imperialism. As I say, by advocating continued Palestinian violence they are pro-war, not anti-war.
And no one who advocates continued war against Israeli civilians could possibly be considered anti-war. On the contrary, they are warmongers.
I know people don’t want to hear the truth, or acknowledge that their never-ending propaganda against Israel is anti-Semitism, but the facts are the facts. Deny them all you want.
.
More of the same …
There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq before March 2003. Bush followed General Sharon’s ME advice to use 911 as a pretence to invade Iraq. Fighting a proxy war for Israel, attacking Iran for much the same reason. The state of Israel has a right to exist by international rule, not by biblical claim from religious fundamentalists.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
“Fighting a proxy war for Israel”
I don’t think this is true at all. To be sure Israel wanted the U.S. to attack Iraq, but that wasn’t the critical reason for the invasion. U.S. planners have recognised for decades that control over Middle Eastern oil resources would give the U.S. immense strategic power (“veto power”) over its rivals. This was the guiding motive for the Iraq war, just as it was for the toppling of Mossadeq in 1953, the support for pro-U.S. dictatorships in the Gulf, the support for Saddam Hussein, and so on. Likewise, if an attack on Iran goes ahead, this will be the motive.
In fact, U.S. support for Israel is also motivated by these strategic interests. As the National Security Council put it in 1958, a “logical corollary” of the U.S.’ opposition to radical Arab nationalism “would be to support Israel as the only strong pro-west power left in the near East”.
In other words, your formulation is an exact inverse of the reality. The U.S.’ primary interest in the Middle East is not Israel but oil – Israel is important only insofar as it serves this wider strategic objective.
Ah, the Chomsky vs. Mearsheimer/Walt argument. I think Finkelstein is closer to it with his “it’s not either/or” argument. In fact, part of the success of the neo-con movement has been in integrating what have been at times contradictory interests among pro-oil and pro-Israel conservatives into a common blueprint for the Middle East — it just hasn’t worked out as well for everyone in implementation as it looked on paper.
While I think M/W do not give enough weight to the interests of Big Oil in the invasion, especially considering the secret energy task force meetings, the permanent bases and the virtual looting of Iraqi oil fields, they do reliably report the role of neo-cons in fomenting the war. Where I think M/W are correct about the role of Israel and the Israel Lobby is regarding bi-partisan support for the war. Bush would not have been able to get enough support from both parties in Congress for the Iraq war if they had been lobbied by the energy companies. Whatever the other interests involved, the tipping point for bi-partisan support came about because of support by Israeli leaders and the Israel Lobby.
Is this supposed to be a parody?
“and yet criticizing Jews”
Nope, didn’t see any of that.
“the most peaceful people on the planet.”
What an odd thing to say.
“they sure didn’t accomplish anything except help convince the world that people against American imperialism are anti-Semites who support Palestinian violations of international law and their use of violence.”
A bit arrogant conflating yourself with “the world”, don’t you think? In fact the siege on Gaza, and the occupation more generally, is widely opposed outside Israel and the U.S. In fact, at least the former is widely opposed inside Israel too, with 64% of Israelis favouring ceasefire talks with Hamas instead of the current policy of sanctions and violence.
“The wars in Iraq and Israel have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, as any educated person knows.”
Surely irrelevant, since no one was making that claim.
I could continue, but to be honest anyone ignorant enough to take anything you just said seriously is already a lost cause.