From info@j-n-v.org Tue Aug 19 14:26:02 2003 Received: from 26-84-19-212-dfort-t1-z3.wireless.as15758.net ([212.19.84.26] helo=NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #2) id 19p6Uq-0001Ox-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 19 Aug 2003 14:26:00 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Tue, 19 Aug 2003 14:25:59 +0100 Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 14:25:59 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.8 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.41.35 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: Subject: [jnv] Upcoming events Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: In this events email: 1) JNV NETWORK NORTHERN LAUNCH - Wed 20 Aug 2) RECLAIM THE BASES SUMMER CAMP - Fri 22-Mon 25 Aug 3) StWC PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY - Sat 30 Aug 4) CARDIFF DISARM DSEi DAY - Sun 31 Aug 5) JNV NETWORK MONTHLY MEETING 6) DISARM DSEi WEEK - Sat 6-Fri 12 Sept 7) CIRCLES OF HOPE: A HEALING MEMORIAL TO 9/11 - 10 Sept + Last chance for activists' discount on Regime Unchanged! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1) JNV NETWORK NORTHERN LAUNCH 7-9pm, Wednesday 20th August Leeds Civic Hall, Leeds The aim of the JNV Network is to create a network of anti-war groups of all denominations, to help them to communicate directly with one another, share ideas, information and campaigning materials and to foster democratic decision-making in the development of local and national campaigning strategies. Now is the time to consolidate, re-build and strengthen our groups. At the Northern launch meeting we'll be discussing what ingredients activists and groups would like to see in a new participatory anti-war network. The coordinating group will set out what led them to propose the setting up of a JNV Network, and explain how the initiative has developed so far. We'll then have small group discussion of what anti-war groups in the North of England would like to see in any new regional and national networks. Please send one or more representatives of your group! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2) RECLAIM THE BASES SUMMER CAMP Reclaim The Bases Summer Camp will take place at AWE Aldermaston (where they make UK's weapons of mass destruction) from 22-25 August. Practical skill sharing workshops on cutting or climbing fences, on lock-ons and other forms of blockading, on bicycle actions and wool actions. Time to exchange our knowledge and experience about military bases across the country. Directions how to get to the camp can be found at . Please let us know if you are coming - just that we know how much food and infrastructure is needed. Contacts: Email: info@thed10group.org.uk Phone: 07887-585721 Website: www.reclaimthebases.org.uk More information on Aldermaston can be found at www.aldermaston.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3) StWC PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY 10.30am-5.30pm, Saturday 30th August Friends Meeting House, Euston Rd, London WC1 People's Assembly to indict the government for their lies A chance for the people of this country to voice their opinion against the war on Iraq Speakers include: - John Pilger, campaigning journalist and author - Tony Benn, socialist and peace campaigner - Hans von Sponeck, former United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Iraq - Mark Curtis, author Web of Deceit - Louise Christian, lawyer for Guantanamo Bay prisoners - Azmatt Begg, father of Guantanamo Bay prisoner Organised by the Stop the War Coalition For more information, phone 020 7053 2153/4/5/6 or go to . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4) CARDIFF DISARM DSEi DAY from 1pm, Sunday August 31st East Moors Community Centre, Sanquahar St, Splott Activities will include: - Talks on the arms trade by experts in the field - Short films on the arms trade - Banner making workshop - Direct action workshop - Planning for, and information about, the demonstrations against DSEi - Booking seats on the buses to DSEi The 'Cardiff Disarm DSEi Day' will be facilitated by the Cardiff Social Forum For more info call 07754 585856 or visit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5) JNV NETWORK MONTHLY MEETING 7.30pm, Thursday 4th September Quaker International Centre, 1-3 Byng Place, London WC1E 7JH We'll be discussing plans for the Grassroots Anti-War Conference on 26/27/28 September, and working on plans for the JNV network part of the conference. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6) DISARM DSEI WEEK Disarm DSEi is a campaign to shutdown the Defence Systems & Equipment International arms fair which is taking place at the Excel Centre in London's Docklands, from 9-12 September 2003. [NOTE: This is an overview of the very full programme events: for more detailed information on individual events, as well as info on the convergence centre, getting to DSEi, accommodation and transport, see !] Saturday 6th September * Unity march in Central London Sunday 7th September * Day one of the Disarm DSEi conference at the convergence centre, Kingsley Hall, Powis Road, London E3 Monday 8th September * Day two of the Disarm DSEi conference * Multi-faith silent vigil outside the ExCel centre. Tuesday 9th September This is the day of non-violent action against the arms fair. * 'Facing the Arms Traders', a peaceful demonstration at Custom House organised by CAAT. * Fluffy DSEi are planning non-violent mass direct action at the ExCel centre. * Public demonstration organised by Globalise Resistance. * Day one of the Disarm DSEi Film festival, 6:30pm - 10:30pm. Wednesday 10th September This is the no rules, no guidelines day of direct action against the arms fair. * 'Day of Direct Action Blockades', being organised by Destroy DSEi. * A Reclaim The Streets Party will be taking place in the afternoon. * A Critical Mass is being planned for this day, contact . * Various affinity group actions. * Women in Black vigil in Central London. * Day two of the Disarm DSEi Film festival, 6:30pm - 10:30pm. Thursday 11th September * Mass protest and affinity group actions for the "Delegate's Dinner" at a central London Hotel. This is where a lot of the arm's traders networking and deals take place. More details soon. * Peaceful silent vigil opposite Custom House tube, with respect for September 11th 2001. Please wear black. * Day three of the Disarm DSEi Film festival, 6:30pm - 10:30pm. Friday 12th September * An open forum to discuss what happened through the week and looking at how to do things in the future. This is for all supporting groups to come together and see how things could be done next time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7) CIRCLES OF HOPE: A HEALING MEMORIAL TO 9/11 September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows invites you commemorate September 11th with Circles of Hope. Please join us in creating Circles of Hope to commemorate the two-year anniversary of our loved ones deaths on September 11. We plan to encircle the World Trade Center site with a candlelight vigil on the night of September 10, 2003. Gather with us in New York City or create a Circle of Hope candlelight vigil in your own community and link it to other circles by registering your event with us. Suggestions for vigils: - Expand your circle-We often gather in our own comfortable circles-who can you invite to create the circle with you? How can you make it inclusive and welcoming to people you don't usually interact with? - Consider whether you want to add art, music, poetry, dance, spiritual expression, and story telling to your vigil. In San Francisco, organizers are planning art activites such as decorating candleholders. In New York City, the vigil will be silent. - Let participants know what to expect. For example, the New York vigil flyers state, "this is a silent vigil, not a political rally. Please bring a candle and leave your signs at home." For more information, see . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + Last chance for activists' discount on Regime Unchanged! JNV has secured a limited quantity of advance copies of Milan Rai's 256-page book, REGIME UNCHANGED, from Pluto Press, for sale to UK activists. For orders sent from a UK address on or before 20 August 2003 (tomorrow!), the book will be available for Ł8.50 incl. p&p. The price after 20 August, incl. p&p, will be Ł10. The bookshop price is Ł10.99. REGIME UNCHANGED is an angry battery of arguments for preventing the re-writing of history, documenting how the US undermined and finally shut down UN weapons inspections, and how the US and UK deliberately restored leading Ba'athists to power in Iraq in the first month after 'liberation'. It demonstrates unequivocally that this was a war based on lies, a war not for disarmament or for 'regime change', but for power. To secure your copy/copies of REGIME UNCHANGED, please print off the order form at , fill it in, and send with a cheque made out to 'ARROW PUBLICATIONS', to 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. Unfortunately we have no method of dealing with credit card orders, either online or by telephone. Our apologies. From info@j-n-v.org Thu Aug 28 16:42:01 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #2) id 19sOuO-0006zl-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Thu, 28 Aug 2003 16:42:00 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Thu, 28 Aug 2003 16:41:54 +0100 Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 16:41:54 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.45.231 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] September meeting, Leeds launch Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: In this email: 1) SEPTEMBER MEETING: PRELIMINARY AGENDA AND CALL FOR FURTHER ITEMS 2) LEEDS LAUNCH REPORT 3) MILAN RAI SPEAKER TOUR Best wishes, Jonathan Stevenson, (On behalf of the JNV coordinating group) - - - - - - - - - - 1) SEPTEMBER MEETING: PRELIMINARY AGENDA AND CALL FOR FURTHER ITEMS JNV NETWORK MONTHLY MEETING 7.30pm, Thursday 4th September Quaker International Centre, 1-3 Byng Place, London WC1E 7JH For a map, see All welcome. Please send a representative of your group. PROVISIONAL AGENDA The coordinating group have come up with a number of proposals which, time permitting, we think it would be good to discuss at the September meeting. These are: - Network independence from JNV campaigns - Coordinating group: who we are, what our role is - Affiliating to/becoming part of the network - “Renaming the network” session at the conference - What else to do in the network session - Skillsharing/training through the network: getting started - Network decision-making: involving everyone - Future network gathering? - Next Big Thing after the conference: day of regional forums? - Fundraising/money We also think it would be good to have parallel practical planning sessions on: - Developing regional forums: how to do them, how to support them - Grassroots Anti-War Conference: ongoing preparations We’ll be circulating more details about the proposals on Monday, so that those coming to the meeting have a chance to consider them in advance, and those outside London have a chance to send comments to be fed in at the meeting. CALL FOR FURTHER ITEMS If you have a proposal that you’d like to put or have put to the network at the September meeting, please send it to us by 9am, Monday 1st September on . Ideally, proposals should take the form of a short summary of what you’re proposing, and an estimated amount of time for us to spend on it at the meeting. Thanks! - - - - - - - - - - 2) LEEDS LAUNCH REPORT The first non-London meeting of the Network took place last week in Leeds. I, Jonathan, represented the Network coordinating group. Members of a number of Yorkshire groups, including ones in Leeds, Bradford, Ossett, Sheffield and Hebden Bridge, as well as Yorkshire CND, attended, and there was interest and enthusiasm for the idea of the Network. Participants placed particular emphasis on the fact that the Network is intended to be ‘non-hierarchical’. Some people at the meeting liked the fact that the Network is trying to be complementary to the Stop the War Coalition, rather than trying to compete with it. Other people (who are not affiliated to the coalition) liked the fact that the Network is another way of connecting with other anti-war groups. The Network coordinating group is actively seeking groups elsewhere in the country to host other local forums for discussing the grassroots network and how it might be useful to local groups. If you know a group which might be interested, please get in touch with the coordinating group via or by phoning 0845 458 3117. - - - - - - - - - - 3) MILAN RAI SPEAKER TOUR Milan Rai, JNV co-founder, is doing a speaking tour in September and October to talk about his new book, Regime Unchanged, a follow-up to his earlier War Plan Iraq, and about JNV and the network. Current dates are: 6 Sep, CND Conference, Birmingham University 7 Sep, Birmingham University 10 Sep, Ipswich 11 Sep, Brighton 12 Sep, Hayes 15 Sep, Media Workers Against the War, London 16 Sep, Oswestry 17 Sep, Chester 18 Sep, Bangor 19 Sep, Newcastle Emlyn 20 Sep, Bridgwater 23 Sep, Colchester 27 Sep, Official Book Launch, London 12 Oct, Scottish CND Conference, Glasgow 23 Oct, Oxford 26 Oct, London If your group would like to invite Milan to do a talk, please call him on 0845 458 9571 or email . For more tour details (up soon!), please check the JNV website: . From info@j-n-v.org Tue Sep 02 17:57:48 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #2) id 19uETT-0005il-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:57:47 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:57:42 +0100 Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:57:41 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.4.172 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] September network meeting, Birmingham launch Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: [This email comes to you from the Justice Not Vengeance announcements list] In this email: 1) SEPTEMBER NETWORK MEETING – Thurs 4 Sept 2) MILAN RAI, LAUNCH OF BIRMINGHAM JNV AND DSEI - Sun 7 Sept - - - - - - - - - - 1) SEPTEMBER NETWORK MEETING 7.30pm, Thursday 4 September Quaker International Centre, 1-3 Byng Place, London, WC1 For a map see . A) Provisional agenda 7.30-8.30pm: Network decisions (see below) - Introductions and agenda-check: 5 mins - Announcements: 5 mins - Network decisions: 50 mins 8.30-9.30pm: Planning sessions (see below) - Parallel planning sessions: 45 mins 1) Grassroots Anti-War Conference working group 2) Supporting regional forums - Feedback to plenary: 10 mins - Evaluation and goodbyes: 5 mins B) Network decisions [These are basic summaries: for some more details please see .] - Network independence from JNV campaigns (up to 15 mins) A clarification that JNV the campaigning group (an evolution of ARROW) is a separate organisation helping to initiate the Grassroots Network. A proposal on how the network will initially operate when it becomes independent of JNV in October. - Coordinating group (up to 10 mins) An explanation of who is currently in the network coordinating group, and how they see the role of such a group in a non-hierarchical network. A decision on what the group’s role is, what it should be called, and to whom its meetings should be advertised. - Affiliating to/becoming part of the network (up to 10 mins) A proposal that when groups become part of the network, they should be asked to agree to those points of common ground that concern the operation of the network – non-violence, non-hierarchy, and cooperation. A decision on whether this should be called ‘affiliation’ or something else. - Network decision-making: involving everyone (up to 5 mins) A recognition that in order to involve everyone in network decision-making, the network needs both to enable groups and individuals from around the country to participate equally, and to determine the relationship between groups and individuals in the decision-making process. - Future network gathering? (up to 10 mins) A proposal for a foundational network gathering in Nottingham in February, when the network can collectively decide its common ground, and its decision-making structures. C) Parallel planning sessions 1) Grassroots Anti-War Conference working group - Current state of preparations for the conference - “Renaming the network” session A suggestion for how we can come to a decision on a new name for the network at the conference. - What else to do in the network session - Ongoing conference preparations - Future working group meetings 2) Skillsharing in the network and developing regional forums - Developing regional forums Producing a skeleton plan for a regional forum, and brainstorming the sorts of resources groups might find useful in organising regional forums - Skillsharing/training through the network: getting started A proposal for a training/skillshare day in October for developing regional forums - - - - - - - - - - - 2) MILAN RAI, LAUNCH OF JNV BIRMINGHAM AND DSEI 12-2pm, Sunday 7th September, Moseley Friends Institute, Moseley Road Birmingham Women in Black (WIB) and BUSTW (Birmingham University against the war) have organised a meeting with Milan Rai with the aim of providing a focus for the establishment of a strong Justice Not Vengeance network in Birmingham. Milan will speak about both his analysis of the current situation in Iraq (new book - Regime Unchanged) and about the recent Justice not Vengeance network meetings in London and round the UK. There will be a workshop to discuss and set up a strong JNV network grouping in Birmingham. Local speakers, videos and short films will specifically address JNV in Birmingham/west Midlands and will cover recent NVDA and protest actions in Fairford, Birmingham and around the world. We will also have reports on the DESI demonstration in London (Saturday 6th Sept) and news of what is happening to draw attention to and disrupt the week-long fest of sales of weapons of mass destruction in London docklands (6th-12th September 2003). All groups in Birmingham interested in grassroots organisation against war and its associated obscenities are invited to this meeting. Put it in your diaries now and make it happen. There is also a Birmingham Women in Black vigil Saturday (12 noon, Victoria Square (by the fountain) and a group of people are going to the DSEI demo in London. Contacts: wib_birmingham@yahoogroups.co.uk, bustw-list@bham.ac.uk, birmingham_jnvinfo@yahoo.co.uk Please join the new JNV info yahoo group: Birmingham_JNVinfo@yahoogroups.co.uk (to subscribe by email: Birmingham_JNVinfo-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk) Please forward this notice to friends, acquaintences and lists From info@j-n-v.org Sat Sep 13 16:26:10 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 19yCHn-0006sy-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 13 Sep 2003 16:26:07 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Sat, 13 Sep 2003 16:26:02 +0100 Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 16:26:02 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 213.78.88.53 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] Sheffield launch, grassroots conference, September decisions Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: In this email: 1. NETWORK WORKING GROUPS 2. SHEFFIELD LAUNCH MEETING – Tue 16th Sept 3. GRASSROOTS ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE – Book now! 4. SUGGEST A NAME FOR THE NETWORK! 5. DECISIONS FROM THE SEPTEMBER MEETING Best wishes, Jonathan Stevenson (On behalf of the newly-coined network working group!) - - - - - - - - - - 1. NETWORK WORKING GROUPS There are now a number of working groups to help develop the network which everyone is welcome to be involved in, whether by email or by coming to meetings: Conference working group - planning and publicising the Grassroots Anti-War Conference, and future network gatherings - email list: - next meeting (TBC): 7-9pm, Thursday 18 September, Unit 2, 70 South Lambeth Rd, nearest tube Vauxhall; contact Lucy, 07812 217646. Website working group - developing the network’s new website - email list: - next meeting (TBC): 7-9pm, Thursday 18 September, Unit 2, 70 South Lambeth Rd, nearest tube Vauxhall; contact Lucy, 07812 217646. Network working group - facilitating monthly meetings, implementing decisions made at monthly meetings - email list: - next meeting: 6pm, Monday 15 September, 80 Balcombe St, London NW1, nearest tube Goodge St; contact Sian, 020 7258 1028. There are also a couple of email lists for related initiatives: Yorkshire Activists - a network to facilitate communication between activists in the Yorkshire area - email list: Birmingham grassroots network - grassroots organisation in Birmingham against war and its associated obscenities - email list: - next meeting (TBC): 12-2pm, Sunday 7th September, Moseley Friends Institute, Moseley Road, Birmingham; contact . - - - - - - - - - - 2. SHEFFIELD LAUNCH MEETING – Tue 16th Sept GRASSROOTS ANTI-WAR NETWORK LAUNCH MEETING 7:30 pm Tuesday 16th September St Matthew's Church rooms, Carver Street, Sheffield Justice Not Vengeance , a new antiwar group started by ARROW co-founders Milan Rai and David Polden, is facilitating the creation of a new non-hierarchical grassroots anti-war network to enable greater communication between groups so that they can share ideas, experiences, information and skills, as well as promote events, NVDAs, etc. The idea of the Network is not to compete with existing frameworks (eg, StWC, Social Forum, Indymedia) but to complement them, as the Network Conference from September 26th to 28th in London will complement the StWC demo on the 27th. Last month there was a Network Northern launch meeting in Leeds. On Tuesday 16th September there will be a launch meeting in Sheffield. If you would like to get involved or find out more, please come along - or contact Christina: email: , tel: 07932 625879 - - - - - - - - - - 3. GRASSROOTS ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE – Book now! *Crashpad accommodation available – see below* ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE 26-28 SEPTEMBER Organised by Justice Not Vengeance & the Grassroots Network Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Central London WC1 Ł10 waged/ Ł5 unwaged in advance, Ł12 / Ł7 on the door An opportunity for grassroots activists to meet face-to-face to share our skills, experiences, and creativity, and help build a stronger anti-war movement PROGRAMME Friday 26th September 7:00pm - 9:00pm - UK and US Grassroots activists look back on the record so far. Chaired by Bruce Kent, Movement for the Abolition of War, with contributors from Fairford Peace Camp, Hands Up for Peace, US National Network to End the War Against Iraq, ACT Together (TBC). Saturday 27th September 9:30am-12:00 noon - Workshops for sharing skills and experiences [followed by CND/STW/MAB demo] Sunday 28th September 9:30am-4:00pm - The Grassroots Network: Building a grassroots anti-war network - Workshops for sharing skills and experiences - Plenary: Where next for the anti-war movement? Also: Anti-War Videos, including first-showing-in-the-UK footage of the Iraq Peace Team before and during the war. And delicious Veggies Food. And Spontaneous Networking. WORKSHOPS Saturday workshops to include: - Sharing successful local experiences - Developing nonviolent direct action – an exploration of the concepts, and issues. - Antiwar campaigning in the dead times - Presswork and alternative media skills (Indymedia) - Writing effective letters (Voices UK) - Environment and war (Rising Tide) - Using the internet to campaign effectively (Enfield Stop the War) - What role conventional media can play in campaigns? (Mike Marqusee) - Getting better at arguing against the war (Milan Rai) Sunday workshops to include: - Building and strengthening local groups - Creativity and culture in anti-war campaigning – practical skills - Student, youth, schoolchildren meet-up - Defendants' meeting: Activists' experiences of court - Women activists working in groups: accommodating agreement and differences - How to end the occupation of Iraq - Creativity and culture in anti-war campaigning – idea share - Islamaphobia and campaigning against the war – countering anti-Muslim backlash (4 Just Peace, Federation of Student Islamic Societies – TBC) - The Pledge of Resistance (Justice Not Vengeance, Direct Action Against War Now network – TBC) - Direct resistance methods of campaigning in areas of conflict (International Solidarity Movement, International Women’s Peace Service, Iraq Peace Team – TBC) - War opposition as a feminist movement (International Women’s Peace Service) - National coalitions and local groups: the way forward (Stop the War Coalition, Welsh anti-war groups, Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War - TBC) - Internationally linking anti-war movements (Mike Marqusee) - Grassroots Anti-war Network: getting started (Network working group) - Anti-war electoral action (Britons 4 Peace) - The role of ideology in opposing war (Enfield Stop the War) ADVANCE BOOKING DISCOUNT Ł10 waged/Ł5 unwaged in advance, Ł12/Ł7 on the door Booking form at . Please print and return to: Grassroots Anti-War Conference, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. If you require step-free access, please let us know in advance or when you arrive. Donations are very gratefully received, however large or small. Please make your cheque payable to 'JNV'. Many thanks for your support. Groups: We would be grateful for your sponsorship/support, whether or not you can attend. If you can send a donation, that would also be much appreciated. Suggested donation Ł10 local groups, Ł50 national groups. CRASHPAD ACCOMMODATION Crashpad accommodation is available on Friday and Saturday nights: Ł3 Fri night, Ł3 Sat night, or Ł5 for both. You will need a sleeping bag and roll mat! CONTACT DETAILS - Grassroots Anti-War Conference, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE - 0845 458 3116 (local rate) - , - - - - - - - - - - 4. SUGGEST A NAME FOR THE NETWORK! One of the things to be decided in the network session at the conference is what this new non-hierarchical grassroots anti-war network is going to be called. You’ll be able to make suggestions during the conference itself, but we’re also looking to get people’s suggestions in advance, especially if you can’t make it on the day. So, get your thinking caps on, and please send your ideas to , or let us know by phone on 0845 458 3117. - - - - - - - - - - 5. DECISIONS FROM THE SEPTEMBER MEETING a) Network independence - We affirmed the network’s independence from Justice Not Vengeance the campaigning group, and that a name for the network will be decided at the Grassroots Anti-War Conference. - We decided that the network’s contact details would remain as they are (in Hastings) until the conference. b) Coordinating group - We approved the coordinating group’s role of facilitating decisions made at monthly meetings, but decided a more appropriate name for it would be the ‘network working group’. We also decided its meetings would be advertised on the website and to anyone who signed up to the working group email list. c) Joining the network - We decided that for the time being we should ask groups to join the network on the basis of its operating principles of non-violence, non-hierarchy and cooperation, and its focus on campaigning against the ‘war on terrorism’. d) Decision-making - We acknowledged that there are substantial weaknesses in the current decision-making process (London-centric, decisions being made by individuals as opposed to groups), and we agreed to flag this up as an issue to be dealt with at the Conference and a future network gathering. e) Future gathering - We took the provisional decision – to be revisited at the conference – to hold a foundational gathering of the network in February 2004, possibly at the Sumac Centre in Nottingham. We also decided that the conference working group would work on this for the time being. f) Funds - The network has received a Ł1000 donation from ARROW, and various other donations in response to a JNV mailing. We decided to set up a bank account after the conference (once we have a name), and that for the time being money should only be spent on (i) paying for meeting rooms for network meetings, (ii) sending people to present the network to local groups, as approved by a meeting of the network working group, and (iii) publicising network events (we agreed that Ł200 could be spent on helping publicise the conference). From info@j-n-v.org Wed Sep 24 17:24:46 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26] helo=NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1A2CRZ-0003gK-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:24:45 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:24:45 +0100 Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:24:44 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.195.239 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] Grassroots anti-war conference Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: GRASSROOTS ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE *Crashpad accommodation available - see below* ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE 26-28 SEPTEMBER Organised by Justice Not Vengeance & the Grassroots Network Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Central London WC1 Ł10 waged/ Ł5 unwaged in advance, Ł12 / Ł7 on the door An opportunity for grassroots activists to meet face-to-face to share our skills, experiences, and creativity, and help build a stronger anti-war movement PROGRAMME Friday 26th September 7:00pm - 9:00pm - UK and US Grassroots activists look back on the record so far. Chaired by Bruce Kent, Movement for the Abolition of War, with contributors from Fairford Peace Camp, Hands Up for Peace, US National Network to End the War Against Iraq, ACT Together. Saturday 27th September 9:30am-12:00 noon - Workshops for sharing skills and experiences [followed by CND/STW/MAB demo] Sunday 28th September 9:30am-4:00pm - The Grassroots Network: Building a grassroots anti-war network - Workshops for sharing skills and experiences - Plenary: Where next for the anti-war movement? Also: Anti-War Videos. And delicious Veggies Food. And Spontaneous Networking. WORKSHOPS Saturday workshops to include: - Sharing successful local experiences - Antiwar campaigning in the dead times (Bruce Kent) - A 20th century history of women's campaigning against war - Writing effective letters (Voices UK) - Developing nonviolent direct action (Kathryn Tulip) - Anti-war electoral action (Britons 4 Peace) - Oil, war and climate chaos (Rising Tide) - Presswork and alternative media skills (Indymedia) - What role conventional media can play in campaigns? (Mike Marqusee) - Getting better at arguing against the war (Milan Rai) Sunday workshops to include: - Building and strengthening local groups - Creativity and culture in anti-war campaigning - practical skills (Theatre of War, Forever Imber) - Student, youth, schoolchildren meet-up (Hands Up For Peace) - Defendants' meeting: activists' experiences of court (Phil from the B-52 Two) - How to end the occupation of Iraq (Act Together) - Creativity and culture in anti-war campaigning - discussion (Theatre of War Forever Imber) - Islamaphobia and campaigning against the war - countering anti-Muslim backlash (Federation of Student Islamic Societies) - The Pledge of Resistance (Justice Not Vengeance) - Direct resistance methods of campaigning in areas of conflict (International Solidarity Movement, International Women's Peace Service) - Women organising against war, creating the difference (D10) - National coalitions and local groups: the way forward (Stop the War Coalition, CND Cymru/Welsh anti-war groups) - Women's anti-war activism - sharing strategies and ideas (Women in Black) - Internationally linking anti-war movements (Mike Marqusee, Donna Copnall) - Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance (Palestine Solidarity Campaign) - Grassroots Anti-war Network: getting started (Network working group) - Anti-war electoral action (Britons 4 Peace) - The role of ideology in opposing war (Enfield Stop the War, Revolution) ADVANCE BOOKING DISCOUNT Ł10 waged/Ł5 unwaged in advance, Ł12/Ł7 on the door Booking form at . Please print and return to: Grassroots Anti-War Conference, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. If you require step-free access, please let us know in advance or when you arrive. Donations are very gratefully received, however large or small. Please make your cheque payable to 'JNV'. Many thanks for your support. Groups: We would be grateful for your sponsorship/support, whether or not you can attend. If you can send a donation, that would also be much appreciated. Suggested donation Ł10 local groups, Ł50 national groups. CRASHPAD ACCOMMODATION Crashpad accommodation is available on Friday and Saturday nights: Ł3 Fri night, Ł3 Sat night, or Ł5 for both. You will need a sleeping bag and roll mat! CONTACT DETAILS - Grassroots Anti-War Conference, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE - 0845 458 3116 (local rate) - , From milanrai@btinternet.com Tue Oct 07 12:10:08 2003 Received: from gadolinium.btinternet.com ([194.73.73.111]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1A6pjD-0007DF-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 07 Oct 2003 12:10:07 +0100 Received: from host81-132-27-153.in-addr.btopenworld.com ([81.132.27.153] helo=EVESHAMTFT2003) by gadolinium.btinternet.com with esmtp (Exim 3.22 #23) id 1A6pjB-0000lA-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 07 Oct 2003 12:10:05 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-15; format=flowed Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 09:56:58 +0100 To: resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk Received: from host81-132-27-153.in-addr.btopenworld.com ([81.132.27.153] helo=EVESHAMTFT2003) by einsteinium.btinternet.com with esmtp (Exim 3.22 #23) id 1A6RAS-0000I9-00 for resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk; Mon, 06 Oct 2003 09:56:36 +0100 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-11158745-6-1065430598-milanrai=btinternet.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com X-Sender: milanrai@btinternet.com X-Apparently-To: resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk References: <5792771.1065427078847.JavaMail.www@wwinf3002> Message-ID: In-Reply-To: <5792771.1065427078847.JavaMail.www@wwinf3002> User-Agent: Opera7.11/Win32 M2 build 2887 From: Milan Rai Mailing-List: list resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk; contact resistbush-owner@yahoogroups.co.uk Delivered-To: mailing list resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk Precedence: bulk Resent-To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Resent-From: Milan Rai Resent-Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 12:10:03 +0100 Resent-Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-12.9 required=5.0 tests=FROM_EGROUPS,IN_REP_TO,REFERENCES,RESENT_TO,USER_AGENT version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] Resist Bush! Mass NV Civil Disobedience 19-21 Nov. Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Resist Bush! 19-21 Nov. Mass Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Buckingham Palace 19 Nov. Hi everyone Please forward this email as you think appropriate. At a London anti-war meeting last Thursday, it was decided to initiate proposals for open nonviolent mass actions to greet President Bush during his visit. (This was a meeting of London GROW or Grassroots Opposition to War, a grassroots anti-war network which just organised the Grassroots Activist Conference in London 26-28 Sept.) After a discussion at Saturday's London Social Forum, several activists (from JNV and other groups) decided to (a) call some meetings and (b) make a proposal for a framework. Name for this initiative is currently, 'Resist Bush'. Email list is . 1) OPEN PLANNING MEETING: RESIST BUSH 7pm, Thursday 16 October, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London (near Holborn tube). Most likely the first of several meetings. 2) PROPOSAL: Buckingham Palace, Day 1, 19 November We are suggesting that there be a day of action centred on Buckingham Palace on the first day of Bush's visit. We are suggesting (a) an open, mass action with announced gathering point(s) (despite all the downsides of this, we think there are people who are just starting out on nonviolent civil disobedience who would appreciate this kind of opportunity) and, in parallel, (b) a call for autonomous affinity groups to carry out nonviolent actions around, at and maybe inside Buckingham Palace during the day. 3) NONVIOLENCE / OPENNESS We would stress that this is a call for NONVIOLENT action. A proposed definition of 'nonviolence' is 'action which does not harm or degrade any human being'. There are two other days to think of other parts of London, other focuses and (maybe) other styles of action. If you have suggestions for these other days, please come on the 16th for us to sort out coordination/keeping things distinct. We should also stress that this is an open planning process. We realise that a lot of covert (probably small-group) actions will take place independently of this process. We propose that these meetings are only for discussing open actions, and for sorting out the coordination/distinction stuff. 4) SUPPORT REQUESTED! So this proposal is supported right now by Justice Not Vengeance (JNV) and by the Pledge of Resistance. If your group would like to support it, please subscribe to our email list resistbush@yahoogroups.co.uk We hope to have a website up soon, if you can help with this, please let us know via the e-list! 5) PREPARATION / TRAINING We are aiming to circulate the details of people willing to preparation/nonviolence training/legal briefing for affinity groups coming to Buckingham Palace. It's safer and more fun if you come in an affinity group: please think about setting one up if you haven't already got one going, and having a preparation session. Many thanks Milan Rai and Jonathan Stevenson (JNV) Gabriel Carlyle and Sian Glaessner (Voices in the Wilderness UK) and others From info@j-n-v.org Tue Oct 07 15:49:38 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26] helo=NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1A6t9c-0006Xh-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 07 Oct 2003 15:49:37 +0100 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Tue, 07 Oct 2003 15:49:34 +0100 Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 15:49:34 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.27.153 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] Announcements & Upcoming Events Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: + + + + + + + + + ANNOUNCEMENTS: Bush Visit to the UK 19-21 November Yahoo list to exchange ideas for actions against Bush's visit to the UK: Bushinghampalace@yahoogroups.com - - - - - - - - - - - Faslane Peace camp needs you! New or old bodies required short-term or long-term, the more the merrier. For info visit the Faslane website: www.faslanepeacecamp.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Hands up for Peace (the youth group who raised hands against the war in Parliament Square) is re-launching as an umbrella group co-ordinating and linking local youth protest, liaising with the media and teaching alt. Citizenship in schools. www.messengers.org.uk + + + + + + + + + UPCOMING EVENTS Tues 7 Oct - 7.30pm Prayer, Peace and Politics* John Battle, Labour MP for Leeds West, will share his experience of applying principles of faith within the political arena. *A Spirituality of Peace event [1st of 3 events] Venue: St. Anne's Cathedral Centre, Great George Street, Leeds. Organised by Leeds Inter-Church Peace Group Contact: Margaret Siberry 0113 2438550 (day) or 0113 2867767 (eve) - - - - - - - - - - - Tues 7 October - 7pm Stop the Corporate Invasion of Iraq - Planning meeting Venue: 5 Caledonian Rd, London (Kings Cross tube). Protests at 2 corporate conferences in London on 'business opportunities in Iraq' on 13 October (Olympia Conference Centre) and 27 October (1 Whitehall Place). Info: www.voicesuk.org email: voices@voicesuk.org - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 11 Oct - 10.30am-6pm Oil, war and climate change: dismantling the oil economy. Venue: London School of Economics, Clement House, 'D' Building, Aldwych, London (nearest tube Holborn). Organised by Rising Tide and LSE People & Planet. www.risingtide.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 11 Oct - 12-3pm Keep Space for Peace At: RAF Croughton, A43 Northants, 4 miles north J10 M40 Organised by Oxford CND, West Midlands CND, Oxfordshire Peace Groups, Youth and Student CND 01865 771046, oxcnd@domn.freeserve.co.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 11 Oct - 10am-4.30pm East Anglian Peace Activists Conference Venue: Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich SPEAKERS (incl. Bruce Kent and Prof David Seddon) WORKSHOPS & STALLS Entrance: donation of Ł2/person to help cover costs Planning by: Norwich CND, Norwich Peace Council, Theatre of War, Norwich Quakers, Lakenheath Action Group, Norwich Stop the War Coalition, Norwich Landmines Action Group Contact: Jean Davis (01603) 453530; jean.davis@talk21.com or Mell & Liam (01986) 892723; eapeace@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - Mon 13 Oct - from 12 noon Stop the Corporate Invasion of Iraq The Great Iraq Auction: Everything Must Go! Venue: outside the Olympia Conference Centre, London Kensington (Olympia) tube Organised by Voices UK Info: www.voicesuk.org email: voices@voicesuk.org - - - - - - - - - - - Tue 14 Oct Ministry for Peace 10 minute rule bill to be presented in the House of Commons Tell your MP to attend and vote - www.faxyourmp.com Venue: Grand Committee Room, House of Commons www.ministryforpeace.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Wed 15 Oct - 7.30pm The Art of Peace-Making- Faith in Action* Bruce Kent, former chair of CND, will explore what sustains a lifetime's vocation as a Christian peace activist. *A Spirituality of Peace [2nd of 3 events] Venue: St. Anne's Cathedral Centre, Great George Street, Leeds. Contact: Margaret Siberry 0113 2438550 (day) or 0113 2867767 (eve) - - - - - - - - - - - Fri 17 Oct - pm Planning meeting for Guantanamo protests on 20 Nov during Bush's visit. Venue: KNK office, 10 Glasshouse Yard (Barbican tube) Organised by Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) - - - - - - - - - - - Wed 22 Oct - 7.30pm Resistance and Love - Spirituality for Non-violent Struggle* Ray Gaston and Julie Greenan from All Hallows Leeds will describe their experience of peace makinghrough a Christian communities resistance to war. *A Spirituality of Peace [3rd of 3 events] Venue: St. Anne's Cathedral Centre, Great George Street, Leeds. Contact: Margaret Siberry 0113 2438550 (day) or 0113 2867767 (eve) - - - - - - - - - - - Fri 24 Oct - 9.30am Protest outside Karl Debbaut's court hearing (charged with assaulting a police officer on Day X, the day the War started) Outside: Belmarsh Magistrates Court (next to prison), Belmarsh Rd, SE28 - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 25 Oct - 7.30pm Against Nuclear Arms (MANA) 20th Anniversary Concert for Peace Venue: St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1 - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 25 Oct - 7.30pm Musicians Against Nuclear Arms (MANA) 20th Anniversary Concert for Peace Venue: St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1 - - - - - - - - - - - Sun 26 Oct - 6-12pm Street Level - UK Hip Hop at Cargo featuring... The Extremists, Micke Morphingaz & The Bone Idols, Sterling Calat, GM Baby, Carpetface, DJ Hooch, Shameless, L Boogie, AMC Breakerz Entrance: Ł6 (NUS Ł5) Venue: Cargo, under the bridge, 83 Rivington St, Shoreditch EC2A 02077393440 Organised by: Peace Not War www.peace-not-war.org - - - - - - - - - - - Mon 27 Oct - from 8.30am Stop the Corporate Invasion of Iraq Venue: 1 Whitehall Place (Embankment tube) Organised by Voices UK Info: www.voicesuk.org email: voices@voicesuk.org - - - - - - - - - - - Wed 29 Oct - 7pm Ministry for Peace meeting 10 minute rule bill to be presented in the House of Commons, Tell your MP to attend and vote - www.faxyourmp.com Venue: Grand Committee Room, House of Commons www.ministryforpeace.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Thur 6 Nov - pm London Grassroots Opposition to War (GROW) Network meeting Venue: to be confirmed Contact: JNV - 0845 458 9571 - www.j-n-v.org - - - - - - - - - - - Sat 8 Nov Smart Bombs Dumb Wars A one day conference examining changing conditions of war and peace in the age of global terrorism Venue: Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL - - - - - - - - - - - Sun 9 Nov Global day of demonstrations against the Apartheid wall in Palestine www.stopthewall.org - - - - - - - - - - - 5-6 December Working for a peaceful future Campaigning for peace against a context of never-ending "war on terrorism". Venue: Friends House, Euston Road, London. 5 December 7-11pm public meeting with guest speakers, entertainment and more. 6 December 10-6pm assess where we are now and forthcoming challenges, strategise on building broader more powerful peace movement, engage with anti-war campaigns and activities for the coming year, network new links. Info and/or to book a stall contact: Network for Peace Tel: 020 72783267 email: nfp@gn.apc.org www.networkforpeace.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - dates for 2004 17/18 January 2004 Reclaim the bases weekend of anti-militarist action. A weekend of non-violent action at military bases - from vigils to NVDA. Start organising an event at a base close to you. Networking via: www.reclaimthebases.org.uk reclaimbases-discuss@yahoogroups.com Info: email@reclaimthebases.org.uk + + + + + + + + + [end of announcements & events list] From info@j-n-v.org Mon Nov 17 14:14:02 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1ALk8f-0005gn-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:14:01 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:13:55 -0000 Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:13:44 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.33.89 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] Oppose Bush: support US Peacemakers Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Please support US Peacemakers such as the Peaceful Tomorrows group by buying their book 'September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning our Grief into Action for Peace', available from JNV, or by making a donation via their website: http://www.peacefultomorrows.org About the Book 'September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning our Grief into Action for Peace' is a book written by family members of September 11th victims who have united to turn their grief into action for peace. Their mission is to seek effective, nonviolent solutions to terrorism, and to acknowledge their common experience with all people similarly affected by violence throughout the world. 'September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning Our Grief into Action for Peace' tells the story of how the group came to be formed and how they struggled to keep their losses from being used as a justification for further violence and terror. Written by David Potorti, along with original essays from members of the group including Ryan Amundson, Myrna Bethke, Derrill Bodley, Kelly Campbell, Colleen Kelly, Rita Lasar, Kristina Olsen, Andrew Rice, and Terry Rockefeller. Available from JNV for Ł12 including postage and packaging. All proceeds go to peaceful Tomorrow (September 11th Families). *************** SELECTED QUOTES “I have so much admiration for Peaceful Tomorrows— people of courage and conviction. This book is a powerful reminder that the cycle of violence and retaliation can and must be broken.”— Michael Moore “Peaceful Tomorrows should give us hope in a hopeless time, and their courage in a fearful time should give us bravery.”— Grace Paley, poet and author “No one can speak with a more powerful voice or with more authority on the need for peace and justice in our society than Peaceful Tomorrows.”— U.S. Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich “Voices of great courage, healing, and wisdom... A beautiful and important book.” — Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July “Moving stories, inspiring stories... They remind us that violence need not rule our minds, our lives, that a different way of thinking is possible.” — Howard Zinn, author of 'A People's History of the United States' Visit the Peaceful Tomorrows web site: http://www.peacefultomorrows.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PEACEFUL TOMORROWS ORDER FORM Please send me 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / ........ copies of PEACEFUL TOMORROWS at Ł12 per copy. Total: Ł____ I enclose a cheque made out to 'JNV' to the sum of Ł____ Name (block capitals please): ________________________________________ Postal Address (block capitals please): ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Postcode: ____________ Email address/phone number (in the event of delays/problems): ________________________________________ Please send in a completed form with your cheque to: JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From info@j-n-v.org Wed Dec 03 13:46:57 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1ARXLC-000845-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 13:46:55 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 13:46:49 -0000 Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2003 13:46:48 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Cc: , , , X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.42.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none version=2.53-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.53-sa_mythic (1.174.2.15-2003-03-30-exp) Subject: [jnv] JNV Anti-War Briefing 51 - The Hunger For Democracy Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all, Here's the latest JNV briefing. This opinion poll has been excluded by the British broadsheet newspapers for some reason. We hope this information is useful to you in your activism against the occupation. Milan Rai & Ro Rai JNV - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE HUNGER FOR DEMOCRACY The First National Opinion Poll in Iraq JNV Anti-War Briefing 51. 2 December 2003 NO TRUST IN THE US/UK ‘The section on “trust in organisations” will make edifying reading for U.S. and British forces, grappling to bring peace to the country seven months after the war. When asked to rate their confidence in 11 organisations – including Iraq's governing council, the new Iraqi army, the police and the United Nations – the U.S.-led coalition was the least trusted. ‘Some 57 percent of those questioned said they had no trust in the U.S.-led coalition and a further 22 percent said they had very little trust. Only eight percent said they had a great deal of confidence in the occupying force. ‘The survey, published by independent British research consultancy Oxford Research International (ORI), samples the views of 3,244 Iraqis, interviewed in their own homes in October and early November.’ (Reuters, 1 Dec. 2003) ‘The study, conducted across Iraq between mid-October and mid-November, also showed that almost three-quarters of respondents lack confidence in the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority.’ (News Corporation, news.com.au, 2 Dec.) ‘Regarding the Coalition Provisional Authority, led by U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer, 43.5 percent of those questioned expressed no confidence, and 29.9 percent said they had not very much confidence.’ (Associated Press, 2 Dec.) IRAQI CYNICISM A Gallup poll in Baghdad in early Sept. found that only 5 per cent of those polled believed the US invaded Iraq ‘to assist the Iraqi people’; only 1 per cent believed it was to establish democracy. ‘Forty-three percent of the respondents said they believed that U.S. and British forces invaded in March primarily “to rob Iraq's oil.” 4 percent believed the purpose was to destroy weapons of mass destruction, the primary reason given by the Bush administration.’ ‘Three-quarters of those polled said they believed the policies and decisions of the Iraqi Governing Council – whose members were appointed in July by Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator L. Paul Bremer – were “mostly determined by the coalition's own authorities,” and only 16 percent thought the council members were “fairly independent”.’ ‘Although 52 percent of those polled said they thought the United States was serious about establishing a democratic system of government in Iraq, 51 percent said Washington would not allow Iraqis to do that without U.S. pressure and influence.’ (Washington Post, 12 Nov., p. A18) (1,178 Baghdadis, 28 Aug.– 4 Sept.) As noted in a previous JNV Anti-War Briefing, a previous US poll in Iraq found that, ‘Asked whether in the next five years the US would “help” Iraq, 35.3 per cent said yes while 50 per cent said the US would “hurt” Iraq.’ (FT, 11 Sept., p. 11) DEMOCRACY ‘Regarding their future, 90.3 per cent of interviewees said they somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that the country needed an Iraqi democracy.’ (AP, 2 Dec.) This is quite a turn-around from earlier polls, which showed luke-warm support for democracy. It may be that the public perception of what the word ‘democracy’ means has shifted. 38.2 per cent of Iraqi people polled in Aug. said democracy could work well in Iraq, while 50.2 per cent said ‘democracy is a western way of doing things and it will not work here.’ (FT, 11 Sept., p.11) In an even earlier Baghdad poll, multi-party democracy was chosen by only 36 per cent of people polled; 50 per cent opted for one of the five variants of Islamic, presidential or single-party rule. In the new poll, ‘only around a fifth of Iraqis questioned said they trust political parties… Some 71 per cent of respondents declined to mention any party they would vote for, while those who did mentioned 38 different political parties.’ (news.com.au, 2 Dec.) ‘More than four out of five people said democracy may have problems, but it is better than any other form of government. And almost 90 percent said the government must represent all the main groups in their ethnically and religiously divided society.’ So reported Voice of America, the official US propaganda machine, which bravely tried to spin the story as ‘Iraqi Public Opinion Poll Finds Overwhelming Support for Democratic Future’, downplaying the facts that (a) the poll found overwhelming opposition to the US occupation and (b) the US government was the main obstacle to a ‘democratic future’ in Iraq (see forthcoming JNV Briefing, The Sovereignty Shell Game). RELIGION AND THE STRONG MAN ‘But more than two-thirds also wanted a strong leader; slightly fewer (61%) agreed that the government should be made up mainly of religious leaders… In contrast with all other Iraqi institutions, religious leaders command the trust of the people – though when asked to suggest the best thing that could happen in the next year, fewer than 1% said an Islamic government.’ (‘Iraqis “welcome Saddam's fall”’, BBC News Online, 2 Dec.) ‘[W]hile 70 percent of those surveyed said they had confidence in religious leaders, the same number regarded ideas, morality, and “religious guidance” as the responsibility of individuals, not government. “This challenges the assumption that Iraqis want a religious regime,” the authors said.’ (Reuters, 1 Dec.) ‘One of the survey's most striking findings in a country emerging from dictatorship was that only one in 10 Iraqis thought most people could be trusted; nine out of 10 agreed that you had to be very careful in dealing with people, and nearly half said they would never discuss politics with others.’ (‘Iraqis “welcome Saddam's fall” ’, BBC News Online, 2 Dec.) ‘53.6 per cent strongly agreed that their country needed a single, strong Iraqi leader.’ (News Corporation, news.com.au, 2 Dec.) A UN TRANSITIONAL AUTHORITY? ‘Only 16.7 per cent said they strongly agreed that Iraq needed a transition UN government.’ (News Corporation, news.com.au, 2 Dec.) 52 per cent said they rejected the idea of a UN government. (Morning Star, 2 Dec., p. 1) What of the support given in an earlier Briefing for a UN Transitional Authority, reflecting the majority view in over twenty anti-war meetings in Wales, Scotland, England and across the United States (straw polls conducted by Milan Rai during a speaking tour)? Much depends on the term ‘UN government’. There is a near-consensus in Iraqi political circles that the way forward is to grant sovereignty immediately to the Governing Council, despite the fact that it was appointed by the US Government. The proposal JNV has made is for an independent UN Transitional Authority to support that provisional Iraqi government in the process of agreeing a new Iraqi constitution and holding national elections, while providing UN peacekeeping forces to replace US and UK occupation forces. Not a ‘UN government’. The opposition to a ‘UN government’, which is real, may not be amount to opposition to a ‘UN Transitional Authority’ in the sense just outlined. Note that in Aug., the US group Physicians for Human Rights reported that 85 per cent of Iraqi people they polled wanted the UN to ‘play the lead role’ in Iraq. (letter, New York Times, 21 Aug., cited in Noam Chomsky, Hegemony or Survival, p. 243) INSECURITY UNDER OCCUPATION Earlier polls found support among Iraqis for the short-term continuation of the occupation. We suggested that this was based on people’s fear of disorder and violence, and a desire for security. In July, 75 per cent of people said Iraq was more dangerous than before the war. In Oct.-Nov., the Oxford Research Institute poll found that ‘Two thirds of Iraqis regard “regaining public security” as the country's top priority’. (Reuters, 1 Dec.) The people of Iraq are running out of patience with the occupation, and the slow pace of political change – hence the scramble in Washington to concoct a new pet ‘provisional government’. JNV continues to believe that the occupation must be brought to a rapid conclusion, to be replaced by a UN Transitional Authority, supporting an Iraqi provisional government based on the Governing Council, with a foreign security presence independent of the US and UK – in the shape of UN or Arab League peacekeeping forces. It is unclear whether the latest opinion poll has helped to clarify our understanding of Iraqi attitudes to such a proposal. This briefing is also available as a PDF file from http://www.j-n-v.org/briefings.htm [Please also see ‘Regime Unchanged’ by Milan Rai (Pluto, September 2003).] PLEASE support JNV (Justice Not Vengeance) Tel: 0845 458 9571. We are making as many briefings as we can. Please help with printing/distribution by sending cheques to: ‘JNV’, 29 Gensing Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. From info@j-n-v.org Thu Dec 11 17:19:14 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AUUT2-0004tX-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Thu, 11 Dec 2003 17:19:12 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Thu, 11 Dec 2003 17:19:09 -0000 Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 17:19:08 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.168.200 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [jnv] THE SOVEREIGNTY SHELL GAME - JNV Anti-War Briefing 51 Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all, Here is the latest JNV Anti-War Briefing (no. 51). Apologies for any confusion arising from the mis-numbering of the previous briefing (which should have been labelled #50). Best wishes, Ro JNV - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE SOVEREIGNTY SHELL GAME US Pretends To ‘Hand Over Power’ To The Iraqis JNV Anti-War Briefing 51 (3 December 2003) ENDING THE OCCUPATION? On 16 Nov., the Washington Post hailed ‘a radical new plan for [Iraq’s] political transition that would end the U.S.-led occupation by July 1 and could facilitate a significant withdrawal of U.S. troops next year’. In a ‘major revision’ of US policy, ‘the new plan authorizes the creation of a provisional national assembly that would assume sovereignty and serve as Iraq’s interim government until a constitution is written and elections are held’. Previously, the US had demanded that a constitution be drafted and elections held before a transfer of power, ‘a process that could have stretched into 2005'. ('Plan to End Occupation Could Trim U.S. Force', WP, 16 Nov.) But ‘sovereignty’ is not being transferred. The ‘radical new plan’ is merely a change in the method of US domination. ‘SELECTION’ NOT ‘ELECTION’ There is to be a three stage process: by 29 Feb. 2004, the Governing Council is to approve a new ‘fundamental law’ to rule during the period of the transitional government. By 31 May, a provisional legislative assembly is to be selected by regional “caucus” meetings. By 30 June, a provisional Iraqi government is to be elected from this assembly so that on 1 July, the US-UK occupation is to formally come to an end, and ‘sovereignty’ is to transfer to the new provisional government. (There are two further stages being floated by the US by 30 Mar. 2005, elections for a constitutional convention, to be followed by a referendum on the new constitution; and by 31 Dec. 2005, elections for a new Iraqi government.) So there are to be indirect elections from the provincial caucuses to the assembly, and then from the assembly to the government. The most troubling aspect, however, is the first stage: the construction of the provincial caucuses. ‘The new arrangements are an awkward compromise for the coalition. The “caucus” process to select the provisional legislature will be far from democratic, and could undermine the legitimacy of the interim government.' (Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Correspondent, Telegraph, 26 Nov., p. 18) ‘As the law is being drafted, the council will set up 15-person committees in each province that will be responsible for selecting participants for the caucuses where members of the transitional assembly will be chosen… In an attempt to ensure the process does not get hijacked by religious extremists or former Baathists, participants in the meetings will be restricted to political, religious, tribal, academic and labor union leaders, as well as other influential figures, who have been vetted by the selection committees.’ (‘Plan to End Occupation’, Washington Post, 16 Nov.) THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ‘DEMOCRACY’ Then ‘Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest-ranking religious figure among Iraq’s Shia, objected to the mechanism foreseen by the coalition to choose the transitional assembly, a “selected election” by pro-coalition notables. Mr Sistani told Governing Council members the assembly should be elected.’ (FT, 1 Dec., p. 8) ‘Qutab Talabani, son of Jalal Talabani, the current head of the council who met Mr Sistani [told the FT] the “mechanism” for choosing the transitional assembly had been contested by Mr Sistani, whose support is crucial… Mr Sistani wants some form of direct election for the assembly and has questioned in particular the role of the provincial councils in nominating caucus members. ‘Mr. Talabani said other Iraqi leaders also had misgivings about the councils formed in Iraq’s 18 provinces. He cited one example where a tribal council head had included more than 20 members of his own family in the council.’ (FT, 29 Nov., p. 9) This is one of the building blocks of the new Iraqi ‘democracy’ that the US and UK have been building. A FIERCE BUT HIDDEN CONTEST A struggle is raging in Iraq as to whether the provincial caucuses will be selected by the US or elected by the Iraqi people. ‘The coalition and Iraqi officials insist that some creative way will be found to appease Mr Sistani without holding an election, and a committee is now looking at options. ‘One Shia council member says the grand ayatollah “is a very reasonable guy so if you can show him that this is a way forward with people’s participation I’m sure he’ll buy it.” But the FT warns that ‘the assumption that Mr Sistani will sign off on a compromise was the attitude adopted by the [US-appointed governing] council in the summer, when a committee to study the constitution was set up. Several weeks of discussions produced only deadlock and, as Mr Sistani held firm on his demands, the stalemate eventually provoked an overhaul of the whole transition strategy.’ (FT, 3 Dec., p. 13) A warning sign: confrontation may be approaching. THE US U-TURN Why did this plan suddenly appear, upsetting the previous US timetable? ‘About 10 days ago [5 Nov.], leaders of the Governing Council [cohered around the Sistani position and] insisted to Bremer that the only popularly acceptable way to draft a constitution would be to hold an election to select the authors.’ The US was horrified. The Council wouldn’t budge. ‘They reached an impasse,’ a US official said. (‘Plan to End Occupation’, Washington Post, 16 Nov.) The news out of Iraq was also serious. US Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez spoke of a ‘turning point’ in the conflict. ‘Dispensing with euphemisms favored by many Bush administration officials in recent months, General Sanchez, commander of the 130,000 American troops in Iraq, described what they were facing as a war... Aides to General Sanchez said the choice of the word “war” was part of a conscious effort by senior military officers to inject realism into debates in Washington.’ (New York Times, 12 Nov., p. A8) Furthermore, Britain was ‘pressing the United States to hand over power to an Iraqi government within a year or risk a full-scale uprising against the military occupation… They say the transfer of power must be speeded up even if it means tearing up America’s step-by-step plan for a return to Iraqi sovereignty.’ ‘Their view has support from elements of the US administration and is thought to have the backing of Paul Bremer, Washington’s pro-consul in Iraq. The issue is certain to be close to the top of the agenda at next week’s state visit by President George W Bush to London... British officials are convinced that they will enjoy only a short period of tolerance from mainstream Iraqis, who may be grateful for the removal of Saddam Hussein, but have no desire to live under foreign rule.’ (Telegraph, 11 Nov., p. 12) Same warnings from US intelligence: ‘the insurgency is costing the occupation support among Iraqis, according to a CIA report leaked last week to The Philadelphia Inquirer and endorsed by Bremer.’ (Newsweek, 24 Nov., p. 25) ‘There’s no mystery behind the Bushies’ new eagerness to hand things over to the Iraqis... More Americans are dying. Iraqi support for the occupation is plummeting... Attacks have jumped from fewer than 10 a day in May to about 30 to 35 a day. Worse, they have gotten more deadly and sophisticated…’ (Newsweek, 24 Nov., p. 24) Earth to GWB: ‘do something radical, or face an eruption from the Shia majority, a major escalation of the insurgency (and the crumbling of your hopes for re-election).’ The US was determined to avoid free elections in the next year – because the ‘wrong people’ (people who might not take orders) would win. The US also refused to transfer sovereignty immediately to the Governing Council, as Iraqi political parties of all colours were demanding. The solution: delay and deception. ‘Our presence here will change from an occupation to an invited presence,’ Paul Bremer. (FT, 17 Nov., p. 1, emphasis added) The new government will have no choice. ‘Senior British officials said a handover of power depended on the interim government inviting America to continue leading a multi-national force in Iraq. This would probably require a further Security Council resolution.’ (Telegraph, 26 Nov., p. 18) THE GAMBLE A senior US official said of the new plan, ‘It’s a gamble, a huge gamble. But it’s easy to overestimate the degree of control over events we have now and to underestimate how much we will retain.’ Another senior official said that even after 1 July, ‘We’ll have more levers than you think, and maybe more than the Iraqis think.’ (‘America’s Gamble: A Quick Exit Plan for Iraq’, New York Times, 16 Nov.) Among the levers: the US military presence itself; the $20bn US reconstruction budget; and the requirements of US investors. Means of undermining sovereignty, and ensuring US dominance in the new era. JNV For more background, see Regime Unchanged by Milan Rai (Pluto, Sept. 2003): http://www.j-n-v.org/book.htm PLEASE SUPPORT JNV (Justice Not Vengeance) 0845 458 9571 Please help with printing and distribution by sending cheques to: ‘JNV’, 29 Gensing Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE Justice Not Vengeance http://www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Wed Dec 17 17:16:09 2003 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AWfHL-0004iD-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:16:07 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:16:02 -0000 Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:16:01 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 81.132.18.116 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [jnv] JNV Update, Upcoming Events & Gift-Wrapped Books Offer Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends, We hope you find the material in this email useful. Our best wishes to you for the holiday season! Maya Evans Milan Rai Ro Rai JNV CONTENTS 1) Looking back on the year (link to JNV site) 2) Next steps for the movement (link to JNV site) 3) Upcoming EVENTS: some dates for your diary (listing) 4) The ‘Regime Unchanged’ & 'September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows’ Seasonal Offer (gift-wrapped books from JNV) 1) Looking back on the year (including a tour of the US) A quick look back at 2003 and what JNV has done in first 6 months: http://www.j-n-v.org/update.htm#lookBack 2) Next steps for the movement (including the UN debate) Some thoughts on the key issues relating to the Occupation of Iraq and JNV’s future activities: http://www.j-n-v.org/update.htm#nextSteps 3) Upcoming EVENTS Some dates in 2004 for your diary. Saturday 17th - Sunday 18th January 2004 Reclaim the bases weekend of anti-militarist action. Networking via: www.reclaimthebases.org.uk The Bloody History of Northwood HQ: Theatrical protests around the base 17 January 2004, Assemble 12pm at Northwood Tube. http://www.thed10group.org.uk for more information! - - - - Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th February 2004 PEACE NOT WAR PRESENTS ... ... on the anniversary of the global peace protests, The Peace Not War FOUR NIGHT MUSIC FESTIVAL Hackney Ocean, Mare Street, London E8 http://www.peace-not-war.org/Festival/index.html - - - - Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th March 2004 (dates tbc) GrassRoots Opposition to War (GROW) Gathering The Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham NG7 6HX, England http://www.grassrootsoppositiontowar.org.uk - - - - Saturday 20th March GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION on the first anniversary of the U.S. Bombing and Invasion of Iraq http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2136 http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/m20/index.html - - - - Friday 9th - (Bank Holiday) Monday 12th April March - London to Aldermaston, Easter 2004 Stop the next generation of weapons of mass destruction! http://www.aldermaston2004.net contact: info@aldermaston2004.net - - - - For more events please see: http://www.j-n-v.org/events.htm 4) The ‘Regime Unchanged’ & 'September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows’ seasonal offer (gift-wrapped books from JNV) Saddam is in jail, but many of his henchmen are free and enjoying the fruits of power, having been reinstalled by the US-UK Coalition. “Who would believe that only nine months after the ‘de-Baathification’ of Iraq had begun, some of the very same intelligence men who served Saddam so faithfully would be working with the ‘liberators’?” Robert Fisk, Independent on Sunday, 14 December 2003, p.21 In the run-up to Christmas, JNV would like to offer you the opportunity to have a gift-wrapped copy of ‘Regime Unchanged’ (by Milan Rai) or ‘September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows’ (by the Peaceful Tomorrows group) sent with a handmade card to the recipient of your choice anywhere in the UK - for only Ł10 or Ł12 respectively, including postage & packaging. To order a copy, either call JNV on: 0845 458 9571 (local rate) or reply to this email giving the details requested in the order form below. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ‘REGIME UNCHANGED’: John Pilger, August 2003: “a magnificent exposé of the lies that propelled the criminal attack on Iraq.” Geoff Simons, ‘Morning Star’, September 2003: “[Regime Unchanged] is a detailed account... an immensely valuable text of great use to activists and anyone else who wants to understand the full extent of the lies perpetrated by the Bush and Blair regimes in the effort to justify an aggressive war.” Alan Cottey, ‘Scientists for Global Responsibility’, November 2003: “[Regime Unchanged] is a near instant book which I think is nevertheless, in the few months since publication, well on its way to being vindicated by history.” Red, Peace News December 2003 “Densely packed and scrupulously referenced ‘Regime Unchanged’ is essential reading for all those who opposed the war.” For more reviews of ‘Regime Unchanged’ please visit: http://www.j-n-v.org/book_reviews.htm WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ‘SEPTEMBER 11TH FAMILIES FOR PEACEFUL TOMORROWS’: Michael Moore: “I have so much admiration for Peaceful Tomorrows— people of courage and conviction. This book is a powerful reminder that the cycle of violence and retaliation can and must be broken.” Ron Kovic, author of ‘Born on the Fourth of July’: “Voices of great courage, healing, and wisdom... A beautiful and important book.” Grace Paley, poet and author: “Peaceful Tomorrows should give us hope in a hopeless time, and their courage in a fearful time should give us bravery.” Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich: “No one can speak with a more powerful voice or with more authority on the need for peace andustice in our society than Peaceful Tomorrows.”— U.S. Visit the Peaceful Tomorrows web site: http://www.peacefultomorrows.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ORDERING ‘REGIME UNCHANGED’ & ‘SEPTEMBER 11TH FAMILIES FOR PEACEFUL TOMORROWS’ To order your gift-wrapped copy of either ‘Regime Unchanged’ or ‘Peaceful Tomorrows’, please call JNV on: 0845 458 9571 or reply to this email giving us the details requested below. I would like to order: ___ copy of ‘Regime Unchanged’ at Ł10 per copy ___ copy of ‘September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows’ at Ł12 per copy (including gift wrapping, handmade card & postage and packing). Total Ł____ Your name: __________________________ Your phone no.: _______________________ (required to confirm your order) Your email address.:____________________ Recipient’s name: ______________________ Recipient’s address: ____________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Postcode: _____________ Optional message (to be included in your card): _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Please send cheques made out to ‘JNV’ to: 29 Gensing Rd, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 OHE PLEASE NOTE: this offer for gift-wrapped copies of ‘Regime Unchanged’ and ‘Peaceful Tomorrows’ expires on 1st January 2004, but after that date you will still be able to order copies from JNV by printing this order form and sending it with a cheque to the address above. - - - - Justice Not Vengeance http://www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Fri Jan 02 14:57:05 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AcQjW-0006sB-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:57:03 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:56:57 -0000 Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:56:56 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [jnv] AFTER SAMARRA (Briefing 52) Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all, New Year's Greetings from JNV! We hope you a great festive holiday. This briefing (#52), about the recent killings in Samarra, was written just before the Xmas break, but has only just been uploaded to the JNV site (apologies for the delay). Online and PDF versions are also available on the JNV site at: http://www.j-n-v.org/AW_briefings/JNV_briefing052.htm Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous 2004, Ro JNV http://www.j-n-v.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AFTER SAMARRA Another US Massacre In The 'Sunni Triangle' JNV Anti-War Briefing 52 (17 December 2003) '54 AMBUSHERS KILLED' CLAIMS US First reports were unequivocal: 'US forces killed 46 Iraqis after a military convoy was ambushed in the town of Samarra last night in the most deadly firefight in the seven months since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq.' (Times, 1 Dec., p. 1) 'Many of the dead Iraqis wore uniforms of the Fedayeen, a militia loyal to Saddam Hussein, Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald of the 4th Infantry Division said.' (Guardian, 1 Dec., p. 1) 'US officers involved in the battle described the ambushes as well coordinated by up to 80 guerrillas.' (Guardian, 2 Dec., p. 2) 'The convoys were carrying new Iraqi banknotes into the town to exchange for Saddam-era cash. American military spokesmen said they knew of no Iraqi civilian casualties, even though they destroyed three buildings with tank rounds.' (Telegraph, 1 Dec., p.1) US officials later said they had killed 54 'enemy personnel' - 22 were said to have been wounded, one captured. (FT, 2 Dec., p.11) 'Major Gordon Tate, a spokesman at the headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, insisted the US military was “confident” about its assessment of the “battle damage”. “Soldiers and commanders on the site counted [the dead],” he told The Independent.' (Independent, 2 Dec., p. 2) IRAQIS DISAGREE: EIGHT CIVILIANS DEAD 'US and Iraqi reports differed sharply. Mr Mohammed, the police chief, said [on the first day] that only six Iraqis had been killed in the clashes, along with one Iranian pilgrim. He accused US troops of “firing randomly” on Iraqi civilians after they had been ambushed “by one or two people”. He said 54 Iraqis had been injured.' (FT, 2 Dec., p.11) ' “We think that at most eight or nine people died,” said Khaled Mohammed, an admissions clerk in the hospital's emergency ward. Ahmed al-Samarai, a local police officer, said the day after the shooting, “Not more than 10 people were killed and some of those were not involved in the fighting.” ' (Guardian, 2 Dec., p.2) British journalist Phil Reeves reports that 'Repeated visits to the scene, interviews with Iraqi civilians and US soldiers, and close inspection of the battle damage by scores of correspondents have failed to eliminate several troubling and crucial questions. Where are the bodies? Did they exist? Or was this death toll - as some suspect - a fabrication which was intended to generate positive headlines for the US, after a disastrous weekend in which guerrilla attacks killed 14 foreigners?' “This is a very tribal society, in which everyone in the area knows everyone else. It [54 deaths] just did not happen,” said Samarra resident Yahir Mahmoud al-Abassi. (Independent, 6 Dec., p.1) 'Scepticism about the US's version of the death toll has been expressed within upper echelons of the occupation authorities. A US combat leader who was involved in the battle has also denounced the military's account of the battle.' (Independent, 4 Dec., p.2) 'The US military believes the bodies of the 54 dead were swiftly collected and buried. But [it] is questionable whether the guerrillas' families or surviving combatants would have risked recovering known members of the resistance in a town which is under constant US surveillance: the Americans have a base' there. (Independent, 4 Dec., p.2) 30 NOVEMBER: THE REEVES CHRONOLOGY Two US convoys entered Samarra at 11am. There were 100 troops from 4th Infantry Division in six tanks, four Bradley fighting vehicles and four Humvees, carrying new Iraqi dinars for the al-Rashid bank in Babel Kabla St, and another branch opposite the al-Risala mosque in Bank St. With them were two squads of military police, and four squads of infantry. As the two convoys entered from east and west, roadside bombs detonated on both roads, injuring three soldiers. As the troops Prepared to retreat from their respective banks, about 1.30pm, ambushes were sprung on both convoys, using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. According to Phil Reeves' account, a mortar shell fired by the guerrillas landed near the front gate of the Samarra Drugs factory, killing Amira Mahdi Saleh, a worker in her mid-thirties. Later, another mortar round wounded Hossam Shakir al-Douri, 25, who later died. A clerk working in the front office of the factory witnessed bullets from passing US armoured vehicles smashing into the reception area: Phil Reeves reported, 'It [the recepton area] bears the marks of at least five machine-gun bullets.' Outside a small mosque in front of the local hospital, Abdullah Amin al-Kurdi was 'mown down', and another man, Raid Ali Fadhel, was also killed. A few yards from the Shia mosque, a firefight took the life of Fatah Allah Hijazi, a 71-year-old Iranian pilgrim. As 'running battles' spread through the town, some of the shooting was 'random', according to Phil Reeves. (Independent, 6 Dec., p.1) According to Saadun Isawi, a police official at Samarra hospital, the dead included 'a 10-year-old boy'. (FT, 4 Dec., p.15) RANDOM FIRE Captain Andy Deponai, one of the US commanders on the ground, 'said that his men had targeted assailants shooting at them, and denied they had fired at random.' (Times, 2 Dec., p.17) 'Jihad Hussein, a student, said he had seen passersby running for cover. “They were spraying the whole street,” he said. “I don't know who fired the first shot, the Americans or the Fedayeen, but I saw at least one young woman hit by a bullet as she lay on the ground.” ' (Guardian, 2 Dec., p.2) 'On the main street outside the Rasheed Bank, where the main attack was launched, a five-storey apartment block was riddled with bullet holes from American guns, while several cars lay crushed by the retreating tanks... Some [young men] accused the US forces of firing on vehicles ferrying the wounded to receive treatment.' 'Imam Jumaa Mozher, 25, showed large-calibre shells he said had been fired at the building from an Apache helicopter while the [Ali al-Hadi] mosque was crowded for evening prayers, wounding several worshippers.' (Times, 2 Dec., p.17) 'The attacks had left an ugly mood in the town, where locals were unanimous in condemning indiscriminate firing by the Americans.' (Telegraph, 2 Dec., p.14) 'Iraqi residents said that when the shooting started outside the banks, the Americans fired randomly at houses, mosques and even a kindergarten, prompting local people to reach for their guns and join the running street battle.' (Times, 2 Dec., p.17) FEDAYEEN? Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of US-UK operations, 'said several of the dead had been wearing uniforms “consistent with” those of Fedayeen Saddam commandos, which included a black face scarf and a shoulder patch.' (FT, 2 Dec., p.11) Phil Reeves reported that the clothing of the dead 'sounded like the apparel of many young Arabs.' (Independent, 2 Dec., p.2) REVENGE: 'THA'AR' Dr Mohamed Badie, vice-president of Tikrit University, said, 'All the people here are fed up and angry... There is something here that is hidden from the American public. They call it “Tha'ar” - revenge. That means that if anyone kills your friend, or your brother, you have to avenge it by killing an American soldier.' (Independent, 2 Dec., p.2) This may be the major motivation for the attacks on US forces. (See Chapter XXII Regime Unchanged and JNV Briefing 47 After Falluja.) DRESS REHEARSAL: BALAD On 13 June, US forces claimed to have killed 27 Iraqi rebels in an ambush that went wrong outside the city of Balad. A few days later, it was quietly reported, 'It now seems that only seven men died, five of them apparently innocent farmers.' (Guardian, 16 June 2003, p.10) IMPUNITY 'The US military has paid out $1.5m (Ł907,000) to Iraqi civilians in response to a wave of negligence and wrongful death claims filed against American soldiers, the Guardian has learned. Families have come forward with accounts of how American soldiers shot dead or seriously wounded unarmed Iraqi civilians with no apparent cause. In many cases their stories are confirmed by Iraqi police investigations. No American soldier has been prosecuted for illegally killing an Iraqi civilian and commanders refuse even to count the number of civilians killed or injured by their soldiers.' (Guardian, 26 Nov. 2003) 'Iraqi courts, because of an order issued by the US-led authority in Baghdad in June, are forbidden from hearing cases against American soldiers or any other foreign troops or foreign officials in Iraq. Human Rights Watch said, “The lack of timely and thorough investigations into many questionable incidents has created an atmosphere of impunity, in which many soldiers feel they can pull the trigger without coming under review.”... In some cases relatives have spoken of their plans to join the growing guerrilla resistance movement to avenge the deaths of their relatives.' (Guardian, 26 Nov. 2003) RAMADI, SAMARRA, FALLUJA 'Dramatic video footage from the city of Ramadi 75 miles west of Baghdad showed unarmed supporters of Saddam Hussein being gunned down in semi-darkness as they fled from American troops... An American commander in Samarra later said 11 “insurgents” had been killed... Fallujah [was] the scene of the other mass killing, of five Iraqi men, pro-Saddam demonstrators.' (Robert Fisk, Independent, 17 Dec., p.1) For more background, please see 'Regime Unchanged' by Milan Rai (Read reviews: http://www.j-n-v.org/book_reviews.htm) PLEASE SUPPORT JNV (Justice Not Vengeance) 0845 458 9571 Please help with printing and distribution of these briefings by sending cheques to 'JNV', 29 Gensing Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. Thank you! Justice Not vengeance http://www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Wed Jan 28 18:28:19 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AluQD-0004sa-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 28 Jan 2004 18:28:17 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Wed, 28 Jan 2004 18:28:00 -0000 Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 18:27:50 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [jnv] JNV News + Upcoming Events Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all, Some upcoming (UK) events for you below. For those of you in the South East of England, we would particularly like to draw your attention to the Peace Not War Music Festival (12-15 Feb in London - info: http://www.peace-not-war.org ) at which Milan Rai from JNV will be speaking, on the first night, Thursday 12 Feb. The festival will be showcasing some of the biggest names in hip-hop, dance, punk, rock, jazz, acoustic and world music as well as speakers ranging from Mark Thomas to Bruce Kent. JNV will have a stall there so please come and say hello if you do go! From next week JNV will be distributing a postcard to Tony Blair entitled 'Democracy Means Elections Let the Iraqi People Choose' which you can see pdf version of at: http://snipurl.com/44y2 (there's also a link on the JNV site). If you would like copies of the postcard please email info@j-n-v.org or call us on 0845 458 9571 Thanks & best wishes, Ro JNV http://www.j-n-v.org + + + + + + + + + UPCOMING EVENTS Indymedia London Convergence Events WSIS - World Summit on the Information Society - Who Seized? Fri Jan 30, 7pm An evening to report back from the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva and the We Seize initiative - and to discuss further participation / interventions / activities in the field of communication rights. http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2004/01/283764.html Sat Jan 31, midday-11pm 12pm - 6pm: Indymedia London Convergence 7pm - 11pm: Chill out, film screenings, bar and music Venue: Limehouse Townhall, 646 Commercial Road, London E14 7HA Imc UK website: http://uk.indymedia.org Imc London website: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/ - - - - - - - - - - - Gathering of Sussex anti-war activists in Brighton Sat 31 January, 4:30 to 6:30pm A regional gathering of anti-war activists and groups to plan future actions, including activities to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq in March. Venue: Community Base South Wing, 113 Queens Road Organised by Sussex Action for Peace http://www.safp.org.uk/ - - - - - - - - - - - Concert for Peace in London Sat 7 Feb 7:30pm-10:00pm Mark Padmore tenor, Roger Vignoles piano, The Johnston String Quartet. Works by Schubert, Britten, Tippett, Vaughan Williams. Venue: Regent Hall, 276 Oxford Street W1 For details contact: Musicians Against Nuclear Arms 020 8455 1030 - - - - - - - - - - - Peace Not War presents... The Peace Not War MUSIC FESTIVAL (4 nights) Thurs 12 - Sun 15 February 2004 The cream of conscious musicians and DJs in the UK, with a few guests from the US and France come together in this 4 day extravangza on the anniversary of last year's largest ever simultaneous global demonstrations for peace, not war. Take your pick of punk & rock on the 12th; hip-hop on the 13th; dance on Valentine's Day the 14th and acoustic, jazz & world music on the 15th. Venue: Hackney Ocean, Mare Street, London E8 (Fully wheel-chair accessible) Entry: Ł15 per night. PHONE CLUB TICKETS: 0871 711 3033 http://www.peace-not-war.org - - - - - - - - - - - Global Vigil For Peace International Candlelight Peace Vigils For more info please visit: http://www.endthewar.org/feb15.htm - - - - - - - - - - - Buddhists For Peace Workshop: 'Anger' Sat 21 February As Buddhists we believe that... to make peace, our hearts must be at peace with the world. Can a person who is not happy, create peace ? Peace and happiness is there, it is our capacity to engage with it that is in question. Entry: Free/Donation. Venue: Sukhavati - 21 Sussex Way, Finsbury Park, London N7. More info: http://www.buddhistsforpeace.net Contact: buddhistsforpeace@yahoogroups.com - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: Vigil for Ash Wednesday and service Wed 25 Feb Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: Lakenheath Action Group http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - GrassRoots Opposition to War (GROW) Gathering Sat 13 - Sun 14 March A gathering of groups and individuals interested and involved in the GrassRoots Opposition to War Network. Venue: The Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham NG7 6HX Organised by GROW http://www.grow.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - First Anniversary Conference: Iraq, the Aftermath Sat 13 March, 10:30am - 5:00pm Hosted by Alice Mahon MP. Speakers include former UN arms inspector Scott Ritter. Organised by No War On Iraq Liaison. Supported by Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Muslim Association of Britain and a number of national trade unions. Venue: Regent Campus, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1 (Oxford Circus tube) Organised by No War on Iraq Liaison email: committee@no-war-on-iraq.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - Peace Education Network Day Conference Sat 13 March Workshop topics include the Abolition of War, music and peace, raising nuclear awareness in schools, the military and schools. Booking details from Ł20/Ł10 including lunch. Book by 27 February. Venue: Pax Christi, St Joseph’s, Watford Way, Hendon, London NW4 4TY http://www.paxchristi.org.uk/ - - - - - - - - - - - + + GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION + + Sat 20 March On the first anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq For more information please visit: http://www.unitedforpeace.org http://www.internationalanswer.org - - - - - - - - - - - 'Britain's role in the 21st Century: global peacebuilder or global policeman? Peace is cheaper and what people want' Ministry for Peace Conference Sat 3 April Venue: Friends House, Marylebone Road, London Organsied by: Ministry for Peace http://www.ministryforpeace.org.uk Contact: mail@ministryforpeace.org.uk - - - - - - - - - - - March: London to Aldermaston, Easter 2004 Stop the next generation of weapons of mass destruction! Fri 9 (Bank Holiday) - Mon 12 April The UK is now gearing up to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons at the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment near Reading. We plan to show how people feel about Britain preparing to build new weapons of mass destruction with a march from London to Aldermaston. Organised by CND, the Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp and local peace groups http://www.aldermaston2004.net contact: info@aldermaston2004.net - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: John Bugg Vigil (Footpath that goes through base was closed off) Wed 14 April Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: John Bugg memorial walk members http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: Reclaim the Footpaths! (and Vigil for those killed in Libya Bombing) Sun 25 April Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: Lakenheath Action Group http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: Peace Makers Ball! (Part of the Independance from American Bases Day) 4 July Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: Lakenheath Action Group http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: PEACE CAMP To commemorate Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings 6 - 9 Aug Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: Lakenheath Action Group http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org - - - - - - - - - - - 'RAF' Lakenheath: The Annual Lakenheath Action Group Weekend 3 - 4 Oct 3 Oct - Protest at main gates 4 Oct - Direct action day. Also NEEDED non-arrestable people! Where: 'RAF' Lakenheath (see site) Organised by: Lakenheath Action Group http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/ Contact: thepeaceforce@theatreofwar.org + + + + + + + + + Submit your event! Send details to: info@j-n-v.org Justice Not Vengeance http://ww.j-n-v.org For a list of regular events and vigils across the country, see: http://www.j-n-v.org/events.htm From info@j-n-v.org Fri Feb 13 18:15:58 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1Arhr3-0000XV-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 13 Feb 2004 18:15:57 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Fri, 13 Feb 2004 18:15:53 -0000 Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 18:15:52 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV update] New Anti-War Briefings & Resources Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all, Just a quick note to let you know that there are 2 new JNV Anti-War Briefings up on the site: 'BBC RIP?' and 'GILLIGAN 6:07' - extracts and links below. JNV have also produced a 'HUTTON WHITEWASH' badge. Check the JNV home page for a picture of the badge. http://www.j-n-v.org Email us if you would like to order some badges (Ł2.50 for 10 badges including p+p). Another new campaign resource hot off the press is the 'Iraq: Democracy Now' postcard to Tony Blair, asserting the right of the Iraqi people to elect their own government. Visit the JNV home page to view the postcard. http://www.j-n-v.org Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Valentines Day, Ro JNV - - - - - - - - - - - - - -NEW ANTI-WAR BRIEFINGS: JNV Anti-War Briefing 54 BBC RIP? The British Mass Media After The Hutton Report (Release date: 5 February 2004) DECAPITATING THE BBC? After Lord Hutton's criticisms of the performance of Andrew Gilligan, the Today programme, and the BBC, in the events leading up to the death of Dr David Kelly, the Director-General and the Chair of the BBC were both forced to resign, and the corporation has had to delay the publication of a key policy document defending the broadcaster's 10-year royal charter, its licence fee funding formula, and public service remit. (FT, 4 Feb. 2004, p. 3) 'One BBC journalist, looking around at his battered colleagues busy smearing themselves in ashes, said to me: "RIP the BBC".' (Alice Thomson, Telegraph, 30 Jan., p. 28)... Read the whole briefing: http://www.j-n-v.org/AW_briefings/JNV_briefing054.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Anti-War Briefing 55: 'GILLIGAN 6:07' Dr Kelly Was Not The Only Source For The Story (Release date: 5 February 2004) THE CHARGE AGAINST GILLIGAN... AND HIS EDITORS Peter Preston, former editor of the Guardian, writes, 'Of course the BBC got it wrong. Gilligan, those little demons driving him on, blathered an allegation too far.' But, 'this was one lone - and now unemployed - guy, out of nearly 4,000 BBC news division employees, talking off the cuff, letting a single sharp sliver of fact slide out of place on a bleary dawn when his editor was off duty, attending a wedding.' (Observer, 1 Feb., p. 21)... Read the whole briefing: http://www.j-n-v.org/AW_briefings/JNV_briefing055.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [END OF JNV UPDATE] From info@j-n-v.org Wed Feb 18 11:49:20 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AtQCe-0002or-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:49:20 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:49:14 -0000 Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:49:14 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV update] j-n-v.org back online Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear JNV Announce Subscribers, Due to server problems over the weekend the JNV site http://www.j-n-v.org was unavailable and many of you have mailed us to say that you were unable to link to the new briefings or the home page to see the 'Hutton Whitewash' badge or the 'Iraq Democracy Now' postcard mentioned in the previous JNV Update. This mail is just to let you know that site is now functional again, so please have another look if you were unable to get through over the weekend (links copied below). Best wishes and apologies for the hitch, Ro JNV - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - QUICK LINKS - - HUTTON badge + IRAQ DEMOCRACY postcards http://www.j-n-v.org JNV Anti-War Briefing 54: 'BBC RIP?' The British Mass Media After The Hutton Report http://www.j-n-v.org/AW_briefings/JNV_briefing054.htm Anti-War Briefing 55: 'GILLIGAN 6:07' Dr Kelly Was Not The Only Source For The Story http://www.j-n-v.org/AW_briefings/JNV_briefing055.htm From info@j-n-v.org Mon Mar 01 12:16:40 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AxmLa-000553-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 01 Mar 2004 12:16:34 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Mon, 01 Mar 2004 12:16:27 -0000 Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2004 12:16:26 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="--3B80EC6DFFA204E38D81EA7451AA7D54" Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=1.5 required=5.0 tests=HTML_FONTCOLOR_GREEN, HTML_FONT_BIG,HTML_MESSAGE,HTML_TAG_BALANCE_BODY, HTML_TAG_BALANCE_HTML autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: * Subject: [JNV Announce] Grassroots Anti-War Activists Conference Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ----3B80EC6DFFA204E38D81EA7451AA7D54 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----3B80EC6DFFA204E38D81EA7451AA7D54 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Received: from MailRunner.FreeParking.Com ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with ESMTP id IBA74075 for ; Fri, 27 Feb 2004 02:07:13 -0000 Received: from [207.35.205.45] (helo=freeparking.co.uk) by MailRunner.FreeParking.Com with esmtp (Exim 4.24 #1 (Debian)) id 1AwXO6-0000sY-IU; Thu, 26 Feb 2004 21:06:02 -0500 Received: from barahona ([82.35.134.2]) by freeparking.co.uk with MailEnable ESMTP; Thu, 26 Feb 2004 21:06:05 -0500 Message-ID: <022801c3fcd7$63a0da00$02862352@barahona> From: "Tom Hay" To: Subject: Invitation: Grassroots Anti-War Activists Conference Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 02:14:02 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0222_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0"; type="multipart/alternative" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0222_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_001_0223_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0" ------=_NextPart_001_0223_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable GROW Network Useful links=20 GROW website JNV (Justice Not Vengeance) Voices in the Wilderness Peace Not War CAMPACC Rising Tide Theatre of War Act Together Yorkshire CND Schnews Lakenheath Action Group Palestine Solidarity Campaign Index on Censorship Indymedia Liberty Colombia Solidarity Campaign Reclaim the Bases F.A.I.R Trident Ploughshares Institute of Race Relations Fairford Coach Action JustPeace d10 Islamic Human Rights Commission Women in Black Stop the War Coalition GROW Anti-War Activists Conference=20 12-14 March 2004=20 Objective=20 The second GROW Anti-War Activists Conference will bring together = members of groups opposing the US-led "war on terror" to share = information and skills, develop strategies, plan campaigns and = co-ordinate actions.=20 The "war on terror" is used as a pretext not only for = international aggression such as the attack on Iraq, but also for = defiance of international law, suppression of national liberation = struggles, victimisation of refugees and minority groups, and attacks on = civil rights. Groups active in these areas will be represented at the = conference.=20 Agenda=20 Friday 12th March (evening)=20 How can we stop the war on terror?=20 7:00pm Panel discussion with guest speakers=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - Saturday 13th March (all day)=20 Acting together: workshops & plenary discussions:=20 a.. A permanent state of terror ? Opposing the police state = (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities)=20 b.. Local strategy: thinking together for more effective = campaigning (GROW)=20 c.. Taking the direct action anti-war movement forwards (Pledge = of Resistance)=20 d.. Anti-war group "in a box": starting new local groups (GROW)=20 e.. Oil, War and Climate Change (Rising Tide)=20 f.. US/UK Counter-terrorism exercise 2005: building a campaign = (GROW)=20 Sessions will be highly interactive - bring along your best ideas = !=20 Music will be available in the evening at Nottingham Students = Union Peace Day.=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - Sunday 14th March (all day)=20 Developing GROW: workshops & plenary discussions:=20 a.. Review of principles / common ground=20 b.. Structure, representation, decision-making and media = relations=20 c.. Website: contributing content, suggesting services=20 d.. GROW: Regional and national networks, local activist groups = or both ?=20 e.. Next actions=20 Note: final agenda may differ from topics listed above.=20 Venue=20 The conference will be held at:=20 SUMAC Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham, NG7 6HX (map)=20 Delicious vegetarian food will be available at a special low price = - order when booking. There is also a caf=E9 and bar available at the = centre.=20 Booking=20 The conference costs =A312 waged, =A37 unwaged for the full = weekend.=20 The cost includes floor space for sleeping - bring a mat and = sleeping bag, and wrap up warm !=20 A weekend meal ticket is available for a special low cost of only = =A310 for 6 meals, but bookings must be received by Monday 8th March.=20 Conference: __ waged at =A312 __ unwaged at =A37 Meal ticket: = __ at =A310=20 Name______________________________________________________ Group______________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________ Addr. 2____________________________________________________ Addr. 3____________________________________________________ Telephone_______________ email______________________________ Please make cheques payable to GROW. Return to: GROW, 29 Gensing = Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. For further information, = call 0845 458 3116 or email info@grow.org.uk.=20 =20 If you would prefer not to receive any more GROW newsletters, = please email unsubscribe@grow.org.uk and put " Unsubscribe " in the = Subject line. =20 ------=_NextPart_001_0223_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable GROW Network
 
Useful links

GROW website

JNV (Justice Not = Vengeance)

Voices in the = Wilderness

Peace Not War

CAMPACC

Rising Tide

Theatre of War

Act Together

Yorkshire CND

Schnews

<= A=20 href=3D"http://www.motherearth.org/lakenheathaction/">Lakenheath = Action=20 Group

Palestine=20 Solidarity Campaign

Index=20 on Censorship

Indymedia

Liberty

Colombia Solidarity = Campaign

Reclaim=20 the Bases

F.A.I.R

Trident=20 Ploughshares

Institute of Race=20 Relations

Fairford Coach=20 Action

JustPeace

d10

Islamic Human Rights = Commission

Women in = Black

Stop the War=20 Coalition

 =20 GROW=20 Anti-War Activists Conference
12-14 March 2004

Objective

The second GROW Anti-War Activists Conference will bring = together=20 members of groups opposing the US-led =93war on terror=94 to share = information=20 and skills, develop strategies, plan campaigns and co-ordinate = actions.=20

The =93war on terror=94 is used as a pretext not only for = international=20 aggression such as the attack on Iraq, but also for defiance of=20 international law, suppression of national liberation struggles,=20 victimisation of refugees and minority groups, and attacks on = civil=20 rights. Groups active in these areas will be represented at the=20 conference.

Agenda
Friday 12th March (evening)

How can we stop the war on terror?

7:00pm Panel=20 discussion with guest speakers

Saturday 13th March (all day)

Acting together: workshops & plenary discussions: =

  • A permanent state of terror ? Opposing the police state = (Campaign=20 Against Criminalising Communities)=20
  • Local strategy: thinking together for more effective = campaigning=20 (GROW)=20
  • Taking the direct action anti-war movement forwards = (Pledge of=20 Resistance)=20
  • Anti-war group =93in a box=94: starting new local groups = (GROW)=20
  • Oil, War and Climate Change (Rising Tide)=20
  • US/UK Counter-terrorism exercise 2005: building a campaign=20 (GROW)

Sessions will be highly interactive =96 bring along your best = ideas !=20

Music will be available in the evening at Nottingham Students = Union=20 Peace Day.

Sunday 14th March (all day)

Developing GROW: workshops & plenary discussions: =

  • Review of principles / common ground=20
  • Structure, representation, decision-making and media = relations=20
  • Website: contributing content, suggesting services=20
  • GROW: Regional and national networks, local activist groups = or both=20 ?=20
  • Next actions

Note: final agenda may differ from topics listed above.

Venue

The conference will be held at:

SUMAC Centre, 245 = Gladstone=20 Street, Nottingham, NG7 6HX (map)=20

Delicious vegetarian food will be available at a special = low price=20 =96 order when booking. There is also a caf=E9 and bar available = at the=20 centre.

Booking

The conference costs =A312 waged, =A37 unwaged for the full = weekend.=20

The cost includes floor space for sleeping =96 bring a mat = and=20 sleeping bag, and wrap up warm !

A weekend meal ticket is=20 available for a special low cost of only =A310 for 6 meals, but = bookings=20 must be received by Monday 8th March.

Conference: __ waged = at =A312=20 __ unwaged at =A37      Meal ticket: = __ at =A310=20 =

Name______________________________________________________
Gro= up______________________________________________________
Address______= ______________________________________________
Addr.=20 2____________________________________________________
Addr.=20 = 3____________________________________________________
Telephone_______= ________=20 email______________________________


Please make cheques = payable=20 to GROW. Return to: GROW, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, = East Sussex=20 TN38 0HE. For further information, call 0845 458 3116 or email=20 info@grow.org.uk.

If you=20 would prefer not to receive any more GROW newsletters, please = email unsubscribe@grow.org.uk and = put=20 " Unsubscribe " in the Subject line.=20
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A6feuc1vi5SioJKmm3uPM9iDnjXUX/j3p1QKXFS1IPQgvq60x23ZzS8GxvWxu3pLLpysqUSon1z3 zWPh7H3sO/aZ8tm9Rk10DukbFY4lvWwp5SAEcwRgAeZNJ+7WtHNRHxoyW3AEkI+Ppn+9Vk+z7p0E +EqWhJ8g+qs2ybEaZt05mStl19TSgpAddUoAjscHpSai5xodhiMoxGCYz7O2Y2bRFsYWkBzwUlX3 PenmvKMwiOylttICUjAFetdoGBiaiFFFFOEKKKKIQoooohCiiiiEMUUUUQhisabCYmsqaktpWhQw QRWTRRCaK06VtFpUpUCCyyVHJ4IAya3iUgDp2r9oohCjFFFEIUUUUQhRRRRCGKKKKIQoxRRRCFFF FEIUUUUQn//Z ------=_NextPart_000_0222_01C3FCD7.5E355EB0-- ----3B80EC6DFFA204E38D81EA7451AA7D54-- From info@j-n-v.org Tue Mar 02 13:40:08 2004 Received: from ns2.studioiionline.com ([212.19.84.26]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1AyA7z-0002U9-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 02 Mar 2004 13:40:07 +0000 Received: from localhost ([]) by NS2.STUDIOIIONLINE.COM (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id IBA74075 for ; Tue, 02 Mar 2004 13:39:59 -0000 Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 13:39:58 +0000 From: JNV To: JNV Announce X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 4.1.9 X-Originating-IP: 82.35.32.130 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.61-sa_mythic (1.212.2.1-2003-12-09-exp) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.61-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Grassroots Anti-War Activists Conference Invitation [plain text] Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org X-Reply-To: info@j-n-v.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: ***UK only event - apologies to international subscribers*** Dear JNV Announce List Subscribers, Below is a plain text version of the invitation to the GrassRoots Opposition to War (GROW) Network Gathering - taking place in Nottingham from the 12th-14th March - that you were recently sent as an attachment via this list. We are resending this because a number of you have requested a plain text version as a safeguard against virus-containing attachments. Please accept our sincere apologies for the mail duplication. Please note that this mail is coming to you via the JNV Announce List: you have not been subscribed to any GROW email lists. JNV whole-heartedly supports the work that the GROW Network is doing to faciliate communication and cooperation between local grassroots anti-war organisations both in the UK and internationally and we hope that you will forgive us the additional mailing. Our thanks and best wishes, Ro JNV ----- GROW Invitation ----- You are cordially invited to attend the GROW Anti-War Activists' Conference 12-14 March 2004, at the SUMAC Centre, Nottingham NG7 6HX Objective The second GROW Anti-War Activists Conference will bring together members of groups opposing the US-led “war on terror” to share information and skills, develop strategies, plan campaigns and co-ordinate actions. The “war on terror” is used as a pretext not only for international aggression such as the attack on Iraq, but also for defiance of international law, suppression of national liberation struggles, victimisation of refugees and minority groups, and attacks on civil rights. Groups active in these areas will be represented at the conference. Agenda Friday 12th March (evening) How can we stop the war on terror? 7:00pm Panel discussion with guest speakers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 13th March (all day) Acting together: workshops & plenary discussions: A permanent state of terror? Opposing the police state (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities) Local strategy: thinking together for more effective campaigning (GROW) Taking the direct action anti-war movement forwards (Pledge of Resistance) Anti-war group “in a box”: starting new local groups (GROW) Oil, War and Climate Change (Rising Tide) US/UK Counter-terrorism exercise 2005: building a campaign (JNV/GROW) Sessions will be highly interactive – bring along your best ideas! Music will be available in the evening at Nottingham Students Union Peace Day. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 14th March (all day) Developing GROW: workshops & plenary discussions: Review of principles / common ground Structure, representation, decision-making and media relations Website: contributing content, suggesting services GROW: Regional and national networks, local activist groups or both ? Next actions Note: final agenda may differ from topics listed above. Venue The conference will be held at: SUMAC Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Nottingham, NG7 6HX: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=NG76HX Delicious vegetarian food will be available at a special low price – please order when booking. There is also a café and bar available at the centre. Booking The conference costs Ł12 waged / Ł7 unwaged for the full weekend. The cost includes floor space for sleeping – bring a mat and sleeping bag, and wrap up warm! A weekend meal ticket is available for a special low cost of only Ł10 for 6 meals, but bookings must be received by Monday 8th March. Conference: __ waged at Ł12 __ unwaged at Ł7 Meal ticket: __ at Ł10 Name______________________________________________________ Group______________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________ Addr. 2____________________________________________________ Addr. 3____________________________________________________ Telephone_______________ email______________________________ Please make cheques payable to 'GROW'. Return to: GROW, c/o JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HE. For further information, call 0845 458 3116 or email info@grow.org.uk Please visit GROW's web site: http://www.grow.org.uk From emma@drifting.demon.co.uk Thu Apr 22 12:12:43 2004 Received: from mail1.srv.poptel.org.uk ([213.55.4.13]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1BGc8I-0006WI-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Thu, 22 Apr 2004 12:12:42 +0100 Received: (qmail 22228 invoked from network); 22 Apr 2004 10:36:26 -0000 Received: from host213-1-28-209.webport.bt.net (HELO drifting.demon.co.uk) (213.1.28.209) by mail1.srv.poptel.org.uk with SMTP; 22 Apr 2004 10:36:26 -0000 Message-ID: <9NldKdIci6hAJwMD@drifting.demon.co.uk> Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 12:12:28 +0100 To: casi-analysis@lists.casi.org.uk, jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org From: Emma Sangster MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf-8;format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable User-Agent: Turnpike/6.01-U () X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] BBC's John Simpson refuses to speak at Iraq business conference Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: PRESS RELEASE Voices in the Wilderness UK [A] 22nd April 2004 Contact 0845 458 2564 or 07947 839 992 BBC'S JOHN SIMPSON REFUSES TO SPEAK AT IRAQ BUSINESS CONFERENCE Activists to protest at oil and arms trade-backed Iraq Procurement=20 Conference The BBC's World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, has refused to speak at a=20 business conference next week at which representatives from 300=20 companies - including Shell, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and US arms=20 manufacturer Raytheon - will meet members of the US-installed Iraqi=20 "government" to discuss 'the wide range of =E2=80=A6 opportunities availabl= e'=20 to make a profit out of the increasingly blood-soaked occupation of Iraq=20 [B]. Mr Simpson's agency had apparently forgotten to inform their=20 client, who only found out that he was listed on the conference web-site=20 [C] as the 'guest speaker' at the conference's 'four course [gala]=20 dinner with wine' yesterday afternoon, after Voices UK circulated a=20 press release urging him to pull out of the event. In an email to Voices UK, Mr Simpson explained that the moment he heard=20 his name was on the conference web-site he 'immediately rang the=20 organizers to make it clear there was no possibility of [his] taking=20 part.' 'I'd never accept an invitation to anything that was as=20 contentious as this,' he added. Voices spokesperson Gareth Evans said 'We are very pleased to learn that=20 John Simpson will not be speaking at this conference and that he was=20 unaware his name was being used by the event's organizers. John Simpson=20 was one of the few journalists to speak out against the devastating UN=20 sanctions on Iraq, so we are not surprised to learn that this "booking"=20 had nothing to do with him. We would urge any other public figures that=20 are approached to speak at this event over the coming week to similarly=20 decline.' Voices is one of a number of groups and individuals helping to organise=20 a protest to coincide with next Tuesday's conference dinner. Two suited=20 'pigs' bearing corporate logos will gorge themselves on a trough of=20 blood-stained banknotes at 6.30pm next Tuesday outside the London Hilton=20 on Park Lane to protest against the 'corporate feeding frenzy' taking=20 place at the business conference and dinner. The Hilton is the 'official=20 hotel of choice' for the conference. The protest, in support of the=20 rights of Iraqi workers and demanding 'reconstruction, not rip-off',=20 will also feature speakers from the Union of Unemployed Iraqis, the=20 Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq, and the Campaign Against Arms=20 Trade amongst others. For more info. contact 0845 458 2564 or 07947 839 992 NOTES [A] Voices in the Wilderness UK has been campaigning on Iraq for the=20 last six years. For more info. see www.voicesuk.org. [B] See www.iraqprocurement.com [C] See www.iraqprocurement.com/docs/agenda.htm --=20 Emma Sangster From maya@vitw.org Sat Apr 24 12:02:17 2004 Received: from ns1.lardns.com ([64.62.196.42] helo=s1.lardns.com) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1BHKvI-0002SY-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:02:16 +0100 Received: from cpanel by s1.lardns.com with local (Exim 4.24) id 1BHKvG-0007oI-1Q for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 24 Apr 2004 05:02:14 -0600 Received: from 217.44.165.222 ([217.44.165.222]) by vitw.org (IMP) with HTTP for ; Sat, 24 Apr 2004 05:02:13 -0600 Message-ID: <1082804533.408a4935de2be@vitw.org> Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 05:02:13 -0600 From: maya@vitw.org To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: Internet Messaging Program (IMP) 3.2.2 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.222 X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - s1.lardns.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - lists.j-n-v.org X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [32001 32001] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - vitw.org X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.3 required=5.0 tests=NO_REAL_NAME autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Falluja Protest Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Justice Not Vengeance 29 Gensing Road East Sussex TN36 0HE 0845 458 9571 The first Falluja massacre, one year on On the first anniversary of the massacre of 13 civilians in the Iraqi town of Falluja, while the recently besieged town remains under threat of assault by US marines, anti war group J-N-V is holding a vigil opposite Downing Street of protest and remembrance. Last year 13 civilians where massacred during a protest in Falluja where Iraqis were demanding US troops leave a school they were occupying. Among the dead was a 13-year-old boy. Controversy still shrouds the events as witnesses’ stories conflict with the official account. US troops claim they were fired at, however the evidence does not support this. Justice Not Vengeance are staging a street performance of the event. It presents both the official side of the story, journalists and eye witness accounts. For more details contact JNV on 0845 458 9571 www. j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Sat Aug 14 13:31:23 2004 Received: from smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.202]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1Bvxgx-00038z-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 14 Aug 2004 13:31:23 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO EveshamTFT) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.165 with poptime) by smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 14 Aug 2004 12:30:52 -0000 Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 13:31:00 +0100 To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org From: Milan Rai Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera7.23/Win32 M2 build 3227 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Najaf Briefing and Emergency London Demo Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends Please find here a new briefing about Najaf, and notification of an emergency Voices/Iraq Occupation Focus demonstration tomorrow, 12-2pm, Downing Street, in London. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV ----------- NAJAF: Bush Ignited This Insurgency, Not Muqtada al-Sadr JNV Anti-War Briefing 61 (13 Aug. 2004) ASSAULTING THE SHIA MAJORITY The United States has launched a war against a large part of the Iraqi people. It is the Bush Administration’s desire for total domination, not the militancy of Shia insurgents, that has triggered this latest uprising. The US is trying to tame the Shia majority. At the time of writing, US forces have surrounded the most holy site in Shia Islam, the Imam Ali mosque in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, after eight days of fierce fighting with the forces of Muqtada al-Sadr, reportedly leaving hundreds dead. Elsewhere, ‘US air strikes and fighting on the ground in the [largely Shia] Iraqi city of Kut have left 72 people dead and about 150 injured,’ according to the interim Iraqi government. (BBC News Online, 12 Aug.) ‘British troops [have also] fought fierce battles with militants in Amara and Basra... British toops launched an offensive overnight on Tuesday [10 Aug.] against Shia fighters in the southern town of Amara, killing 10 of them, the militiamen said. Hospital officials in the town said four civilians had also died.’ (Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 12) ‘The purpose was to regain control of al-Amarah,’ said Squadron Leader Spike Wilson, British forces spokesperson. (‘British troops kill 10’, Times, 12 Aug.) Control is what it’s all about. NEXT STOP: SADR CITY, BAGHDAD ‘One of the biggest challenges to the interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, is to stamp his authority on the capital. Sadr City, as the Shia suburb in north-east Baghdad is known, has increasingly started to ressemble 1980s Beirut. Scores have died in the past week as American tanks and fighter aircraft have fought the insurgents.’ (Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 12) Adrian Blomfield of the Telegraph visited Sadr City: ‘That civilians are being killed by US troops is not in doubt. In a pool of blood on a hospital operating room floor yesterday, doctors were battling to save the life of six-year-old Ali Hussain—shot in the belly’ by soldiers in a US tank. The doctors said, ‘We have had at least 20 dead brought in today.’ (Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 12) Mehdi Nouri, a shopkeeper in Sadr City, said: ‘The Americans can never win us back now. The Americans are frightened of ordinary Iraqi people, that is why they hate us. We are frightened of them, that is why we hate them. In such a situation we can only see death and more deaths. We are begging the Americans to leave.’ (Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 12) ALLAWI SERVES WASHINGTON This is a US assault on Najaf. ‘Iraqi government troops are also involved, though their participation may be largely for political reasons—not least to signal that this is an operation that has the full backing of Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.’ (Jonathan Marcus, Diplomatic Correspondent, BBC News Online, 12 Aug.) ‘Iyad Allawi, the interim prime minister, has laid his credibility on the line by promising total destruction of [Sadr’s] Mahdi army.’ (Telegraph, 12 Aug., p. 12) However, ‘Ibrahim al-Jaafari, one of Iraq’s two vice-presidents and leader of the biggest Shia party, the Da’awa, yesterday [11 Aug.] said US troops should stop fighting in Najaf and leave the job to Iraqi security forces.’ (Guardian, 12 Aug., p. 3) Jaafari ‘has topped opinion polls as Iraq’s most popular politician’ earlier this year. (FT, 12 Aug., p. 7) THE US STARTED THIS UPRISING, NOT SADR ‘A diplomatic source in Baghdad said yesterday that it was unclear why the cleric was leading the bloody uprising, the second that he has instigated in four months.’ (‘British troops kill 10’, Times, 12 Aug.) Media reporting has done its best to obscure the origins of the violence. The simple truth is that, as in the case of the first ‘Sadr uprising’, this violence has been ‘instigated’ not by Shia militants, but by the United States. Go back to the beginning, 2 Aug.: ‘US forces in Iraq went on the offensive against two Islamist political groups yesterday [2 Aug.], arresting an influential Sunni cleric in Baghdad and breaking a two-month ceasefire with followers of Shia radical Moqtada al-Sadr, based in Kufa. Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, a spokesman for Mr Sadr in Baghdad, told journalists that US soldiers had surrounded Mr Sadr’s house. Reuters news agency quoted witneses saying that US forces had moved into Mr Sadr’s neighbourhood in Kufa, next to Najaf, and were exchanging fire with members of Mr Sadr’s Shia militia, the Mehdi Army.’ (FT, 3 Aug., p. 9) Interestingly, despite later denials, it was clear in first reports that the mission was to arrest Sadr: ‘The US military says an Iraqi arrest warrant has been issued for Sadr in relation to the killing of a rival cleric in Najaf last year.’ The Independent also noted that ‘during truce negotiations earlier this year, Iraqi officials said Sadr would not face arrest.’ (Independent, 3 Aug., p. 25) Another lie. A few days later Sabah Khadim, a senior adviser to the Allawi government, indirectly confirmed that arresting Sadr is a priority: ‘Asked whether Mr Sadr would be arrested, Mr Khadim said: “We don’t know exactly where he is, but we will fight all criminals. It does not matter how big they are.’ (Guardian, 7 Aug., p. 1) The 2 Aug. raid was followed by ‘days of mounting tension during which Mr Sadr’s supporters seized 18 Iraqi police officers in response to the arrest of several of the cleric’s senior aides.’ Full-scale violence in Najaf came on 4 Aug. (Guardian, 6 Aug., p. 2) It wasn’t until 5 Aug. that ‘Militants linked to the firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr declared holy war on British forces’. In Basra, British forces had arrested four Sadr supporters on 3 Aug. Fighting broke out on 5 Aug. ‘after the expiry of a noon deadline to release them.’ (Telegraph, 6 Aug., p. 14) All this is very like the start of the spring ‘Sadr uprising’, which was triggered ‘after the US-led occupation authorities closed his newspaper, arrested a key aide and called for his arrest over the killing of a moderate Shia leader.’ (BBC News Online, 16 June) On 5 Aug., a Sadr spokesperson in Amara said of this latest violence, quite accurately, ‘The ceasefire is over because of the actions of the occupation forces.’ (Telegraph, 6 Aug., p. 14) SADR CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE Despite all this, on the same day, ‘a spokesman for Mr Sadr called for the restoration of a truce agreed in June between Mr Sadr’s forces and US troops.’ (FT, 6 Aug., p. 5) The governor of Najaf, Adnan al-Zurufi, responded to this appeal with the statement that, ‘There is no compromise or room for another truce.’ (Times, 7 Aug., p. 18) A US diplomat said, ‘This is one battle we really do feel we can win.’ (Telegraph, 7 Aug., p. 12) No more ceasefires. The reason Sadr wants a ceasefire is because he wants to become part of the political process. As part of the first truce, ‘Mr Sadr issued a statement calling on his men who are not from Najaf to “do their duty” and go home... [and] announced he would set up a political party to contest elections next year.’ (‘Sadr orders militia to quit Najaf’, BBC News Online, 16 June) The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Baghdad suggested that the order for non-resident fighters to leave Najaf might be ‘a tentative step to secure a place in a future Iraqi government.’ Sadr ‘urged supporters not attack Iraqi security forces, and said the recently formed interim government was a opportunity to “build a unified Iraq”.’ (‘Sadr orders militia to quit Najaf’, BBC News Online, 16 June) Sadr was no longer calling the interim government a puppet of the US; he was preparing for political, not military, mobilisation. It is precisely the political strength of the Shia majority that the Allawi government and the Bush Administration fear and wish to destroy. That is why they launched the raid to capture Sadr. That is why they are willing to invade Najaf and kill hundreds. That is why they are assaulting Shia communities all over Iraq. It is not Sadr’s guns, but his votes that pose a threat to US domination. Elections (even the national assembly conference) cannot be held until the opposition has been co-opted or crushed. Private Lee O’Callaghan, who was killed in fighting in Basra on 9 Aug. was due to return to the UK the following week. His aunt, Margaret Evans, said, ‘My message to Tony Blair is we should not be there. Why are we in Iraq? My message would be, get the rest of the kids out.’ (Telegraph, 11 Aug., p. 10) --------- EMERGENCY VIGIL: Stop the killing in Iraq, End the occupation! WHEN: Sunday, 15 August, Noon-2pm WHERE: 10 Downing Street, Central London Called by Iraq Occupation Focus and Voices in the Wilderness UK. Speakers to include Jeremy Corbyn MP and Haifa Zangana. Densely-populated Iraqi cities are under fire from US-UK forces. On Thursday, more than 75 Iraqis were killed in the US bombardment of Kut. British troops have killed at least twenty in their assault on Amara. The attack on Najaf, led by US warplanes, has been condemned by public opinion across Iraq. Sixteen members of Najaf's 30 member provincial council have resigned in protest at the assault. In the last 48 hours, hundreds of Iraqis - including many civilians - have been killed by occupying forces in the cities of Najaf, Kut, Sadr City, Sammara, Nasiriya, Amara, Basra, Ramadi and elsewhere. The occupiers are the problem, not the solution. Stop the slaughter! For more information contact: Iraq Occupation Focus: Munir Chalabi 07952 683415 Liz Davies 07958 673840 iraqfocus@riseup.net www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk Voices in the Wilderness Gabriel Carlyle 0845 458 2564 voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk www.voicesuk.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Mon Aug 16 10:42:57 2004 Received: from smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.199]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1Bwe13-0003ah-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 16 Aug 2004 10:42:57 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO EveshamTFT) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.155.12.105 with poptime) by smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 16 Aug 2004 09:42:26 -0000 Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 10:42:42 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: Milan Rai Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera7.23/Win32 M2 build 3227 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Allawi at the Labour Party Conference Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Allawi to visit Labour Party Conference 2) Anti-war public meeting at Labour Party Conference 3) Newspaper reports of Allawi visit 4) Allawi profile - Seymour Hersh 5) Allawi executes six prisoners - links Dear friends, 1) Allawi to visit Labour Party Conference Yesterday's Sunday Times and today's Financial Times report that Iyad Allawi, interim prime minister of Iraq, is being invited to address the Labour Party Conference in Brighton at the end of September. Allawi is a former Ba'athist thug who helped Saddam get into power, conducted a car bomb terrorist campaign in Baghdad in the mid-90s, and was recently reported by one of Australia's top journalists to have shot dead six prisoners in police custody. He's also a former agent of MI6 and the CIA. (See 4 and 5 below.) (JNV is putting together a profile of Allawi and his rise to power.) The fact that this invitation has been reported means that it is very likely to happen. (A) Often these things are reported as 'being thought about' when they have actually been decided. (B) If it doesn't happen now, they will look scared of the anti-war movement. Allawi's visit is an opportunity for the anti-war movement to mobilise against the continuing war against the people of Iraq. Please ask any national anti-war/peace organisations you are connected with to hold/coordinate an anti-war protest at the conference. 2) Anti-war public meeting at Labour Party Conference Labour's Annual Conference takes place this year at the Brighton Centre, Brighton from 26-30 September 2004. So far, the only visible anti-war event we've found is a public meeting: Sunday 26 September 2004 (7.30 – 9pm) LABOUR AGAINST THE WAR at Labour Party Conference Fringe. Venue: Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton. Speakers: Alan Simpson MP, Tony Benn, Dr Glen Rangwala, Jo Wilding (Iraq eye witness). For activists in the south-east the least we can do is support this event. 3) Newspaper reports of Allawi visit > Blair defies party critics with invite to Iraqi PM Andrew Porter and Hala Jaber, The Sunday Times, August 15, 2004 TONY BLAIR plans to invite Iyad Allawi, Iraq’s new prime minister, to address the Labour conference next month, in a move that will defy critics of the war in his own party. It had been expected that Labour strategists would try to skirt round the issue of Iraq, which has left many of the party’s rank and file disillusioned with their leader. Allawi’s presence in Brighton will be seen as a signal that Blair intends to tackle the most difficult crisis of his 10-year leadership head on. If he accepts the invitation from Blair, it is expected that he will be a keynote speaker at either the debate on foreign affairs or at the final session on September 30. Blair is keen to convince sceptics that he was right to sanction military action to get rid of Saddam. A senior Labour party source said: “We are trying to get Allawi, although no final decision has been taken. There are a number of factors still at play but he is at the top of our list to speak. “It will surprise many people both inside and outside the party, but it is something that has been thought about a lot.” > Iraqi PM may address Labour Jean Eaglesham, Political Correspondent, Financial Times, 16 August 2004, p. 2 ... The move is being considered by Labour's leadership in spite of calls for the prime minister to appease his critics for the sake of party unity in the run-up to the general election. ...the plan to invite Mr Allawi to next month's conference shows the prime minister's determination to confront the issue of Iraq head-on. A decision on the invitation has not yet been taken, reflecting in part the logistical and security issues involved. But insiders confirmed the conference organisers hoped to secure Mr Allawi as a keynote speaker. 4) Allawi profile 'PLAN B', Seymour Hersh, New Yorker, 28 June 2004 The White House has yet to deal with Allawi’s past. His credentials as a neurologist, and his involvement during the past two decades in anti-Saddam activities, as the founder of the British-based Iraqi National Accord, have been widely reported. But his role as a Baath Party operative while Saddam struggled for control in the nineteen-sixties and seventies— Saddam became President in 1979—is much less well known. “Allawi helped Saddam get to power,” an American intelligence officer told me. “He was a very effective operator and a true believer.” Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former C.I.A. case officer who served in the Middle East, added, “Two facts stand out about Allawi. One, he likes to think of himself as a man of ideas; and, two, his strongest virtue is that he’s a thug.” Early this year, one of Allawi’s former medical-school classmates, Dr. Haifa al-Azawi, published an essay in an Arabic newspaper in London raising questions about his character and his medical bona fides. She depicted Allawi as a “big husky man . . . who carried a gun on his belt and frequently brandished it, terrorizing the medical students.” Allawi’s medical degree, she wrote, “was conferred upon him by the Baath party.” Allawi moved to London in 1971, ostensibly to continue his medical education; there he was in charge of the European operations of the Baath Party organization and the local activities of the Mukhabarat, its intelligence agency, until 1975. “If you’re asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does,” Vincent Cannistraro, the former C.I.A. officer, said. “He was a paid Mukhabarat agent for the Iraqis, and he was involved in dirty stuff.” A cabinet-level Middle East diplomat, who was rankled by the U.S. indifference to Allawi’s personal history, told me early this month that Allawi was involved with a Mukhabarat “hit team” that sought out and killed Baath Party dissenters throughout Europe. (Allawi’s office did not respond to a request for comment.) At some point, for reasons that are not clear, Allawi fell from favor, and the Baathists organized a series of attempts on his life. The third attempt, by an axe-wielding assassin who broke into his home near London in 1978, resulted in a year-long hospital stay. LINKS FOR 1) Allawi executes six prisoners: or 2) Allawi profile by Sydney Morning Herald: or -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Fri Aug 27 19:33:57 2004 Received: from [82.108.68.205] (helo=NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C0lXv-0007GP-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 27 Aug 2004 19:33:55 +0100 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Fri, 27 Aug 2004 19:33:20 +0100 Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 19:33:19 +0100 From: "JNV" To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.0 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.204 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="--E2C04B9E298DF5848E002F7234A516C0" X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=1.2 required=5.0 tests=MIME_MISSING_BOUNDARY autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: * Subject: [JNV Announce] Impeach Blair - Excellent Report Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ----E2C04B9E298DF5848E002F7234A516C0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dear friends You may have seen reports the last few days of a move to try to impeach Tony Blair, on the grounds that he misled Parliament. MPs from the Scottish Nationalists, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrats and the Tories have joined the call. It won't succeed in damaging Blair's position in Parliament, but the impeachment campaign could be a useful educational tool - if we use it. An excellent report has been put together by anti-war academics Glen Rangwala (exposer of the 'dodgy dossier') and Dan Plesch, documenting Blair's lies to Parliament. Highly recommended, the report can be downloaded from Summary from the introduction to the report below. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV ********************** A Case to Answer: SUMMARY The report finds that there is strong evidence that the Prime Minister committed his support to President Bush for an invasion of Iraq in 2002. He did this in the knowledge that the US administration had already decided to oust Saddam Hussein, regardless of any progress on the issue of Iraq's weapons (section 4). The first chapter of the report examines the statements and actions of the Prime Minister from September 2001 to August 2004 relating to Iraq. In particular, it finds that the Prime Minister: - exaggerated the condition of Iraq's illicit weapons well beyond the assessments of the intelligence services or the United Nations inspectors. He asserted in early 2002 that Iraq had 'stockpiles of major amounts of chemical and biological weapons', whilst the assessment of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time was that Iraq 'may have hidden small quantities of agents and weapons' (section 1.1); - claimed that 'Saddam Hussein poses a severe threat not just to the region, but to the wider world' and had 'enough chemical and biological weapons remaining to devastate the entire Gulf region', whilst the intelligence assessment was that 'Saddam has not succeeded in seriously threatening his neighbours' (section 1.2); - asserted that the 'UN proved' he had chemical and biological weapons because they were unaccounted for, in contrast to the warning by the executive chairman of UNMOVIC Hans Blix that 'One must not jump to the conclusion that they [weapons that were unaccounted for] exist' (section 1.3); - claimed that Iraq's 'WMD programme is active, detailed and growing', even though he later admitted to the Butler review team that intelligence showed that 'what had changed was not the pace of Iraq's prohibited weapons programmes, which had not been dramatically stepped up' (section 1.4). - insisted that the invasion of Iraq was lawful because Iraq had committed a 'material breach' of Security Council Resolution 1441 by not cooperating with inspectors, even though Hans Blix told the Security Council that 'the numerous initiatives, which are now taken by the Iraqi side with a view to resolving some long-standing open disarmament issues, can be seen as 'active', or even 'proactive' ' (section 1.5). - claimed after the invasion that 'our intelligence' had confirmed that Iraq's 'two mobile biological weapons facilities' were part of a larger set of such facilities, even though intelligence had yet to examine the trailers, and then found them unconnected to biological weapons programmes (section 1.6); - held back crucial information from intelligence sources that indicated that Iraq had destroyed its weapons stockpile (section 2.1); - failed to ensure that intelligence sources were adequately checked, even when straightforward measures could have been taken to check those sources (section 2.2); - claimed that the intelligence available to him was 'extensive, detailed and authoritative', even though he had been briefed by the Chief of MI6 about how key sources should be treated with caution (section 2.3); - did not reveal the intelligence assessment in his possession that Iraq would be unlikely to use chemical or biological weapons outside its territory unless attacked first, despite the significance of this assessment (section 2.4); - declared that the Iraqi declaration of December 2002 was 'false', even though he had not asked for that declaration to be analysed fully by the intelligence services (section 2.5); - warned that 'it is a matter of time unless we act and take a stand before terrorism and weapons of mass destruction come together', even though the intelligence assessment was that the 'greatest terrorist threat to Western interests … would be heightened by military action against Iraq', and the government was later forced to admit that 'the JIC assessed that any collapse of the Iraqi regime would increase the risk of chemical and biological warfare technology or agents finding their way in to the hands of terrorists, and that the Prime Minister was aware of this' (section 2.6); - claimed in March 2003 that the contents of the September dossier 'still accurately reflect our assessment of the position with regard to Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes', even though those inspectors found a large number of the claims in it to be false (section 3.1); - affirmed in January 2004 that 'the intelligence we received [prior to the war] is correct', even though the intelligence services had raised doubts about at least four key sources from at least six months earlier (section 3.2); and - gave his support to the then chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee in interfering with the compilation of a report by the Iraq Survey Group, with the aim of preventing the extent of past mistakes from being made public (section 3.3). End of Summary -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance info@j-n-v.org landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Tue Aug 31 15:26:56 2004 Received: from [82.108.68.205] (helo=NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C29b3-0007sJ-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:26:53 +0100 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:26:18 +0100 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 15:26:18 +0100 From: "JNV" To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.0 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.52 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] The Sistani Puzzle: Did He Collude With US Assault On Najaf? Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends We hope you find this useful. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV The Sistani Puzzle Did The Grand Ayatollah Collude With The US Assault On Najaf? Blunder or conspiracy? There are at least three possible accounts of the origins of the recent Najaf conflict. Uncovering the truth requires a close scrutiny of the behaviour of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, now feted as the peace-bringer of Najaf. The standard Western media rendering is that (for some unknown reason) militant Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decided to launch an uprising against the US occupation on 5 August This flies in the face of the fact that, as the Financial Times reported, it was US forces that 'went on the offensive' against al-Sadr's group, 'breaking a two-month ceasefire with followers of Shia radical Moqtada al-Sadr' by surrounding al-Sadr's home in Kufa, next to Najaf, sparking an exchange fire with members of al-Sadr's militia.' (FT, 3 August, p. 9) And this took place on 2 August, three days before the Mehdi Army assault on Najaf police station which is usually reported as the beginning of hostilities. US officials claimed that the 2 August incident in Kufa was not a raid on al-Sadr's house: 'Until we learn the side streets, we won't know where Sadr lives. And until we do, we'll run into things,' said Lt. Mike Wyrsch of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which had taken 'command' of the area only two days before the incident. On the other hand, according to Ahmed Sheybani, al-Sadr's spokesman in Najaf, 'They passed the barriers, surrounded the house and tried to enter.' (Knight Ridder, 3 August, ) The 'blunder' explanation does not explain why, on the same day as the Marines 'ran into' al-Sadr's house, US forces also 'went on the offensive' against a Sunni Islamist political group, 'arresting an influential Sunni cleric in Baghdad'. (FT, 3 August, p. 9) It also does not explain why a few days earlier, US forces (with some token Iraqi security forces, raided the home of al-Sadr's representative in the holy city of Karbala, arresting both Sheikh Mithal al-Hasnawi and his brother. (The Australian, 31 July, ) Following 2 August, there were 'days of mounting tension' as 'several of the cleric's senior aides' in the Najaf area were arrested, and the Mehdi Army in Najaf 'seized 18 Iraqi police officers in response'. (Guardian, 6 August, p. 2) Before and after 2 August, there was a pattern of harassment against al-Sadr (and at least one other Islamist opposition group). The 2 August incident in Kufa was almost certainly a deliberate attempt to seize al-Sadr. A local initiative? Where was the decision taken to escalate the violence in Najaf? Let us turn to the second major turning point in the conflict, the decision on 5 August to send US forces into areas of Najaf they were excluded from under the terms of the June ceasefire. An account in the New York Times has it that Marine officers in Najaf 'said they turned a firefight with al-Sadr's forces on August 5 into a eight-day pitched battle - without the approval of the Pentagon or senior Iraqi officials.' Because of Mahdi Army resistance slowing them down in Najaf's cemetery, 'the politics of war' eventually took over 'and the U.S. force had lost the opportunity to storm al-Sadr's troops around the mosque.' What the Marines had hoped would be 'a quick, decisive action' 'bogged down into a stalemate'. A sequence of events that is 'strikingly reminiscent of the battle of Fallujah in April': 'In both cases, newly arrived Marine units immediately confronted guerrillas in firefights that quickly escalated. And in both cases, the U.S. military failed to achieve its strategic goals, pulling back after the political costs of the confrontation rose.' The Marines told the New York Times 'that they engaged al-Sadr's forces at the request of the local Iraqi police': 'They did not seek approval from more senior military commanders or from Iraqi political leaders, with the exception of the governor of Najaf.' (18 Aug, reprinted in the Indianapolis Star ) Sistani's curious timing - departure One of the difficulties for this account is the apparent complicity of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who left at this crucial juncture for medical treatment for his heart in London. 'US tanks and armour, led for the first time by Iraqi security forces, rolled into Najaf [on 5 August], hours after Ayatollah Sistani left the city... By the time Ayatollah Sistani had reached Heathrow, having changed planes in Beirut, a full-scale battle that raged for seven days and seven nights was unstoppably under way.' [Sunday Telegraph, 15 August, p. 18] Professor Juan Cole, one of the most perceptive commentators on Iraq, suggested on 7 August that US forces had 'spirited' al-Sistani out of Najaf to pave the way for an assault on al-Sadr. Cole notes that 'Al-Hayat reports that Sistani's reason for leaving at this juncture was to remove himself from the scene of the fighting and to lift the mantle of his authority from the Sadrist movement', permitting the assault. The FT noted there had been 'a whispering campaign among the Sadrists that he colluded in a plan to finish off Mr Sadr.' (28/29 August, p. 10) 'One US commander, Major David Holahan [executive officer, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment], said of al-Sistani's departure: "A lot of people think it is the green light for us to do what we have to do." ' (Sunday Times, 15 August, p. 19.) A US officer, perhaps Major Holahan again, said as Sistani returned to Najaf three weeks later to end the fighting, 'There was a lot of thought that he had left the country originally to give us a chance to take control of the situation. Now he is coming back to help us find a solution, possibly a peaceful result. But the end result is, he wants us to help disband the Mahdi Army.' (D. Filkins, 'Week in Review', NYT, 29 August ) On 12 August, Juan Cole noted, 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat says today that Sistani will not need a heart operation, and that his clogged arteries will be treated by coronary angioplasty (inflating a balloon in them).' The Times of London remarked on the strange decision 'to go to London for minor surgery that could have been performed in Baghdad.' (27 August, p. 27) Residents of the Amir neighbourhood of Najaf had already condemned the ayatollah: Shakir Qassim, 25, said, 'Sistani escaped from Najaf. There are more hospitals in Baghdad to treat the same disease but he escaped to save himself.' Safa Abdel Zahra, 20, agreed: 'Sistani escaped from Iraq because he was afraid. There are hospitals [in Iraq] that can treat him. At the end he is a coward.' The Financial Times noted that, 'Popular anger has been deepened by the fact that Mr Sistani went to London rather than Iran, where he was born, or Lebanon, home to one of the Arab world's largest Shia minorities.' (26 August, p. 9) Sistani's curious timing - return 'He has shown an uncanny sense of timing. In the days leading up to [the peace deal], some Iraqis were tearing up photos of al-Sistani in the streets of Najaf, out of anger that he hadn't saved the city. But on the day that al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia left the shrine, [some] Iraqis called al-Sistani's timing perfect, saying he had intervened while al-Sadr was surrounded by U.S. and Iraqi forces and would have to respond to his peace plan...' (Knight Ridder, 27 August ) 'He picked his moment carefully, waiting until the Americans had tightened the tourniquet to the point where the militias were effectively outflanked and cornered. His silence in the three weeks since the fighting began [and his absence in London] had begun to strain the loyalty of his aides. It was deliberate - Ayatollah al-Sistani wants Hojatoleslam al-Sadr down as well as out: out of Najaf, in conditions that diminish him. That means wresting back control of the shrine by the Marjaiyah - the traditional combined leadership of Iraq's four ayatollahs - while being seen also to have distanced US forces from the city and brought an end to the fighting.' (Times, 27 August, p. 27) Sistani was out of the way. Where were the other three ayatollahs during the fighting? 'A German diplomat probed his British counterpart on the significance of the absence of all four grand ayatollahs from Najaf at the same time. There was no senior religious figure who could stop the conflict with a single call to negotiate. "It's entirely a coincidence," said one Western envoy.' (Sunday Telegraph, 15 August, p. 18) Some coincidence. 'In all likelihood, the American operation to expel the Mahdi Army from the shrine could never have gone forward without the sanction of some very powerful Iraqi leaders - including Ayatollah Sistani himself.' When he did return, offering a truce, the Ayatollah apparently agreed that force could be used in the shrine itself against al-Sadr's militia: 'If Mr. Sadr did not back down, American officials said, Ayatollah Sistani assured them that he would support a storming of the shrine by Iraqi troops.' (D. Filkins, 'Week in Review', NYT, 29 August ) Sistani, Allawi, al-Sadr - and the US assault The Sistani peace deal for Najaf is generally regarded as increasing the ayatollah's influence while diminishing that of interim prime minister Iyad Allawi. True, but not quite so simple. 'The reassertion of Mr Sistani's authority over Najaf is crucial for the Allawi government and for the US. With much of the Sunni heartland out of American or Iraqi government control, the Bush administration has relied on the ageing cleric - and changed its plans for political transition in accordance with his wishes - to keep Iraq's Shias from rising up against the occupation.' (FT, 26 August, p. 9) The US assault on Najaf seems to have been a gamble decided on in Washington, perhaps coordinated with the Allawi government, certainly agreed with Iraq's four ayatollahs. Not a 'blunder', but a colossal miscalculation, by everyone, including the Grand Ayatollah, who wants an end to both the occupation and the al-Sadr phenomenon. -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Sep 01 16:54:03 2004 Received: from smtp802.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.139]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C2XQx-0002C0-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 01 Sep 2004 16:54:03 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.209 with poptime) by smtp802.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 1 Sep 2004 15:53:31 -0000 Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2004 16:53:30 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] 1000 arrested in protests at Republican National Convention Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 900 protesters arrested during march toward Garden Across midtown and lower Manhattan, protesters and police clash, sparking chaos during rush hour civil unrest This story was reported by Daryl Khan, Lindsay Faber, Luis Perez, Sean Gardiner, Indrani Sen, Rocco Parascandola, Glenn Thrush, Wil Cruz, Marshand Boone, Tomoeh Murakami Tse, Galia Garcia-Palafox, and Newsday, September 1, 2004 http://tinyurl.com/42gew Waves of protesters clashed with police across midtown and lower Manhattan last night, resulting in at least 900 arrests. The chaos began in the midst of rush hour, as commuters tried to make their way home and security around Madison Square Garden tightened for convention speeches by first lady Laura Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The disorder took place on a day that anarchist groups had marked for civil disobedience. At Bryant Park, tensions erupted at 6 p.m. when a dispute over a banner sparked rough-and-tumble verbal and physical encounters between marchers and police on and around the steps of the public library. Meanwhile, at Ground Zero, a controversial police dragnet at Church and Vesey streets swept up 200 marchers minutes after about 500 of them left on their way to a "die-in." Earlier, with dusk descending, the chaos at Bryant Park began when police pounced on two men unfurling a black-and-pink banner. Hundreds of protesters immediately unfurled their own banners, chanting, "Let them go." Police threw a woman to the ground. The crowd surrounded the officers, chanting, "The Whole World is Watching." "It was unbelievable," said Cyndy Bruce, 26, of Chicago. "This is a public space. The officer said, 'You can't hang it but you can hold it.' As soon as they held it up, the officers swarmed in. They incited this violence. Not us." "It feels like a tactic of fear they're trying to instill in us like they're nervous and they feel the need to start controlling people," said Courtney Arnold, 27, of Babylon. Minutes after the crowd gathered, police in phalanx formation linked arms. As scuffles broke out, police strung orange netting and appeared to be preparing to make hundreds of arrests. They relented on the arrest plan at 7 p.m., as people began to move to Herald Square. Six people blocked 42nd Street. Police rushed them with scooters, tackled them and loaded them into a van. Meanwhile, at Ground Zero - a touchstone symbol in this year's presidential race - a peaceful march turned sour as police strung orange nets at Vesey and Church streets, corralling 200 people including journalists and onlookers. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly blamed the Ground Zero arrests on march organizers "reneging on an agreement not to block traffic" and "failing to walk on sidewalk instead of street." But many detainees told reporters they were not aware of the rules. "They said as long as you observe the red lights, it shouldn't be a problem," said Bob Curley, who was arrested with his son. "Then we walked off the sidewalk and across the street and that was the end." Police filled five busloads of detainees as people screamed, "Arrest George Bush." "We are fighting against our own people, we have our own people against us," said Stephanie Lobello, 21, a tattoo artist from Flushing. "There is no freedom in this country." **** East Village church serves as base for activists By MICHAEL GANNON THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: September 1, 2004) http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/090104/a0601gopstmarks.html NEW YORK — Someone asking passers-by for money on an East Village corner isn't all that unusual, but Emerson Running Sky's request yesterday wasn't the run-of-the-mill query for loose change for a slice of pizza. "We need to raise $200,000 to bail him out," Running Sky, 35, explained to a young man who stopped to listen to the plea made on behalf of Yusuke "Josh" Banno, arrested Sunday at the massive United for Peace and Justice march. "He didn't do anything. It could have been you or me." Banno was among those who were arrested when protesters set a papier-machĂŠ dragon's head on fire. His supporters say he had nothing to do with the incident. Such was the scene at St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery Episcopal Church, which has this week become home base for the thousands of young protesters and activists who have descended on the city to counter the Republican National Convention. And while the 205-year-old church has long been in symmetry with the East Village's bohemian culture, this week it has again blossomed with a spirit and culture of activism not seen in some time, perhaps since the days when Allen Ginsberg and Robert Lowell read poetry there, said Frank Morales, the church's assistant pastor. "We're trying to do what we feel we're called to do as a church, and that is support our ministry of social justice," said Morales, 55, who grew up in the neighborhood. Morales, a hipster of a priest clad in all black — sans clerical collar — with a tuft of grey beard sprouting from his chin, is St. Mark's unofficial host, coordinating schedules and providing space for the variety of programs that set up shop there. They range from the artistic to the practical. Each night, a group of artisans is using one of the church's two courtyards to read the names of Iraqis and Americans killed since the start of war last year. Seeds of Peace, a San-Francisco-based cooperative of organic farmers, is serving more than 5,000 free meals in two installments daily to feed the hungry activists. Yesterday, a group of several dozen grubby but earnest-looking, mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings sat in the courtyard and listened intently to lawyer Katya Komisaruk explain what to do if they were arrested in nonviolent civil disobedience. "Tell the police, 'I'm going to remain silent and I'd like to see a lawyer,' " she instructed, as the sun filtered through the trees. Morales said the church's yard is filled until about 3 a.m. nightly, but there has not been "a beer between them." "The FBI says they're infiltrating protest groups," he mused. "Who? These guys?" **** Yale student tried to get in VP's box, cops say Wednesday, September 01, 2004 NEW YORK (AP) - A straight-A Yale junior was arrested after entering a restricted area near Vice President Dick Cheney's booth at the Republican National Convention, coming within 10 feet of him and shouting anti-war statements, authorities said yesterday. Cheney was never in danger, and no weapon was found on the man, identified as 21-year-old Thomas Frampton, the authorities said. Frampton was charged with assaulting federal officers and impeding the operation of the Secret Service, two misdemeanor charges which carry maximum one-year prison terms, in court papers filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. ******* Shout Heard Around the World: Nearly 1,000 Arrested in Series of RNC Protests Wednesday, September 1st, 2004 Democracy Now (radical internet radio station) Listen at: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/01/1424236 More than 950 people were arrested yesterday as thousands of activists carried out a series of direct actions and civil disobedience at locations throughout New York City yesterday. The protests were organized by the A31 Action Coalition, a decentralized umbrella group made up of scores of activist organizations and affinity groups. Yesterday's arrests brought the number of arrests during the Republican National Convention to over 1500. The groups participating in yesterday's coordinated actions ranged from the War Resisters League to the Ruckus Society to CODE Pink to Direct Action to the San Francisco-based Stop the War. The protests targeted Republican delegates, corporate media outlets, mega corporations and government buildings, as well as other sites. A few hours before the actions kicked off, some of the groups working with the A31 Action Coalition held a press conference. ****** Hundreds of protesters arrested Demonstrations are nonviolent By M.E. SPRENGELMEYER Scripps Howard News Service September 01. 2004 9:53AM NEW YORK - The police had their hands full trying to contain acts of civil disobedience on the streets of Manhattan yesterday as protesters used surprise demonstrations and symbolic acts of nonviolent resistance to try to shout down the Republican National Convention. Several hundred demonstrators were arrested, including more than 100 who tried to mount a somber march from Ground Zero to mourn those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the wars that followed. "I was feeling so positive earlier in the day. I felt positive about everything," said march organizer Elizabeth Broad of the War Resisters League, watching as other marchers were handcuffed and hauled away in city buses. "I was looking forward to participating in this. I'm rather devastated those folks just got picked off." Until yesterday, most of the protests against President Bush had been announced in advance and had city approval and police escorts. But members of a coalition calling itself "A31"planned nonviolent sneak attacks throughout the city yesterday, marching wherever they pleased and performing street theater - both serious and satirical - at strategic locations. The day began with an unusual sight outside the New York Hilton hotel. Women and men wearing pig snouts were feeding out of a cardboard trough filled with fake $100 bills, then rolling on the sidewalk and slathering themselves with cash. They said they were "pigging out" at the taxpayers' expense, just like Iraq reconstruction contractor Halliburton. The company, once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, sponsored a breakfast for Texas delegates inside the hotel. Nearby, Republican delegate Conrad Pogorzelski of North Carolina took the spectacle in stride. "I thought it was comical," he said. "They're just being peaceful and having fun." A short while later, there was a gathering at Columbus Park in New York's Chinatown. Protesters gathering for one unsanctioned march mingled with Republican delegates from Missouri who showed up for a community cleanup project. It was a sleepy setting at 9 a.m., with dozens of elderly Chinatown residents sitting stoically on park benches, a few practicing martial arts in a fenced-off yard and crowds of men surrounding boisterous games of Chinese checkers. Gradually, small groups of young people started arriving, some wearing all-black, two with Mohawk haircuts, and others carrying signs and banners for a march opposing federal detention policies at home and abroad. For the past several days, protesters had been busy tracking down GOP delegates to taunt. But in Columbus Park, the two groups mostly stayed to themselves - they even had a few calm conversations about civil rights. Dozens of police officers arrived at the park, but they soon struck a deal with protest organizers allowing for a march. At noon, the protesters marched peacefully, then rallied across the street from offices of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and immigration and customs officials. Participants decried the prisoner abuse in Iraq, detention of suspected enemy combatants and alleged harassment of Arab Americans and political dissenters. A man portraying a federal agent led in 10 men and women who were handcuffed behind their backs. He ordered them to their knees and placed black hoods over their heads. "We don't care if you're U.S. citizens or illegal aliens," he snarled. "You are classified as enemy combatants. You don't have any rights. You don't have a right to consult a lawyer. You can forget about the Constitution. That doesn't apply to you." Elsewhere in town, protesters held surprise protests outside the offices of various corporations and perceived "war profiteers." One group held a "shut-up-a-thon" outside the studios of Fox News, trying to taunt conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly. Several hundred people gathered outside the World Trade Center, planning to march across town without a permit and hold a somber "die-in" by throwing their bodies in the street outside Madison Square Garden. But they got less than a half a block before the police put up a roadblock, penned them in and arrested an estimated 100 to 200 people. There was a tense standoff at Union Square after the police arrested several young protesters who were wearing cardboard or plastic tubes on their forearms as a primitive form of body-armor. Hundreds of sympathetic protesters filled the area, and police officers in riot gear ordered them to clear out. The crowds taunted the police, chanting: "Whose park? Our park!" Finally, a supervisor ordered the officers to back out of the park, prompting wild cheers of approval. "I think it's great that they left. It could have been much worse," said observer Rebecca Thornton of Los Angeles. There were tense moments and scattered arrests across the city. Several dozen young activists got tired of being ushered back and forth in Union Square, so they began an impromptu march toward Madison Square Garden, banging drums, singing, dancing and yelling, "This is what democracy looks like!" The police scrambled to keep up, but it was tough since even the marchers didn't know where they were going. At one point, a convoy of buses carrying Republican delegates was forced to change its route to Madison Square Garden, although even the marchers were unaware what they had done. As the convention speeches began last night, thousands of noisy protesters jammed into Herald Square, a few blocks from the convention site. The crowd included people of all ages, most of whom were dressed like New York shoppers, not radicals. "A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have been out here," said Zack Stoner, a 23-year-old telephone worker from Wisconsin. "I looked at these people like they're a fringe group. But now I'm in a union that almost had to strike. Life got hard. My friends went to war and now I'm all about caring." ------ End of articles From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Sep 03 19:47:18 2004 Received: from smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.202]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C3J5i-0000Rc-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 03 Sep 2004 19:47:18 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.85 with poptime) by smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 3 Sep 2004 18:27:55 -0000 Organization: Justice Not Vengeance To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Message-ID: Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 19:28:03 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Briefing: Najaf Truce - Or Trap? US Broke Ceasefire Immediately Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all We hope you find this useful. A PDF double-sided A4 version is available on request. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai ********* TRUCE OR TRAP? US Broke Ceasefire Immediately: 'Truce' Merely A Stage In The Conflict JNV Anti-War Briefing 63 (31 Aug. 2004) BEFORE THE INK WAS DRY The Najaf ceasefire did not resolve the conflict in Najaf. Before the ink was even dry on the agreement signed by militant Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the supreme Shia religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the United States and its client forces were breaking the terms of the truce. In particular, US Marines refused to withdraw from Najaf, as required by the Sistani peace deal. Muqtada al-Sadr may wish to move the conflict over the occupation to the political sphere, but the US and the Allawi do not. US FRUSTRATION Ayatollah al-Sistani's return to Najaf after a strange absence (see JNV Briefing 64 The Sistani Puzzle) was followed by a 24-hour ceasefire and the signing of a peace deal that allowed al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia an 'honourable' (and safe) withdrawal from the holy Imam Ali shrine, without the use of force. 'The governor of Najaf, Adnan al-Zurufi, said the Ayatollah's four-part formula provided for Najaf and Kufa to be free of all "weapons and militia", for "foreign forces" to leave both cities, for Iraqi civilians to be compensated for their losses during the fighting and for voter records to be compiled for the general election in January.' (Independent, 27 August 2004, p. 3) Note this interesting last point, a shared Shia concern. 'A disenchanted government minister said: "Our past mistakes have turned Mr Sadr into a player. He still has his army, but he is now a political problem and not just a military one. And he won't be going away soon. With every crisis he emerges on top and stronger than before." ' (Guardian, 28 Aug., p. 17) 'Mr Sadr is fortunate in his enemies,' noted the FT. (FT, 28 Aug., p. 10) 'US commanders on the ground expressed frustration yesterday that they had been "close to being in a position to finish this." (FT, 28 Aug., p. 10) The real threat to US-Shia relations now is not the militancy of the al-Sadr movement (al-Sadr is turning to politics), but the determination of the US and the Allawi government to reverse their defeat. THE PEACE DEAL - US WITHDRAWAL? The Washington Post reported that when the Mehdi Army withdrew, 'Four battalions of Iraqi security forces received tea and water from residents as they arrived in the city center with the handful of American advisers who had trained them. "People received us clapping, and by the will of God we will replace the U.S. Army," said Sgt. Sabah Muhsin Sarhan of the 2nd Battalion of the Iraqi Intervention Force, the name for the anti-insurgency force in the new army. "Our job is to protect our country, and we don't want the foreigners. We don't want the Jews to control us." ' (28 Aug., p. A01) This is one of Washington's 'allies' in Iraq. Sgt. Sarhan did not get his wish. The Post reported, 'The particulars of the Najaf deal are especially troubling to U.S. military strategists. It calls for the U.S. military and anti-U.S. militias to stay out of the city. The provision will have a disproportionate impact on U.S. forces, which tend to move in large, visible units whereas militiamen can simply take a minibus in and out of the city.' (Washington Post, 28 Aug., p. A01) Solution? Break the terms of the truce. 'The senior [Iraqi] government official said a date has not been set for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Najaf. "It is contingent upon Najaf becoming a safe place, free of militants," the official said. "If the standoff is resolved and the militants leave Najaf, then the presence of foreign forces in Najaf will not be necessary." ' The militants then left. 'U.S. commanders in the city said Thursday night that they had not received orders to withdraw.' (Post, 27 Aug., p. A01) 'The U.S. military, which ceased offensive operations on Thursday because of the peace talks, did not withdraw from positions inside Najaf after the deal was announced. [Iraqi minister Qasim] Dawood said U.S. forces would be instructed to "draw back" by the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, once Sadr's militia departs.' (Washington Post, 27 Aug., p. A01) THE US REFUSES TO WITHDRAW Some chance. Allawi is not in charge. The BBC reported on 28 Aug., 'American troops are adopting a lower profile, but are still patrolling some areas' of Najaf - supposedly 'at the request of the Iraqi interim government.' (28 Aug., ) As the Telegraph noted, it 'was doubtful that American commanders would give up hard-fought ground without dramatic and concrete concessions from the 30-year-old cleric.' (Telegraph, 27 Aug., p. 1) 'United States forces will remain in Najaf until the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, judges that control of the city can safely be handed over in its entirety to the country's own police and security forces, senior American officials said yesterday. While the formula promoted by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for ending three bloody weeks of fighting in Najaf provides for the withdrawal of foreign forces, US Marines and cavalry will keep their tanks, armoured vehicles and troops in defensive positions until Iraqi security forces are fully ready to take over.' (Independent on Sunday, 29 Aug., p. 18) When Hell freezes over. Most early reports of the peace deal only mentioned requiring a US withdrawal from Najaf. The Independent (27 Aug., p. 3) and later reports in the FT (28 Aug., p. 5; 30 Aug., p. 7) and the Guardian (28 Aug., p. 2) were firm that the US withdrawal applied to both Najaf and the nearby city of Kufa (where al-Sadr has his home). There have been no reports from Kufa, but it is likely the US broke the terms of the truce there also. After Iraqi forces took over Najaf, 'Both al-Sistani and al-Sadr supporters said they were angry at Iraqi police for arresting Mahdi Army members even though the fighters got tacit amnesty under the peace plan. (Knight Ridder, 27 Aug., ) The same day, 'While being interviewed by The Observer, a Mahdi fighter spotted a group of officers from the new Iraqi police force approaching in contravention of the peace deal. Muttering "traitors", he slid his bolt on his weapon while his friend clipped a belt into a heavier automatic. Within moments, a full-sale firefight broke out. Four more men, including three civilians, were being carried away, leaving trails of fresh blood in Najaf's streets'. (Observer, 29 Aug., p. 20) Such events tailed off, due either to police restraint or (more probably) restraint on the part of the Mehdi Army. THE PEACE DEAL - DISARMAMENT? 'Fighters loyal to Mr Sadr would leave the shrine by 10.00am today and receive an amnesty if they laid down arms', it was said. (FT, 27 Aug., p. 1) Then Sayyed Immad Mohamed Kalantal, mutual relation of al-Sistani and al-Sadr and an intermediary in their peace negotiations, revealed that the Mehdi Army militia were allowed to retain their weapons under a secret provision of the truce, 'including AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers'. 'Kalantal said the clause had been agreed by Iyad Allawi, the Iraqi prime minister.' (Sunday Times, 29 Aug., p. 23) Regardless of the provisions of the Najaf deal, more conflict is on the way, especially over the Mehdi Army's rocket-propelled grenades and mortar launchers. Disarmament of militias was identified as a key issue in Regime Unchanged. THE PEACE DEAL - IMMUNITY FOR AL-SADR? Several newspapers reported that, 'Kasim Daoud, minister of state, said Mr Sadr would not face arrest.' (FT, 27 Aug., p. 1) Actually, Daoud said, 'He is as free as any Iraqi citizen to do whatever he would like in Iraq.' (Washington Post, 27 Aug., p. A01) Daoud did not say whether al-Sadr might be arrested later for the death of a rival Shia cleric. Apparently, 'Mr Allawi, the prime minister, has assured Mr Sadr that his arrest will not be expedited', but 'there are no guarantees beyond the life of the interim government, which will cease to exist after the first round of national elections' due in January. (Guardian, 28 Aug., p. 17) The 'guarantee' has a shorter lifespan than this. 'U.S. officials have long argued that the solution to the Sadr problem has to originate with Iraqis. Their calculation is that the U.S. position in Iraq would not be helped by having U.S. troops kill the rebel cleric. "At some point the Iraqis themselves will take Sadr out - like the Colombians taking out drug lords with U.S. in the background," said a Pentagon official.' (Washington Post, 28 Aug., p. A01) Asked if al-Sadr would be allowed to enter the Imam Ali shrine again, Daoud replied ambiguously: 'Muqtada al-Sadr is like any other Iraqi citizen. He has duties and he has rights.' (KR, 28 Aug., ) THE TRUCE TRAP The US started the latest round of violence in Najaf by breaking the terms of the 4 June truce, by entering an area they had promised to stay out of, and attempting to raid al-Sadr's house in Kufa. The US has ended the latest round of violence by immediately violating the truce they had just agreed to, by entering and remaining in areas of Najaf and Kufa they had promised to withdraw from. They didn't wait eight weeks to break the truce this time. If al-Sadr militants respond to these US truce violations with force, we may expect official and media condemnation of the 'lawless and violent terrorists' who just will not live up to their end of any bargain. Al-Sadr's actual response to the US provocations? A national ceasefire. 'Due to the situation in Najaf and the provinces... we call on all members of the Mahdi army to cease fire unless in self-defence, and to be patient until the political programme which Sar's followers are planning is revealed,' said a senior al-Sadr aide, Sheikh Ali Smeissim. (Telegraph, 31 Aug., p. 12) And the US-Shia conflict moved on to Sadr City in Baghdad. -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Sat Sep 04 10:10:38 2004 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C3WZ6-0001EZ-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 04 Sep 2004 10:10:32 +0100 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Sat, 04 Sep 2004 10:09:56 +0100 Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2004 10:09:56 +0100 From: "JNV" To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.0 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.104 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="--EA15F111FCB0DAE4E72E06546A629CD2" X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Two leaflets for 9/11 anniversary Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ----EA15F111FCB0DAE4E72E06546A629CD2 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dear friends Please find attached two leaflets that you might want to use for any street activity over the next few weekends. While we are reluctant to send out attachments, it seemed important to get these out speedily. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV Text 1: '9/11 Which Way Now? Relatives Speak Out' Responding Violently President Bush says, ‘We are staying on the offensive—striking terrorists abroad—so we do not have to face them here at home.’ [Republican National Convention 2004] But not everyone in the US agrees. 9/11 Relatives Speak Out For Peace ‘We read enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. ‘It is not the way to go. It will not avenge our son’s death. Not in our son’s name. Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology. Our actions should not serve the same purpose. Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. ‘Let us think about a rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world. But let us not as a nation add to the inhumanity of our times.’ Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez, who lost their son Greg in the World Trade Centre, released 15 September 2001 ‘If you choose to respond to this incomprehensible brutality by perpetuating violence against other innocent human beings, you may not do so in the name of justice for my husband.’ Amber Amundson, who lost her husband Craig in the Pentagon, 25 September 2001 ‘Terrorist impulses ferment in cultures of poverty, oppression and ignorance. The elimination of those conditions and the active promotion of a universal respect for human rights must become a national security priority.’ Professor Robin Theurkauf, who lost her husband Tom in the World Trade Centre, writing on 28 September 2001 September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows have a website Their book Peaceful Tomorrows is available from JNV for Ł15 (inc. p&p) (UK orders only). 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TEXT 2: '9/11 Are We Safer?' President Bush Says ‘We are staying on the offensive—striking terrorists abroad—so we do not have to face them here at home.’ [Republican National Convention 2004] But the truth is that the invasion of Iraq, and the continuing occupation of Iraq, is increasing the risks of terrorism. Spanish Intelligence Disagrees In October 2003, Spanish police and intelligence contributed this statement to a Europol (EU Police) report on terrorism in the EU: ‘The Spanish Government’s support of the military intervention in Iraq by the United States and its Allies constitutes without doubt a further risk factor for Spain... armed Islamist groups tend to intensify the number of violent attacks of as well as the destructive effects of these attacks. These would most probably be spectacular, blind, murderous, and indiscriminate terrorist actions intended to cause the highest possible number of victims.’ [Full report at http://tinyurl.com/5b7yc ] On 11 March 2004, train bombings in Madrid killed 190 people and wounded 1,800 others. British Intelligence Disagrees Before the war on Iraq, in a report dated 10 February 2003, the Joint Intelligence Committee, at the top of British intelligence, ‘assessed that al-Qaida and associated groups continued to represent by far the greatest terrorist threat to Western interests, and that threat would be heightened by military action against Iraq.’ (Quoted in ‘Intelligence and Security Committee’ report on Iraq’s WMD, September 2003, p. 34, available from the Government at ) British intelligence warned Tony Blair before the war that invading Iraq would make a 9/11 attack on Britain more, not less, likely. Yet he went ahead with a war which most of us were against. The occupation of Iraq is wrong. We must withdraw US and British troops because they are not making Iraqis safer—in Najaf, or in Falluja, or even in Baghdad—and they are not making the West any safer either. ----EA15F111FCB0DAE4E72E06546A629CD2 Content-Type: application/pdf; name="040911 9-11 are we safer.pdf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 JVBERi0xLjINJeLjz9MNCjQgMCBvYmoNPDwgDS9MaW5lYXJpemVkIDEgDS9P IDYgDS9IIFsgNzU0IDE2MyBdIA0vTCA4MzUzIA0vRSA2Nzk0IA0vTiAxIA0v VCA4MTU2IA0+PiANZW5kb2JqDSAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAg ICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICB4cmVmDTQg MTcgDTAwMDAwMDAwMTYgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwMDY4NCAwMDAwMCBuDQow MDAwMDAwOTE3IDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDEwNzAgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAw MTIzOSAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDAxNDM5IDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDE5ODgg MDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwMjQxNCAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDAyNTk0IDAwMDAw IG4NCjAwMDAwMDI4MDQgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwNTI4MSAwMDAwMCBuDQow MDAwMDA1NTAwIDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDU5ODggMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAw NjQ0MiAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDA2NjUyIDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDA3NTQg 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poptime) by smtp801.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 4 Sep 2004 18:01:47 -0000 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2004 19:01:55 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] JNV Briefing: Chechnya - Russian State Terror and the Bush Agenda Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends Please find below a response to the tragedy in Russia. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV **** CHECHNYA - Russian State Terror and the Bush Agenda TERRORISM - THE BUSH DOCTRINE President Bush said at the Republican National Convention in New York, 'We are staying on the offensive - striking terrorists abroad - so we do not have to face them here at home.' The tragedy in North Ossetia in Russia, where several hundred people have died in a school siege, demonstrates the end result of such an attitude. THE BLOODY WEEK 'Yesterday's seizure of a school in the southern town of Beslan, about 30 miles west of Chechnya, caps a bloody week for Mr Putin, whose usual take on the [Chechnya] conflict is that it is "getting better". Two planes and a metro station have been attacked, and now he must achieve what seems impossible: the safe extraction of up to 400 schoolchildren [actually more than twice that number] from a mined gymnasium.' (Guardian, 2 Sept., p. 4) Ten people died in the Moscow metro suicide bombing, and 90 people were killed when the two Russian passenger aircraft were blown up almost simultaneously. The FT observed: 'Chechen terrorists, who are blamed by the authorities for the metro and aircraft blasts and are almost certainly involved in the school siege, have staged a spectacular demonstration of their ability to organise terror nationwide.' (2 Sept., p. 6) AN AL-QAEDA CONNECTION? At the time of writing, the Putin administration is claiming that up to 10 of the 20 hostage-takers killed in the school siege were Arab militants, in an attempt to 'bolster Moscow's claim that its fight against Chechen separatists is part of the global war against Islamic terrorism'. (FT, 4 Sept., p. 7) Western intelligence officials are sceptical: 'The Islamist campaign in Chechnya has been a very small part of the agenda, as far as most Chechens are concerned. The Arab influence had very, very little support from the great majority of Chechens,' said a 'Western intelligence officer' consulted by the Financial Times. (FT, 4 Sept., p. 7) The next day, a Western intelligence officer told the FT, 'The hostage takers are a bunch of Chechens based in the Caucasus. They are not motivated by jihad or Islamist ideology, and the issue is really all about the withdrawal of Russia from Chechnya.' (FT, 5 Sept., p. 5) NEGOTIATION? Al-Qaeda is assumed to be impervious to, and uninterested in, negotiation. Associating the Chechen fighters with al-Qaeda reduces the pressure to negotiate. At the same time, Andrew Piontkovsky, a liberal commentator who often criticises Mr Putin's Chechnya policy, observed of the recent suicide bombings, "What's interesting is that these terrorists aren't making demands. They are just killing us, like in September 11. Their goal is not to negotiate but to destroy Russian civilization.' (FT, 2 Sept., p. 6) While it is true the suicide bombers on the metro and in the two aircraft simply killed, the Beslan hostage-takers did make demands. 'The armed gang has demanded the end of the war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya and the withdrawal of Russian troops. They also want the release of a number of rebels suspected by the authorities of involvement in raids in Ingushetia in June.' (FT, 3 Sept., p. 5) The group also released 26 hostages on the second day of the siege, 'after the intervention of a former regional political leader', (FT, 3 Sept., p. 5) showing that negotiations were not entirely fruitless. Despite his hardline image, Putin began putting out diplomatic feelers to Chechen opposition leaders. Aleksander Dzasokhov, the president of North Ossetia, 'revealed that he had orders to open a channel of communication with Aslan Maskhadov, the separatist leader who was Chechnya's President until he fled the invading Russian forces in 1999.' 'Mr Dzasokhov and regional political leader Ruslan Aushev, who helped negotiate the release of 26 hostages - women and very young children on Thursday - had earlier both telephoned London to speak to Akhmed Zakayev, who is Mr Maskhadov's chief representative abroad. That amounted to a reversal of President Vladimir Putin's hardline policy never to negotiate with people he denounces as terrorists.' 'These, the first contacts with Chechnya's separatist leaders - since a fleeting meeting between Mr Zakayev and a Russian emissary in 2001 - underscored the desperation of Mr Putin.' (Independent, 4 Sept., p. 5) Unfortunately, these first steps to resolving both the hostage crisis, and perhaps the wider crisis of Chechnya, through diplomacy were aborted by the explosions and shooting which brought the siege to an end. TOWARDS THE THIRD CHECHEN WAR - AND WIDER Another benefit of the alleged 'al-Qaeda connection' is that, 'If Mr Putin does launch another crackdown [in Chechnya], it will be impossible for Washington or London to restrain him. However much they know that Chechnya is more complicated than simply another theatre of al-Qaida's war, they also know they have a pact with the Russian president. Now he may be about to cash in his chips.' (editorial, Guardian, 4 Sept., p. 25) Putin has supported US military action; now he may reap the benefit. 'This dramatic upsurge in Chechen separatist violence threatens to draw Mr Putin into what could become, in effect, a third Chechen war - with the alarming possibility of a wider Caucasus conflagration.' (Guardian, 2 Sept., p. 6) It has been suggested that militants from the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia were among the hostage-takers - this would make sense as one of the groups' demands was for the release of people seized after Chechen and Ingush men raided government buildings in Ingushetia in June. 'Observers argue that there have been growing human rights abuses, which have spread from Chechnya to surrounding regions, notably Ingu-shetia. "We see disappearances and the discovery of bodies regularly," says Tatiana Lokshina, from Memorial, a human rights group.' (FT, 2 Sept., p. 6) Last year a former Russian intelligence general, Murat Zyazikov was imposed on Ingushetia as president by Moscow: he 'launched a roundup of Ingush suspected of sympathising with the Chechen resistance, provoking widespread anger and resentment. Other Ingush have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen, possibly linked to the authorities.' Furthermore, 'Igor Onishchenko, a former FSB [KGB] officer, recently posted a statement on an Ingush website after ending a tour of duty in Ingushetia. He claimed to have worked since early 2003 as part of a death squad, which captured and killed people who criticised Mr Zyazikov or were suspected of links with the Chechen resistance. "I personally crippled more than 50 people, and buried about 35," he told the website.' (Guardian, 3 Sept., p. 4) 85 reasons for the conflict to spread from Chechnya to Ingushetia. WHY? The Financial Times observed as the siege was under way, 'Vladimir Putin, Russian President, bears a heavy responsibility for driving the Chechens into a corner in which they see terrorism as their only hope.' (FT, 3 Sept., p. 16) '[M]any regional experts say that human rights abuses by Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen militia are fuelling anti-Russian sentiment and creating willing rebel recruits. In particular, a force of about 2,000 men commanded by Mr Kadyrov's 28-year-old son, Ramzan, is accused of illegally detaining, torturing and killing dozens of people.' (Times, 2 Sept., p. 4) Kadyrov was imposed by Moscow as Chechen president, then assassinated in May. 'In the name of giving Russian civilians a taste of the suffering Chechens have endured at the hands of Russian soldiers, separatist militants have held hostage the sick in hospitals, the innocent in their villages, and theatregoers in the salls. They have dispatched suicide bombers to rock concerts and hotels, and onto aircraft and rush hour metro trains.' (Guardian, 2 Sept., p. 4) 'According to Amnesty International, "Russian security forces continue to enjoy almost total impunity for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Chechnya".' (Guardian, 2 Sept., p. 5) Amnesty's latest report says, 'extrajudicial killings, "disappearances" and torture, including rape and indiscriminate killings of civilians continue to occur systematically.' (23 June 2004, ) As for the female suicide bombers, demonised as 'black widows', 'Interviews with the families of such bombers often do not point to particularly radicalised or ideological fighters for Islam. What they do normally suggest is women who have lost close family or friends over the past few years of conflict, often as a result of arrests and "disappearances." ' (FT, 2 Sept., p. 6) STRIKE - AND THEY STRIKE BACK '[T]he school siege will probably be followed by other attacks.' (FT, 4 Sept., p. 7) 'Five years ago, Mr Putin decided to deal with Chechnya by military force and has stuck with his decision. After four years of fighting, Russia has regained Grozny, the Chechen capital, fragmented the rebel groups and undermined Aslan Maskhadov, their leader. But having lost ground at home, the Chechens have taken the fight to the Russians.' (FT, 3 Sept., p. 16) Putin has struck his enemies 'abroad'. And now hundreds of families in Beslan now face the results 'at home'. President Bush knows this logic well, but he prefers to lie to the American people while putting them at greater risk with his aggressive adventurism and reckless state terrorism. From milanrai@btinternet.com Sat Sep 11 07:56:14 2004 Received: from smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.202]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C61ny-0001it-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Sat, 11 Sep 2004 07:56:14 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.116 with poptime) by smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 11 Sep 2004 06:55:42 -0000 Organization: Justice Not Vengeance To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Message-ID: Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 07:55:49 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] FT calls for US/UK withdrawal from Iraq Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends As you may know, yesterday the Financial Times called for US/UK withdrawal from Iraq. We think this is a very important campaigning tool and should be circulated widely. Just in case you missed the editorial, it is pasted in below (with links). Please excuse us if you have received this mailing through another list also. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV *** Taken from http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1a93c6de-02ca-11d9-a968-00000e2511c8.html or (to avoid broken link) http://tinyurl.com/5h4ce *** 'Time to consider Iraq withdrawal' Financial Times Editorial, 10 September, 2004 This week a macabre milestone was passed in Iraq. More than 1,000 American soldiers have now been killed since the US-led invasion of the country began nearly 18 months ago. The overwhelming majority lost their lives after President George W. Bush declared major combat operations over in his now infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo-opportunity in May last year. In that time, an unknown number of mostly civilian Iraqis, certainly not less than 10,000 and possibly three times that number, have perished, and hundreds more are dying each week. After an invasion and occupation that promised them freedom, Iraqis have seen their security evaporate, their state smashed and their country fragment into a lawless archipelago ruled by militias, bandits and kidnappers. The transitional political process, designed to lead to constituent assembly and general elections next year, has been undermined because the nervous US-dominated occupation authority has insisted on hand-picking various permutations of interim Iraqi governors, mostly exiles or expatriates with no standing among their people. Whatever Iraqis thought about the Americans on their way in - and it was never what these emigré politicians told Washington they would be thinking - an overwhelming majority now views US forces as occupiers rather than liberators and wants them out. The aftermath of a war won so quickly has been so utterly bungled, moreover, that the US is down to the last vestiges of its always exiguous allied support, at the time when Iraq needs every bit of help it can get. The occupation has lost control of big swathes of the country. Having decided that all those who lived and worked in Iraq under Saddam Hussein bore some degree of collective guilt, Washington's viceroys purged the country's armed forces, civil service and institutions to a degree that broke the back of the state, marginalised internal political forces, sidelined many with the skills to rebuild Iraq's services and utilities and, of course, fuelled an insurgency US forces have yet to identify accurately, let alone get to grips with. There are signs that US officials are beginning to "get it" - in the phrase Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, patronisingly used this week to characterise Iraqis' grasp of the security situation. But if they are increasingly aware that what they have created in Iraq is a disaster, they seem at a loss to know what to do about it. The core question to be addressed is this: is the continuing presence of US military forces in Iraq part of the solution or part of the problem? As occupying power, the US bears responsibility for Iraq under international law, and is duty-bound to try to leave it in better shape than it found it. But there is no sign of that happening. The time has therefore come to consider whether a structured withdrawal of US and remaining allied troops, in tandem with a workable handover of security to Iraqi forces and a legitimate and inclusive political process, can chart a path out of the current chaos. Faced with a withdrawal timetable, Iraqis who currently feel helpless will know that the opportunity to craft a better future lies in their hands. Take security. Iraqi forces are being rebuilt to take over front-line tasks. This is slow work, but that is not the real problem. It is that those forces already trained cannot stand alongside a US military that daily rains thousands of tonnes of projectiles and high explosives on their compatriots. Each time there is a siege of Fallujah or Najaf, with the US using firepower that kills civilians by the hundred, these Iraqi forces melt away. Until eventual withdrawal, there would have to be a policy of military restraint, imposed above all on those US commanders who have operated without reference to their own superiors, let alone the notionally sovereign Iraqi government. Politically, if next year's elections are to have any chance of reflecting the will of the Iraqi people, the process must be opened up. Last month's national conference or proto-assembly was monopolised by expatriate politicians aligned with the interim government of Iyad Allawi. The only way national coalitions can be woven from Iraq's religious and ethnic patchwork is by including the opposition to the occupation. That means negotiating with the insurgents, probably through religious leaders of the stature of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. It also means an amnesty, which should help Iraqi authorities acquire the legitimacy to crush jihadist and other hold-outs. Ideally, the US would accompany withdrawal by stating it has no intention of establishing bases in Iraq, and instead wishes to facilitate regional security agreements. That would be more stabilising than the current policy of bullying neighbours such as Iran and Syria, whose borders with Iraq the US in any case cannot control. None of this will be less than messy. But whether Mr Bush or John Kerry wins the upcoming election, the US will eventually have to do something like this. Chaos is a great risk, and occupiers through the ages have pointed to that risk as their reason for staying put. But chaos is already here, and the power that is in large part responsible for it must start preparing now to step aside and let the Iraqis try to emerge from it. -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Mon Sep 20 17:29:13 2004 Received: from smtp804.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.141]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1C9R2P-0007Oz-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 20 Sep 2004 17:29:13 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.165 with poptime) by smtp804.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 20 Sep 2004 16:28:42 -0000 Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 17:28:58 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Allawi visits UK - letter writings suggestions Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Some sample letters of protest 2) Hersh Allawi profile 3) Links for Allawi execution allegations Dear friends Iyad Allawi, unelected interim prime minister of Iraq, former Ba'athist thug, former terrorist, and now a quisling for the US/UK occupation, visited Britain and met Tony Blair yesterday, on his way to Washington. The 'serious' British newspapers today did nothing to challenge his 'democratic credentials', or to inquire into his rather unsavoury past. He was simply referred to as the 'interim prime minister' or even 'the prime minister' (Guardian, p. 4). If you would like to challenge this legitimation of Allawi, please write to the newspapers. letters@guardian.co.uk dtletters@telegraph.co.uk letters@ft.com letters@thetimes.co.uk letters@independent.co.uk 1) Some sample (overlong) letters Letter to the Guardian I find it extraordinary that you chose to pass over the first visit of Iyad Allawi to these shores without remarking on the brutal background and character of this unelected, US-selected, leader of Iraq. Instead of the candidate chosen by the UN, after long and wide-ranging consultations, the US selected as interim prime minister a British citizen, ‘a long-term protĂŠgĂŠ of the CIA and MI6 who has spent much of his life in exile’, as the Observer pointed out (Peter Beaumont, Luke Harding, Paul Harris, Gaby Hinsliff, ‘UN sidelined in choice of Iraqi leader’, Observer, 30 May 2004, p. 22), and a man who ‘according to the opinion polls, has almost no backing in Iraq’ (Jonathan Steele, in these pages). (‘How honest broker was defeated - and with him hopes of credibility’, Guardian, 3 June 2004, p. 4) Allawi was chosen as a safe pair of hands, who would applaud every missile strike and every bloody siege. Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker was told by Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA case officer who served in the Middle East, that, ‘Allawi helped Saddam get to power. He was a very effective operator and a true believer.’ Moving to London in the 1970s, Allawi continued his services to Saddam. ‘If you’re asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does,’ Vincent Cannistraro, another former CIA officer told Hersh. Hersh was told by a ‘cabinet-level Middle East diplomat’ that Allawi was involved with a Mukhabarat ‘hit team’ that sought out and killed Ba’ath Party dissenters throughout Europe. During the 1990s, Allawi was head of the Iraqi National Accord, which carried out a string of terrorist attacks in Baghdad, killing an estimated 100 civilians with no-warning car bombs. Most recently, one of Australia’s most eminent journalists found two eye-witnesses who claim to have seen Allawi shoot dead six bound and unarmed prisoners in a police station in Baghdad just weeks before taking power as interim prime minister. Allawi has enthusiastically been re-appointing former Ba’athists to power, including senior members of the Mukhabarat intelligence agency, the torture centre of the old regime. All these are matters of enormous significance to future of Iraq. It beggars belief that none of them were raised in this newspaper. Yours sincerely Milan Rai Letter to The Times: You offer staunch support for interim Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi, and echo his call for the United Nations to 'do everything in its power to assist the democratic process' in Iraq. ('The crucible', September 20) This is rather like supporting the hammer in its call for the nut to pull itself together. The United Nations was requested by Washington and London to create a consensual process for appointing a new Iraqi interim government, based on wide-ranging consultations. When the date approached for the appointments to be made, however, Iyad Allawi led the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council in capsizing the UN process, and declaring him interim prime minister after the US had blocked the other two Shia candidates put forward by the Governing Council. Mr Allawi was chosen by the US to lead Iraq, despite being the most unpopular political leader in Iraq, despite his history of enthusiastic service to Saddam's Ba'athist regime until the mid-1970s, despite his close connections with MI6 and the CIA, despite his leadership of a terrorist no-warning car bomb campaign in Baghdad in the 1990s, and despite the credible reports that he had shot dead six bound prisoners in a Baghdad police station just weeks before taking office as prime minister. How can the UN, whose role in assisting the democratic process in Iraq was summarily terminated by Mr Allawi (working with Washington) in May, help move the process forward now? Yours sincerely Milan Rai Letter to FT: May I point out a few pertinent facts? Selected largely by the US (which blocked the other candidates put forward by the former Iraqi Governing Council), Mr Allawi is a British citizen, a long-term protĂŠgĂŠ of the CIA and MI6, and a man whose early enthusiastic support for Saddam Hussein was, according to investigative US reporter Seymour Hersh, channelled into a Ba'athist 'hit team' which travelled Europe policing (and, if necessary, killing) dissident Iraqis living abroad. During the 1990s, Mr Allawi's party, the Iraqi National Accord, carried out no-warning car bombs in Baghdad which may have killed 100 civilians. Most recently, Mr Allawi has been accused, by credible reports in the Australian press, of executing six prisoners in a Baghdad police station. Mr Allawi has enthusiastically been re-appointing former Ba'athists to power, including senior members of the Mukhabarat intelligence agency, men who also have blood on their hands. Mr Allawi was selected by the US not because of these kinds of democratic credentials, or because he speaks for the Iraqi people (the polls say he is the most unpopular political leader in Iraq), but because he is a safe pair of hands, who will applaud every missile strike and every bloody siege. Yours sincerely Milan Rai 2) Allawi profile 'PLAN B', Seymour Hersh, New Yorker, 28 June 2004 The White House has yet to deal with Allawi's past. His credentials as a neurologist, and his involvement during the past two decades in anti-Saddam activities, as the founder of the British-based Iraqi National Accord, have been widely reported. But his role as a Baath Party operative while Saddam struggled for control in the nineteen-sixties and seventies - Saddam became President in 1979 - is much less well known. "Allawi helped Saddam get to power," an American intelligence officer told me. "He was a very effective operator and a true believer." Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former C.I.A. case officer who served in the Middle East, added, "Two facts stand out about Allawi. One, he likes to think of himself as a man of ideas; and, two, his strongest virtue is that he's a thug." Early this year, one of Allawi's former medical-school classmates, Dr. Haifa al-Azawi, published an essay in an Arabic newspaper in London raising questions about his character and his medical bona fides. She depicted Allawi as a "big husky man . . . who carried a gun on his belt and frequently brandished it, terrorizing the medical students." Allawi's medical degree, she wrote, "was conferred upon him by the Baath party." Allawi moved to London in 1971, ostensibly to continue his medical education; there he was in charge of the European operations of the Baath Party organization and the local activities of the Mukhabarat, its intelligence agency, until 1975. "If you're asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does," Vincent Cannistraro, the former C.I.A. officer, said. "He was a paid Mukhabarat agent for the Iraqis, and he was involved in dirty stuff." A cabinet-level Middle East diplomat, who was rankled by the U.S. indifference to Allawi's personal history, told me early this month that Allawi was involved with a Mukhabarat "hit team" that sought out and killed Baath Party dissenters throughout Europe. (Allawi's office did not respond to a request for comment.) At some point, for reasons that are not clear, Allawi fell from favor, and the Baathists organized a series of attempts on his life. The third attempt, by an axe-wielding assassin who broke into his home near London in 1978, resulted in a year-long hospital stay. 3) LINKS FOR A) Allawi executes six prisoners: or B) Allawi profile by Sydney Morning Herald: or From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Sep 22 20:31:54 2004 Received: from smtp810.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.200]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1CACqH-0006Sr-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 22 Sep 2004 20:31:53 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.40 with poptime) by smtp810.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 22 Sep 2004 19:31:23 -0000 Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 20:31:47 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] If America Were Like Iraq... Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends Please find below a brilliant piece by the most perceptive commentator on Iraq available on the web, Professor Juan Cole of the University of Michigan. Juan's blog is at Best wishes Milan Rai JNV 'If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?' Wednesday, September 22, 2004 President Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country. What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number. Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll. And what if those deaths occurred all over the country, including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco? What if the grounds of the White House and the government buildings near the Mall were constantly taking mortar fire? What if almost nobody in the State Department at Foggy Bottom, the White House, or the Pentagon dared venture out of their buildings, and considered it dangerous to go over to Crystal City or Alexandria? What if all the reporters for all the major television and print media were trapped in five-star hotels in Washington, DC and New York, unable to move more than a few blocks safely, and dependent on stringers to know what was happening in Oklahoma City and St. Louis? What if the only time they ventured into the Midwest was if they could be embedded in Army or National Guard units? There are estimated to be some 25,000 guerrillas in Iraq engaged in concerted acts of violence. What if there were private armies totalling 275,000 men, armed with machine guns, assault rifles (legal again!), rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar launchers, hiding out in dangerous urban areas of cities all over the country? What if they completely controlled Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver and Omaha, such that local police and Federal troops could not go into those cities? What if, during the past year, the Secretary of State (Aqilah Hashemi), the President (Izzedine Salim), and the Attorney General (Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim) had all been assassinated? What if all the cities in the US were wracked by a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings in every major city every year? What if the Air Force routinely (I mean daily or weekly) bombed Billings, Montana, Flint, Michigan, Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Anacostia in Washington, DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" of "criminal gangs", but inevitably killing a lot of children and little old ladies? What if, from time to time, the US Army besieged Virginia Beach, killing hundreds of armed members of the Christian Soldiers? What if entire platoons of the Christian Soldiers militia holed up in Arlington National Cemetery, and were bombarded by US Air Force warplanes daily, destroying thousands of graves and even pulverizing the Vietnam Memorial over on the Mall? What if the National Council of Churches had to call for a popular march of thousands of believers to converge on the National Cathedral to stop the US Army from demolishing it to get at a rogue band of the Timothy McVeigh Memorial Brigades? What if there were virtually no commercial air traffic in the country? What if many roads were highly dangerous, especially Interstate 95 from Richmond to Washington, DC, and I-95 and I-91 up to Boston? If you got on I-95 anywhere along that over 500-mile stretch, you would risk being carjacked, kidnapped, or having your car sprayed with machine gun fire. What if no one had electricity for much more than 10 hours a day, and often less? What if it went off at unpredictable times, causing factories to grind to a halt and air conditioning to fail in the middle of the summer in Houston and Miami? What if the Alaska pipeline were bombed and disabled at least monthly? What if unemployment hovered around 40%? What if veterans of militia actions at Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma City bombing were brought in to run the government on the theory that you need a tough guy in these times of crisis? What if municipal elections were cancelled and cliques close to the new "president" quietly installed in the statehouses as "governors?" What if several of these governors (especially of Montana and Wyoming) were assassinated soon after taking office or resigned when their children were taken hostage by guerrillas? What if the leader of the European Union maintained that the citizens of the United States are, under these conditions, refuting pessimism and that freedom and democracy are just around the corner? -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Tue Oct 05 01:35:32 2004 Received: from smtp810.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.200]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 3.33 #3) id 1CEdIh-0006cH-00 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 05 Oct 2004 01:35:31 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.156.0.171 with poptime) by smtp810.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 5 Oct 2004 00:34:45 -0000 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2004 01:35:03 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Afghanistan: The Unnecessary War Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends As we approach the Afghan elections, and the self-congratulation that will surround them, it is worth remembering how the claimed objective of the Afghan war could have been achieved without a shot being fired. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV Afghanistan: The Unnecessary War The Taliban Agreed To Extradite Bin Laden The First Dodgy Dossier Three years ago, on 4 October 2001, Tony Blair presented a dossier to the House of Commons to justify war on Afghanistan. The dossier concluded (although little evidence was available) that, 'The attacks of the 11 September 2001 were planned and carried out by Al Qaida, an organisation whose head is Usama Bin Laden... The attack could not have occurred without the alliance between the Taleban and Usama Bin Laden, which allowed Bin Laden to operate freely in Afghanistan, promoting, planning and executing terrorist activity.' Bronwen Maddox, Foreign Editor of The Times, found 'so many puzzling omissions' that the dossier began to 'undermine itself', with 'few clues even to the form of evidence for September 11: almost nothing on money or phone records'. It seemed 'lame - to the point of advertising a deficiency - to say that a signature of an al-Qaeda attack is the absence of a warning'. (Times, 5 October 2001, p. 8) Eminent lawyers consulted by the Independent on Sunday (7 October, p. 7) and the Telegraph (5 October 2001, p. 6) doubted that the dossier would support an indictment for murder against bin Laden. Anthony Scrivener QC: 'it is a sobering thought that better evidence is required to prosecute a shoplifter than is needed to commence a world war.' (Times, 5 October 2001, p. 7) The Justification For War Nevertheless, the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons that the case was proven, and war would follow: 'there is no alternative unless the Taliban regime do what they have so far obviously failed to do and yield up bin Laden'. (Hansard, 4 October 2001 col 678) The Taliban Agreed To Extradite Bin Laden Almost at the moment of this assertion, the Daily Telegraph carried an extraordinary story under the heading 'Pakistan halts secret plan for bin Laden trial', a story which completely undermined Blair's case for war. (Telegraph, 4 October, p. 9 ) According to this report, leaders of two Pakistani Islamic parties, the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam, negotiated bin Laden's extradition to Pakistan to stand trial for the 11 September attacks. Under the conditions of the agreement, bin Laden would have been held under house arrest in Peshawar, and then tried. The first stage of the negotiations was carried out in Islamabad in Pakistan, on Sat. 29 September, when Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, the Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, met with Qazi Hussain Ahmad, leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami, and Hamid Gul, a former director of Pakistan's powerful Inter Service Intelligence agency. The final stage of the negotiations was in Kandahar, on Mon. 1 October, when Qazi, and Maaulana Fazlur Rahman, head of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam, met Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar. 'The proposal, which had bin Laden's approval, was that within the framework of Islamic shar'ia law evidence of his alleged involvement in the New York and Washington attacks would be placed before an international tribunal. The court would decide whether to try him on the spot or hand him over to America', reported the Telegraph. There had been earlier indications from the Taliban that it was willing to extradite its troublesome guest. There were three striking features of this report. Firstly, extradition was not only possible, it had actually been agreed. Secondly, the deal is said to have had 'bin Laden's approval'. Finally, breaking with earlier offers from the Taliban, it was stated that extradition to the United States (previously anathema) would have been a real possibility. Who Killed The Deal? Why did the deal not go ahead? Despite being agreed by Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban, the extradition was apparently vetoed by Pakistan's President Musharraf, on the grounds that he, Musharraf, 'could not guarantee bin Laden's safety'. An implausible suggestion. Intriguingly, according to the Telegraph, the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlain, knew of the deal all along. A US official had earlier suggested that 'casting the objectives too narrowly would risk a premature collapse of the international effort if by some lucky chance Mr bin Laden were captured'. (FT, 20 September 2001, p. 7) It may be that a US veto killed the deal. If bin Laden's extradition had truly been the key goal in Washington and London in the aftermath of 9/11, Blair and Bush would have praised this opening, publicized it, sought to support it with inducements. Instead, we had only silence. This was consistent with the rebuffs delivered to every Taliban overture. Rebuffing Earlier Taliban Offers The Taliban Information Minister, Qudrutullah Jamal, said a week after 11 September, 'Anyone who is responsible for this act, Osama or not, we will not side with him. We told [the Pakistan delegation] to give us proof that he did it, because without that how can we give him up?' (Independent, 19 September 2001, p. 1) Until 1 October 2001, the Taliban refused to to 'hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence' (Taliban Ambassador Mullah Zaeef, Times, 22 September, p. 1, emphasis added). On 1 October, they agreed to bin Laden's extradition to Pakistan without evidence of his guilt. The US consistently brushed aside such opportunities for a nonviolent solution. Ari Fleischer, White House spokesperson said repeatedly that there would be 'no negotiations, no discussions' with the Taliban. (Telegraph, 22 September, p. 1) No Justification For War This story blows an enormous hole in the government's rationale for war. The British and US people were told that we were being forced to go to war because the Taliban had refused point-blank to hand over bin Laden. The Telegraph story revealed, however, that in fact the Taliban, far from refusing to contemplate extradition, had agreed to hand over bin Laden for trial, possibly in the US. There were three central legal and moral questions: What was the evidence against bin Laden? If there was evidence, were there nonviolent methods of securing him for trial? Was the force used by the US and British governments legal? Whatever one thinks of the 'evidence' against bin Laden presented in October 2001, the fact of the matter is that there was a nonviolent alternative to war - and it was rejected not by the Taliban regime, but by Britain and the US. The alternative was to negotiate extradition. Negotiation of international conflicts is a duty under Article 33 of the UN Charter. Professor Robin Therkauf, a lecturer in the political science department at Yale University, lost her husband Tom in the World Trade Centre on 11 September. In the days before 4 October, Professor Theurkauf wrote, 'What we need less of is war rhetoric and war against Afghanistan in particular, and to explore the possibility of a judicial solution. In the short term, the first priority should be to hunt down and arrest the criminals with the goal of achieving justice, not revenge. This is a task left not to the military but to investigative police forces, who can prepare for a trial.' This was not a utopian dream, but entirely realistic, in the light of the Telegraph report. In a BBC radio interview, Professor Theurkauf said, 'The last thing I wanted was for more widows and fatherless children to be created in my name. It would only produce a backlash. As the victim of violence, I'd never want this to happen to another woman again.' (Quotes taken from Radio 4, 2 October, and the Friend, 28 September) Unfair Chance President Bush said of the Taliban, 'I gave them a fair chance.' (Times, 8 October 2001, p. 2) In fact, Bush and Blair rejected negotiations and nonviolent alternatives to war, supported by the mass media. This is worth remembering as Afghanistan limps towards an opium-soaked, warlord-ridden, US-style 'democracy'. Liberated Women What about Afghan women? 'In parts of Afghanistan, women have stated that the insecurity and the risk of sexual violence they face make their lives worse than during the Taleban era'. (Amnesty International, October 2003 ) The US has 'failed, misguided and betrayed Afghan women by giving them false hope,' says T. Kumar, an Amnesty International advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific. (22 September 2004 ) -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Oct 13 10:13:46 2004 Received: from smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.198]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CHfCc-0005ok-56 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:13:46 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.205 with poptime) by smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Oct 2004 09:13:15 -0000 Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:13:38 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] ESF-related events this week Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all This email is to tell you about some of the free/non-ESF events taking place this week in London in connection with the European Social Forum. We hope you find it useful. If you are able/willing to hand out leaflets for Voices and JNV at the demonstration on Sunday, please phone 07980 748 555 or email maya@vitw.org Best wishes Milan Rai Maya Evans JNV 1) ESF 2) Anti-War Demo 3) Parallel to the ESF 4) Schnews Direct Action Conference, Saturday 5) Beyond ESF, Wednesday to Sunday 6) The Solidarity Village, Wednesday to Sunday 7) Beyond ESF conference, Wednesday to Sunday 8) Life Despite Capitalism, Saturday and Sunday 9) Free Peace-Not-War Concert, Friday ESF The European Social Forum is taking place in London this weekend. Unfortunately, registration is now closed, but if you have a ticket, there is a whole peace/war strand, and so there are a lot of anti-war events within the ESF, including 'Disarming State Terrorism' a Small Workshop about direct action by the B52two on Saturday 2-4pm, at University of London Union ULU 3b. http://fse-esf.org **** Demo ESF ends with an anti-war demonstration on Sunday. Bush Out, Troops Out 1pm, Sunday 17th October 2004 Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Muslim Association of Britain. Assemble: Russell Square, 1pm. March to Trafalgar Square for a rally at 3:30pm, with music from Asian Dub Foundation at 5pm. http://www.stopwar.org.uk **** Parallel to the ESF There are also parallel events, which you can find out about at http://www.altspaces.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?pagename=Main.SpacesInfo Some of these parallel events are listed below: **** Schnews Direct Action Conference How Direct Action Can Save the World/Schnews Tenth Birthday Conference 2pm-7pm, Saturday 16th October Camden Centre, Euston Road, London (Kings Cross tube) SchNEWS, the weekly direct action newsletter, has been providing information for action to anti-capitalists since 1994. We’ve put this conference together as an opportunity to discuss, plot and organise resistance to the suicidal onward march of capitalism. Schnews Direct Action Conference http://www.schnews.org.uk/at10/#conference **** Beyond ESF Wednesday 13th - Sunday 17th October A self-organised, radically different space. We invite participation in discussion and direct action around specific themes: surveillance & control : social centres : precarious work : no borders : zapatismo : G8 Scotland 2005. Venue: Middlesex University, White Hart Lane Campus, Tottenham. Opposite White Hart Lane train station. Beyond ESF http://wombles.org.uk/auto/ **** The Solidarity Village "Another Economy is Possible": Lots of alternative workshops. Originally called 'LETS Co-operate'. 13-17th October 2004 Conway Hall (Red Lion Square) and LSE Clement House, Aldwych. Entrance by donation: (ÂŁ10 membership +ÂŁ10/ÂŁ5 per day). The Solidarity Village http://www.solidarityvillage.org **** Life Despite Capitalism Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October Great list of speakers from around the world including John Jordan, JJ King, Nolasco Mamani, Sandro Mezzadra, Mercedes Moya, Jai Sen, Matthias Studer, Peter Waterman. 'We call this stream "life despite capitalism" instead of "life after capitalism", in order to problematise alternatives as something in the here and now, not simply in a distant future "after capitalism" has been abolished. This means reclaiming the exercise of our many powers to do and to produce things, affects and relations; it means to relate and learn from each other in ways rooted in dignity, respect and common access to resources at any scale of social action, in any context of our lives.' London School of Economics Old Building (first plenary on Saturday 9:30-12:30) and Clement House (saturday workshops and final Sunday's plenary). Aldwych. (Holborn tube, central line) Life Despite Capitalism http://www.lifedespitecapitalism.org **** Free Peace-Not-War Concert ESF Friday, 6pm-Midnight. Karma Sutra, The Rub, Gertrude, The Unpeople, Carpetface, Angel, Pok: free admission to all peaceful folk. Tufnell Park, between Alexandra Palace and Bloomsbury. Bus 134 from Muswell Hill, bus 390 from Euston, or Northern Line Tube. For directions phone 07789 991 591 or 07005 801 899. http://www.peace-not-war.org -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Oct 15 11:27:28 2004 Received: from web86605.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.13.27]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CIPJ2-0006g4-Qd for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 15 Oct 2004 11:27:28 +0100 Message-ID: <20041015102657.22557.qmail@web86605.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.122.47.178] by web86605.mail.ukl.yahoo.com via HTTP; Fri, 15 Oct 2004 11:26:57 BST Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 11:26:57 +0100 (BST) From: Milan Rai To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0-1905451771-1097836017=:22286" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.8 required=5.0 tests=HTML_FONTCOLOR_BLUE, HTML_MESSAGE,HTTP_WITH_EMAIL_IN_URL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] More about the ESF Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: --0-1905451771-1097836017=:22286 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Dear all Just in case you are thinking of coming to the ESF over the next few days. Here is late information (below) about a couple of things, including the outrageous seizure of Indymedia servers. Action points below! Red Pepper is also doing a blog of the ESF, which I am contributing to at http://www.red-pepper.blogspot.com And if you are able and willing to come to the march and hand out Voices/JNV materials, we are meeting in Tavistock Square just north of Russell Square, 12.30. If you can't make that but are willing to pick up some materials during the day, please call 07980 748 555 on the day. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV Below is links to the FOUR days of communication rights discussion and media making at the Camden Centre near Kings Cross - where there is also a public access internet cafe / bar and an ongoing Indymedia Centre where people can report their events and actions. Several of these events will now focus on the Server Seizures and the implications for all. Thursday 14 - Sunday 17th October 2004 @ The Camden Centre, Bidborough Street Near Kings Cross, London WC1 (Where is/How to get to The Camden Centre) FREE / donations encouraged http://www.efcr2004.net http://www.indymedia.org.uk Cheers!!! ========================================= ========================================= ACTION ALERT: Urgent Action In Support of Indymedia "An unacceptable attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy." On 7 October 2004 two Indymedia Web Servers were seized from the US-owned web hosting company Rackspace operating in London (UK), at the request of the US Justice Department, which apparently acted at the prompting of Italian and Swiss authorities. Indymedia is an global alternative media network that provides challenging and independent reporting, particularly of political and social justice issues, with a newswire where any member of the public can publish their own reports and articles. The seizure of the servers in London shut down around 20 different Indymedia websites including Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and parts of Germany Indymedia. Many are still offline, those few that have returned have suffered data loss. The particular legal framework under which the seizures took place is unknown. Five Days after the seizures there is still an almost total information blackout from the authorities in the UK, US, Switzeland and Italy. Indymedia still has no confirmation of who ordered the seizures, who took the servers in London, why the seizures took place, where the servers are now located, and whether they will be returned. We are concerned over the growing use of international co-operation frameworks by Governments and Law enforcement agencies which can be used to obscure clear legal process, and call for openness and clarity in international co-operation, to ensure due process and that civil liberties are protected. Statements of support for Indymedia and condemnation of the shutting down of over 20 Media outlets have been recieved from The Electronic Frontier Foundation, The International Federation of Journalists, the National Union of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and many other organisations. Indymedia UK condemns the seizure of the servers as an unacceptable and unprecedented attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy and asks for urgent solidarity action in demanding: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please write to the British Home Secretary and the US Attorney General: 1. Expressing grave concern at the action taken against Indymedia. 2. Demanding the immediate return of the servers to Indymedia with all data intact. 3. Requesting a full investigation into the circumstances and legality of the action taken to seize the Indymedia servers and to close Indymedia websites, with the disclosure of the names of the organisations and individuals involved in the seizure. APPEALS TO: Rt Hon David Blunkett MP Home Secretary The Home Office London - UK Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk John Ashcroft Attorney General US Department of Justice Washington - USA Email: askdoj@usdoj.gov Please send copies of letters to: imc-uk-contact@lists.indymedia.org Organisations and individuals are also encouraged to issue their own statements in support of Indymedia and against the seizure of the servers. Please send copies to: imc-uk-contact@lists.indymedia.org Additionally organisations and indivduals can add their statements of support here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/298931.html For background on the Server Seizures see: http://indymedia.org/en/static/fbi http://www.indymedia.org http://www.indymedia.org.uk >ACT TOGETHER Women's Action for Iraq is running a workshop at the European >Social Forum this weekend. ULU, the University of London Union is on >Malet Street near SOAS and the British Museum. Please find details >below. Hope to see you there >ACT TOGETHER >Women's Action for Iraq > >PO BOX 34728, London N7 6XE >tel: +44 (0)20 7272 9324 >www.acttogether.org >information@acttogether.org > >Workshop 846: >Saturday 16 October, 9-11, ULU 3A > >The Impact of War and Occupation on Women in Iraq > >Act Together: Women's Action on Iraq, a group of Iraqi and non-Iraqi >activists based in London, is inviting you to attend a workshop on the >impact of economic sanctions, war and occupation on women and gender >relations in Iraq > >Speakers: >v Caroline Simpson >"Who are we?: Brief history and activities of Act Together" > >v Dr Nadje Al-Ali, Institute of Arab, Islamic Studies, University of Exeter >"Women and gender relations during the regime of Saddam Hussein and the >impact of economic sanctions" > >v Maysoon Pachachi, Iraqi film-maker >"Doing a documentary in occupied Iraq" - Showing of film clips > >v Haifa Zangana, Iraqi-Kurdish novelist >"The impact of war and occupation on women in Iraq" > >v Nadia Hamdan, Red Cross Iraq >"Personal experiences during war and occupation" --0-1905451771-1097836017=:22286 Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Dear all
 
Just in case you are thinking of coming to the ESF over the next few days. Here is late information (below) about a couple of things, including the outrageous seizure of Indymedia servers. Action points below!
 
Red Pepper is also doing a blog of the ESF, which I am contributing to at
 
And if you are able and willing to come to the march and hand out Voices/JNV materials, we are meeting in Tavistock Square just north of Russell Square, 12.30.
 
If you can't make that but are willing to pick up some materials during the day, please call 07980 748 555 on the day.
 
Best wishes
 
Milan Rai
JNV
 
 
 
Below is links to the FOUR days of communication rights discussion and
media making at the Camden Centre near Kings Cross - where there is
also a public access internet cafe / bar and an ongoing Indymedia Centre where
people can report their events and actions. Several of these events
will now focus on the Server Seizures and the implications for all.

Thursday 14 - Sunday 17th October 2004
@ The Camden Centre, Bidborough Street
Near Kings Cross, London WC1
(Where is/How to get to The Camden Centre)
FREE / donations encouraged

http://www.efcr2004.net
http://www.indymedia.org.uk

Cheers!!!


=========================================
=========================================

ACTION ALERT: Urgent Action In Support of Indymedia

"An unacceptable attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy."

On 7 October 2004 two Indymedia Web Servers were seized from the
US-owned web hosting company Rackspace operating in London (UK), at the request
of the US Justice Department, which apparently acted at the prompting of
Italian and Swiss authorities.

Indymedia is an global alternative media network that provides
challenging and independent reporting, particularly of political and social justice
issues, with a newswire where any member of the public can publish
their own reports and articles.

The seizure of the servers in London shut down around 20 different
Indymedia websites including Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland,
Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille, Euskal Herria (Basque
Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium),
Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, and parts of
Germany Indymedia. Many are still offline, those few that have returned have
suffered data loss.

The particular legal framework under which the seizures took place is
unknown. Five Days after the seizures there is still an almost total
information blackout from the authorities in the UK, US, Switzeland and
Italy. Indymedia still has no confirmation of who ordered the seizures,
who took the servers in London, why the seizures took place, where the
servers are now located, and whether they will be returned.

We are concerned over the growing use of international co-operation
frameworks by Governments and Law enforcement agencies which can be
used to obscure clear legal process, and call for openness and clarity in
international co-operation, to ensure due process and that civil
liberties are protected.

Statements of support for Indymedia and condemnation of the shutting
down of over 20 Media outlets have been recieved from The Electronic
Frontier Foundation, The International Federation of Journalists, the National
Union of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, World Association of
Community Radio Broadcasters and many other organisations.

Indymedia UK condemns the seizure of the servers as an unacceptable and
unprecedented attack on press freedom, free speech and privacy and asks
for urgent solidarity action in demanding:


RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please write to the British Home Secretary and the US Attorney General:

1. Expressing grave concern at the action taken against Indymedia.

2. Demanding the immediate return of the servers to Indymedia with all
data intact.

3. Requesting a full investigation into the circumstances and legality
of the action taken to seize the Indymedia servers and to close Indymedia
websites, with the disclosure of the names of the organisations and
individuals involved in the seizure.


APPEALS TO:

Rt Hon David Blunkett MP
Home Secretary
The Home Office
London - UK
Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

John Ashcroft
Attorney General
US Department of Justice
Washington - USA
Email: askdoj@usdoj.gov

Please send copies of letters to: imc-uk-contact@lists.indymedia.org

Organisations and individuals are also encouraged to issue their own
statements in support of Indymedia and against the seizure of the
servers.
Please send copies to: imc-uk-contact@lists.indymedia.org

Additionally organisations and indivduals can add their statements of
support here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/298931.html

For background on the Server Seizures see:
http://indymedia.org/en/static/fbi
http://www.indymedia.org
http://www.indymedia.org.uk
 
>ACT TOGETHER Women's Action for Iraq is running a workshop at the
European
>Social Forum this weekend.  ULU, the University of London Union is on
>Malet Street near SOAS and the British Museum.   Please find details
>below.  Hope to see you there
>ACT TOGETHER
>Women's Action for Iraq
>
>PO BOX 34728, London N7 6XE
>tel: +44 (0)20 7272 9324
>www.acttogether.org
>information@acttogether.org
>
>Workshop 846:
>Saturday 16 October, 9-11, ULU 3A
>
>The Impact of War and Occupation on Women in Iraq
>
>Act Together: Women's Action on Iraq, a group of Iraqi and non-Iraqi
>activists based in London, is inviting you to attend a workshop on the
>impact of economic sanctions, war and occupation on women and gender
>relations in Iraq
>
>Speakers:
>v Caroline Simpson
>"Who are we?: Brief history and activities of Act Together"
>
>v Dr Nadje Al-Ali, Institute of Arab,  Islamic Studies, University of
Exeter
>"Women and gender relations during the regime of Saddam Hussein and
the
>impact of economic sanctions"
>
>v Maysoon Pachachi, Iraqi film-maker
>"Doing a documentary in occupied Iraq" - Showing of film clips
>
>v Haifa Zangana, Iraqi-Kurdish novelist
>"The impact of war and occupation on women in Iraq"
>
>v Nadia Hamdan, Red Cross Iraq
>"Personal experiences during war and occupation"

--0-1905451771-1097836017=:22286-- From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Oct 27 18:45:10 2004 Received: from smtp811.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.201]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CMrrC-0004qd-EZ for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:45:10 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.64 with poptime) by smtp811.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 27 Oct 2004 17:44:37 -0000 Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:45:02 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=----------j3fzsJ2gqiYk7qqqjT3IG9 MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Resist The Attacks On Iraq's Cities - Petition, Letter-Writing and Phone Blockade of the MOD Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: ------------j3fzsJ2gqiYk7qqqjT3IG9 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit 1) Phone Blockade 3 November 2) Petition 3) Letter-writing 4) Contingency Plans Dear all Fallujah and over a dozen other Iraqi towns are under threat of major assault by US forces. JNV supports those organising activities to try to prevent these assaults. No US attack is inevitable. Public protests inside and outside Iraq have the power to derail these attacks, or at the very least to minimise the damage done, and to help prevent further such atrocities. Britain is complicit in these attacks, directly, by redeploying British troops to the centre of Iraq to free up US forces to take part in the planned assaults. Here are some ideas for pro-active action, and some London contingency plans if the major attacks do take place. (More info on our website www.j-n-v.org ) Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV **************** 1) Phone Blockade of the MOD & Email Geoff Hoon Wednesday 3 November Phone the MOD between 9am - 5pm on the day after the US elections. Please ask to speak to Geoff Hoon, to tell him to oppose the planned assaults on Fallujah and other cities, and to demand that he withdraw the Black Watch from their supportive role in Central Iraq. MOD Public Enquiry Office: 0870 607 4455 MOD Press Office: 020 7218 2906 You may also wish to try this email address for Geoff Hoon's PA: sofs.pa2@modho.gsi.gov.uk **************** 2) Stop The Attacks - Petition At a meeting called by Voices UK, there was a call for a petition to be drawn up and circulated immediately for use this weekend. A pdf is attached of two versions of the petition, one concentrating on the immediate crisis, the other including the demand for troops to be withdrawn. Next is the text of the narrow focus petition: BASIC PETITION TEXT To Our Local MP Please tell Geoff Hoon: Don’t let British Troops support Bush’s massacres in Iraq’s cities. The senseless slaughter of civilians is making a desperate situation even worse. Don’t Attack Fallujah—Recall The Black Watch TOP TIPS For Using This Petition This petition is designed to be used the weekend of 30/31 October. Using pretty much this text, Wrexham Peace & Justice Forum collected 450 signatures in 2 hours recently. 1) One reason for their success is that they had a huge poster version of the text behind them so that people knew what they were signing. People were queueing to sign. So JNV has included in the pdf full A4 size versions of the text, for you to enlarge to A3 or larger size (some photocopy shops can enlarge to A1). 2) Please do let the local radio and newspapers know about your petitioning, and take your own photos to send to the paper if they do not send a photographer themselves. Whatever the response of your local MP when you present the petition, that is worth press releasing also. 3) Please let us know the results of your petitioning. If you have any suggestions for improving the petition or how to present it on the street/at work, please let us know. This petition initiative came out of an emergency meeting called by Voices in the Wilderness UK. There may be further editions of this petition in future weeks. Please check out the JNV website and the Voices UK website for more campaigning information. **************** 3) Letter-writing Write to your MP This is something that anyone and everyone can do. If you ask your MP to ask Geoff Hoon to recall the Black Watch from central Iraq, and to withdraw all British support for the planned US assaults, then she/he will pass on your concerns to the Defence Secretary, and you get two (small) impacts from one letter. A veteran letter-writer informs us that when/if you receive a response, it is well worth writing back, as it is this reply of yours that has most impact. You can (a) find out who your MP is and (b) fax your MP from the following website: http://faxyourmp.org.uk/ Some possible points for a letter: 1) Human Cost Please remind the Defence Secretary of the horrors of the earlier (April 2004) siege of Fallujah - horrors which the British Government refused to condemn, ‘insist[ing] that there were “no disagreements” with the US about its tactics on the ground’ (Independent, 14 April). On 11 April the director of Fallujah’s general hospital, Rafie al-Issawi, estimated – on the basis of figures gathered from four clinics around the city as well as the hospital itself - that more than 600 people had been killed and that ‘the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly’ (Guardian, 12 April). Ask whether the British government has sought assurances that US tactics and rules of engagement have been changed to prevent such carnage in any future engagement. 2) Redeployment Please ask the Defence Secretary why British troops are being redeployed with the ‘aim of … free[ing] US forces to attack Fallujah’ (Telegraph, 18 Oct) again – this time causing possibly even greater carnage. 3) Condemnation and Withdrawal I urge you to condemn the redeployment and to support calls for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. I would be grateful if you would ask the Defence Secretary to withdraw British troops from central Iraq, and ask also whether contingency plans have been prepared for the withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq in the event that the January elections produce a government in Baghdad which calls for the removal of foreign forces. Voices UK has drawn up more points for writing to your MP, available at http://www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/actnow.htm#contactyourmp **************** 4) Contingency Plans There are now plans for a London demo, and for London nonviolent direct action, on the night of any major attack. Please see www.j-n-v.org for more details. If your local group draws up any similar contingency plans, please register them with Stop The War and with JNV. -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) www.j-n-v.org ------------j3fzsJ2gqiYk7qqqjT3IG9 Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Stop The Attacks Basic petition.pdf" Content-Type: application/pdf; name="Stop The Attacks Basic petition.pdf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: Base64 JVBERi0xLjINJeLjz9MNCjE5IDAgb2JqDTw8IA0vTGluZWFyaXplZCAxIA0vTyAy MSANL0ggWyA2ODAgMjE4IF0gDS9MIDEwOTAzIA0vRSAzOTg5IA0vTiA0IA0vVCAx MDQwNSANPj4gDWVuZG9iag0gICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAg ICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgICB4cmVmDTE5IDEzIA0wMDAwMDAw MDE2IDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDA2MDcgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwMDg5OCAwMDAw MCBuDQowMDAwMDAxMDUyIDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDExOTkgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAw MDAwMTc2NCAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDAxOTQ0IDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDIxNDYg MDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwMzAzOSAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDAzMjU4IDAwMDAwIG4N 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MDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDY0MzEgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwNjU4MiAwMDAwMCBuDQow MDAwMDA2NzUzIDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDczNjIgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwNzc0 NSAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDA4MTQyIDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAwMDg2MDMgMDAwMDAg bg0KMDAwMDAwODgzMSAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDA5MDQ3IDAwMDAwIG4NCjAwMDAw MDkyNjUgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwMDAwOTM0OSAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDAwMDA5NTg1IDAw MDAwIG4NCnRyYWlsZXINPDwNL1NpemUgMTkNL0lEWzw4YzdiZDM3YWM3ZDZmMmEz MzJkNjllMTdhZjU0ODgzYT48YTFhZDZmN2ViOWVkNTU2ZmYzMGE3ZjA4NTk1ODBj YmY+XQ0+Pg1zdGFydHhyZWYNMTczDSUlRU9GDQ== ------------j3fzsJ2gqiYk7qqqjT3IG9-- From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Oct 29 00:48:11 2004 Received: from smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.199]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CNK02-0000F8-W1 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:48:11 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.154.23.101 with poptime) by smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 28 Oct 2004 23:47:24 -0000 Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:47:23 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Black Watch - Protest Can Have An Effect Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: BLACK WATCH Our Opposition Can Prevent The Replacement Of The Black Watch Black Watch Soldiers Likely To Be Targeted, Likely To Be Replaced By Scots Guards At Christmas; British Troop Levels Expected To Rise; 61% Of British Adults Oppose Redeployment Of Black Watch JNV Briefing, 28 October 2004 Introduction 850 British troops from the Black Watch are moving into central Iraq for 30 days to free up 1000 US soldiers for a planned assault on the rebel town of Fallujah. Leaks from the British forces indicate that political opposition at home could stop the Black Watch being replaced by soldiers from the Scots Guard at the end of their tour of duty in the Iskandariyah triangle. While the aim of our opposition must be to prevent (and at the very least to limit) the damage which could be done by the threatened assaults on Iraqi towns and cities, it is encouraging to see that protest in this country can affect the planning in the Ministry of Defence, and shake Tony Blair out of at least one commitment he seems to have entered into with Washington. (See end of this briefing for details) Enabling The US Assault 'The Black Watch began moving north from Basra towards Baghdad yesterday to relieve US marines who are due to take part in an imminent American assault on the rebel-held town of Fallujah.' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) 'The British force will relieve US Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), who are likely to be used in an operation to crush Iraqi insurgents in the flashpoint city of Fallujah.' (Michael Evans, Times, 28 October 2004, p. 17) 'As assault on Falluja would be likely to involve the heaviest fighting since the war ended, against hundreds or even thousands of militants... A new assault could encounter the same problems as the first one [in April 2004] - international outrage at civilian deaths and pressure to withdraw from pro-coalition Sunni politicians.' (Charles Clover, Financial Times, 28 October 2004, p. 10) A US official told the Washington Post that, "If we have to fight in Fallujah it’s going to be very bloody and nasty" (16 October). In April, during the last assault, hundreds of Iraqis were killed, many of them civilians. On 11 April the director of Fallujah's general hospital, Rafie al-Issawi, estimated – on the basis of figures gathered from four clinics around the city as well as the hospital itself - that more than 600 people had been killed and that 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly.' (Guardian, 12 April) A senior UK army officer, told the Sunday Telegraph that "when US troops are attacked with mortars in Baghdad they use mortar-locating radar to find the firing point and then attack the general area with artillery, even though the area they are attacking may be in the middle of a densely populated residential area … They are not concerned about the Iraqi loss of life in the way the British are", "they view [Iraqis] as untermenschen [the Nazi expression for 'sub-humans']. Their attitude towards the Iraqis is tragic, it’s awful." (11 April). The Black Watch Moves North 'Draped in huge Union flags to avoid the risk of "friendly fire" from other coalition forces, the first convoys of The Black Watch moved out of Basra yesterday and headed for their new base south of Baghdad. Attack helicopters and 40 US Marines accompanied the convoys as they headed north to an area known as the "triangle of death", a lawless region renowned for its hostility to coalition forces.' (Michael Evans, Times, 28 October 2004, p. 17) 'Despite the warnings of local insurgent leaders that they are ready to take on the British troops when they arrive at their base in Hillah, about 68 miles south of Baghdad, there was optimism that the British could continue to use the "softly, softly" approach they have adopted in southern Iraq.' (Michael Evans, Times, 28 October 2004, p. 17) On the other hand, the recent US air attacks on Fallujah 'have prompted many resistance fighters to try to leave the city... many have also slipped out and are said to be reinforcing the insurgents in Ramadi, the Iskandariyah triangle [where the Black Watch is to be based], and Baghdad.' (Kim Sengupta, Independent, 28 October 2004, pp. 4-5) 'The British battlegroup will be operating in an important supply route, including strategic bridges, where US convoys have been regularly attacked by insurgents in fatal incidents leading to the deaths of US soldiers and Iraqis.' (Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, 28 October 2004, p. 4) 'One officer explained: "There is intelligence to suggest the Black Watch will be targeted by the insurgents because of the potential political embarassment to the Prime Minister".' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) '"It wasn't a cake walk in Basra but it's going to be a lot, lot more dangerous up there," said James Buchanan, 56, who has a son with the regiment. "They're going to get one hell of a kicking this time."' (Michael Evans, Times, 28 October 2004, p. 17) Troops Numbers To Rise 'Defence chiefs had been trying to reduce the level of British commitment. But Maj-Gen John MacColl, the UK commander in Iraq, has admitted that a further 1,300 troops are likely to be sent to oversee the elections in January.' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) The Pentagon 'has drawn up contingency plans to increase the number of American troops in Iraq by 22,000 to 160,000 during the Iraqi elections in January. American commanders had hoped that either additional foreign forces would be made available or that large numbers of trained Iraqi troops could guard voters and polling stations. But despite a pledge from Britain to send reinforcements to Iraq for the election period if necessary, no other coalition partners have been willing to boost their troop numbers.' (Michael Evans, Times, 28 October 2004, p. 17) Scots Guards To Take Over At Year End 'The Scots Guards, about to be posted to the south, are due to be moved north to take over from the Black Watch on the edge of the violent "Sunni Triangle" before Christmas, said military sources... military sources in Iraq said the Scots Guards would form the core of a new battle group of about 850 troops that would take over in Iskandariyah in December.' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) This is not what we are hearing from the Prime Minister. 'Mr Blair said he was not sure what would happen when the Black Watch's deployment came to an end, but said he had not sought any assurances that the Americans would take over from the British troops. "We don't believe there will be a further requirement for other troops," he said. "But I can't commit myself. I can't guarantee that because I obviously don't know the situation that may arise."' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) He added intriguingly, "What I do know is that if there is any contingency... we are able to meet it." (Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, 28 October 2004, p. 4) Mr Blair had been challenged by the Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, on this issue. 'Mr Kennedy later claimed that his [Tony Blair's] admission that he had sought no assurances from the US that it will replace the 850 men of the Black Watch with US troops meant Mr Blair has "created a gaping hole for mission creep", and again demanded a Commons debate and vote.' (Michael White, Guardian, 28 October 2004, p. 4) The Independent emphasised that, 'Mr Blair refused to give any guarantee that no more British troops would be sent to the area near Falluja after the Black Watch is ordered back to Britain,' thus he 'appeared to contradict assurances given last week by Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, that the deployment of troops outside the Basra area would last "weeks not months".' (28 October 2004, p. 4) The Daily Telegraph's military sources indicate that, contrary to his statement in Parliament, Mr Blair does in fact 'believe there will be a further requirement for other British troops' in central Iraq. They indicate that Mr Blair has already committed himself in principle to an extension of the British presence in central Iraq. The Politics Of Replacement Mr Blair's reference to changing his mind on the basis of 'the situation that may arise' is actually a warning that if the Black Watch have a disastrous tour of duty, or if there is enough political opposition at home, then the extension of the British troop presence, and the Scots Guards' turn in the Iskandariyah triangle, may have to be called off. 'Officers cautioned, however, that the plan for the Scots Guards to take over could be revised if the Black Watch suffered heavy casualties or because of political considerations. One officer explained: "There is intelligence to suggest the Black Watch will be targeted by the insurgents because of the potential political embarassment to the Prime Minister". He added, "The Black Watch is more than capable of holding its own. Unfortunately, the politics is another matter, and if Mr Blair decides he is facing too much flak then the Scots Guards, who are eager to do the job, could lose out." ' (Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2004, p. 2) British opponents of the occupation now have a clearly defined and realisable objective. Apart from trying to prevent (or limit) the planned assaults on Fallujah and other Iraqi cities, which are looming, anti-war activists have a real prospect of terminating the direct support Britain is giving to US operations in central Iraq by preventing the deployment of the Scots Guards northwards. 'An ICM survey of 1,001 adults for the Guardian... found that 61% disapproved of the decision to send the Black Watch in support of US operations against 30% who approved, with 55% of Labour voters opposing the decision.' (Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, 28 October 2004, p. 4) -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Oct 29 01:36:52 2004 Received: from smtp803.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.140]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CNKlA-0006iE-22 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 29 Oct 2004 01:36:52 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.154.23.101 with poptime) by smtp803.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 29 Oct 2004 00:36:21 -0000 Organization: Justice Not Vengeance To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Message-ID: Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 01:36:19 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Stop The Fallujah Attacks - Demonstrations, Preparation for Direct Action (and other London events) Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends In reverse chronological order, some important events in London: 1) NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING WORKSHOP, Sunday 14 November 2) STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH Emergency Demonstration, Sunday 7 November 3) 7DAYS4IRAQ, 1-5 November Note: If you have had problems opening the petition pdf attached to an earlier email, it is available at www.j-n-v.org Many thanks Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV 1) NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING WORKSHOP Organised by Voices in the Wilderness UK When: Sunday 14th November. 11am - 4pm (with a break for lunch). Where: 7a Rampart Street, London, E1 (near the intersection of Commercial Road and Canon Street, nearest tubes: Whitechapel and Shadwell. Buses: 15, 100, 115) For map see Angry about the killing in Iraq? Come and equip yourselves with the skills and knowledge you need to take part in - and organise - civil disobedience and direct action. Includes legal briefing. Organised by Voices in the Wilderness UK. Tel. 0845 458 2564. E-mail: voices@voicesuk.org. Web: www.voicesuk.org. 2) STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH Emergency Demonstration Against the Looming Attacks on Iraq's Cities Called by Stop The Attacks Sunday 7th November Meet 2pm, Parliament Square Come and make your protest in your own way! 'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place, US forces have already started – and are planning to widen – a campaign of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct). A massive attack on Fallujah – where US forces massacred hundreds of Iraqis in April – is almost certain and will, in the words of one US official, be “very bloody and nasty” (Washington Post on-line edition, 16 Oct). British troops are being redeployed from southern Iraq to help form part of an "outer ring of steel" around the city in anticipation of an all- out assault (Independent, 22 Oct). IT'S TIME “Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now. It's time.” (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug) BLAIR WAVERED When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources (Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US Government 'den[ying] … heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20 Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US] take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct). WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks. Please join us on the 7th November! Called by Stop the Attacks – an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists old and new. tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail: stoptheattacks@fastmail.fm 3) 7DAYS4IRAQ Cultural and Political events Monday November 1st 7.30 pm, A Gala classical Concert The Hackney Empire, London For tickets contact 0208 985 2424 Ken Livingstone will introduce the concert featuring the Medici Quartet, Olivier Pons, Annika Palm and the Moscow Piano Trio who are flying in especially from Moscow and will play the world premiere of Jordanian composer Mohydeen Quandour’s piece ‘Cry Jerusalem’. Proceeds are to go to the Charity ‘Child Victims of War’. Tuesday November 2nd From 5pm, ‘Naming the Dead’ Trafalgar Square, London As the US go to the polls across the world the names of dead Iraqi civilians, soldiers of all nationalities and those who have died in the prison camps since the war and occupation of Iraq began will be read out in cities across the world. In London Ken Livingstone will read and introduce the first speaker Harold Pinter. Other readers include Kate Hudson, David Hare, Juliet Stevenson, Neil Pearson, Rose and Maxine Gentle, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Susie Orbach, Corin Redgrave, the Rev Mann, Tony Flint, Louise Richards, Kika Markham and Peter Kennard. Naming the Dead will take place across the country and across the world, in cities including Baghdad, Sydney and Barcelona. For further information please contact Ruth Boswell on 0780 127 6973 Please find the most up to date list of accounted for Iraqi dead http://www.iraqbodycount.net/names.htm Wednesday November 3rd 7:00pm, After US Elections - What Next for Iraq? Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London Special Guest Speaker - Dante Zappala , brother of Sgt Sherwood Baker who died in Iraq Dante is a member of 'Military Families Speak Out' in US Other speakers - Kate Hudson (Chair CND), Lindsey German (convenor StWC), Alan Simpson MP, Muslim Association of Britain speaker, and George Galloway MP Thursday November 4th 7.30pm, Poets for Peace Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London Introduced by Jonathan Pryce with Jean Binta-Breeze , Terry Jones, Christopher Logue, Adrian Mitchell, Brian Patten. Tickets ÂŁ11 (including a glass of wine) Friday November 5th Final day of Peter Kennard’s new exhibition ‘Demo’ City Hall, Queens Walk, London SE1. This work has been on public show (both from outside as well as inside City Hall) since October 12. -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Tue Nov 16 08:45:18 2004 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CTyxf-0007sz-MP for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:45:17 +0000 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:44:45 -0000 Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:44:44 +0000 From: "JNV" To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: <28b47dd136ebffa6f8ee71c66942fdb7@j-n-v.org> X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.0 X-Originating-IP: 81.155.12.103 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Events, Bush to Visit UK, Latest JNV Briefing Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Events: London Demo, London dayschool, etc 2) Bush to Visit UK, February 3) Latest JNV Briefing: Fallujah Dear all We hope you find these useful. The JNV website was down over the weekend for server reasons, but is now operational, and now includes full information about our new initiative Counter Terror, Build Justice 2005. We'd be very grateful if you could encourage your local anti-war group to become involved with this project. Tony Blair has indicated that he is going to make the War on Terror one of the two main themes of his election campaign. Counter Terror, Build Justice is an attempt to counter that kind of propaganda in the run-up to the election (March-April 2005). Counter Terror, Build Justice is sponsored by Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Haifa Zangana, Howard Zinn and many others. Initiated by Justice Not Vengeance and Voices in the Wilderness US, it's so far been sponsored by over 40 groups in the US and UK. Please visit http://www.j-n-v.org/Counter2005/Counter_Terror0.htm for more information and to add your name. Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV 1) EVENTS A) LATE NOTICE: Children against the War vigil, London, Thursday 18 NOVEMBER 2004 Gather at 5.30pm Parliament Square for a candle-lit vigil and then a procession to Downing Street. Children against the War have declared 18 November an official day of remembrance for the children who have died in the war on Iraq. The organiser of the demonstration says: 'I feel it is important for me to demonstrate on my birthday because hundreds of children in Iraq were not given a chance to celebrate their 10th birthday.' She will not be holding a birthday party, but a demonstration for peace instead. All children (and adults) are invited to attend this protest, which involves handing in a letter to Downing Street (6pm) and then an hour's vigil (6pm-7pm) opposite Downing Street. B) Events List Compiled By Voices UK 18 NOV: LONDON, 7.30pm, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road. With Jo Wilding and Philip Pritchard (B52two). Org. by CPT-UK, Quaker Peace and Social Witness and Voices. 19 NOV: BRADFORD, 1-3pm, Peace Studies Department Dept, University of Bradford. Contact 01274 235 171; LEEDS, 7pm, All Hallows Church, 24 Regent Terrace, Leeds LS6 1NP. Contact 0113 242 2205 (Ray Gaston). 20 NOV: MANCHESTER. Time and venue tba. Contact 0161 232 8685. 21 NOV: NORTHAMPTON, 12 – 2pm, Friends Meeting House, Wellington St; Reading, 7pm, Friends Meeting House, 2 Church Street. Contact 0118 967 1362 23-24 NOVEMBER: PUT THE PRIVATISATION OF IRAQ ON TRIAL. Trial of two anti-war activists charged with 'aggravated trespass' at the Shell-sponsored business conference 'Iraq Procurement 2004: meet the buyers'. Postponed from July. 10am, Highbury Magistrates Court. Supporters welcome. Contact freelance@mailworks.org. 24 NOV: NAOMI KLEIN, LONDON, 6.30pm, 'Making a Killing: The Corporate Invasion of Iraq' First major UK talk for 2 years. One night only! Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite Euston station) Ł5 waged / Ł3 unwaged (all proceeds to civil society groups in Iraq) Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus; Jubilee Iraq; Voices in the Wilderness UK; War on Want. Arrive early to ensure a seat or register in advance at: www.waronwant.org/naomiklein 27 NOVEMBER, MANCHESTER: CURRENT CONFLICTS: PEACE MOVEMENT RESPONSES. Conference organized by the Network for Peace. 10am – 5.30pm, Cross Street Unitarian Chapel. Ł5/Ł3. www.networkforpeace.org.uk. 5 DECEMBER, CENTRAL LONDON: INTERNATIONAL TEACH-IN ON IRAQ. University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1, 11am – 5pm. Organised by Iraq Occupation Focus. Speakers include Ewa Jasiewicz, Mike Marquesee, Christian Parenti, Milan Rai, Haifa Zangana and members of US Military Families Speak Out and Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus speakers from Iraq. Workshops on educational and campaigning themes. See www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk 4-5 DECEMBER, LONDON. NO SWEAT CONFERENCE. University of London Union, Malet Street, WC1. Includes session on building solidarity with Iraqi unions. Direct action, street theatre, cyber campaigning and prop making workshops on the Sunday. www.nosweat.org.uk 6-9 DECEMBER, VARIOUS. MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT / IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR SPEAKING TOUR. Leeds Civic Hall (6 Dec), Glasgow (7 Dec), Manchester (8 Dec); Colchester (9 Oct). Organised by Iraq Occupation Focus: www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk 19 MARCH – 15 APRIL 2005: COUNTER TERROR, BUILD JUSTICE. International month of anti-war action. Sponsored by voices (uk and us), Hands Up for Peace, Edinburgh People and Planet amongst others. See www.j-n-v.org BLOCK THE BUILDERS: Campaign to nonviolently prevent the building of a new laser facility at AWE Aldermaston - the first step in the building of the next generation of nuclear weapons. Info. pack available. See www.blockthebuilders.org.uk. 2) Bush To Visit Britain, February 2004 Xmas has come early for the anti-war movement. Reports in the Sunday papers indicate that President Bush will be visiting Britain in the run-up to the British general election, almost certainly in February (though possibly in January, immediately after the inauguration). Time to start putting thinking caps on! 3) New Briefing about Fallujah (This briefing should be up on the site and downloadable as a pdf by Wednesday morning.) ONSLAUGHT: The Attack On Fallujah JNV Anti-War Briefing 69 (11 Nov. 2004) THE BRUTAL WEAPONS The long-feared US ground assault on Fallujah began on Mon. 8 Nov., with air and artillery attacks, including the dropping of eight 2,000-pound bombs. “Usually we keep the gloves on,” said the head of the US 1st Infantry Division’s Task Force 2-2 tactical operations command center. “For this operation, we took the gloves off.” ‘Some artillery guns fired white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin.’ (Washington Post, 10 Nov., p. A01) ‘White phosphorus shells lit up the sky as armour drove through the breach and sent flaming material on to suspect insurgent haunts.’ (Telegraph, 9 Nov., p. 1) Jackie Spinner of the Post visited a US unit with two M109A6 Paladin selfpropelled 155mm howitzers. ‘The Paladin fires rocket-assisted shells that can travel up to 22 miles and regular shells that can cover 13 miles. The shells typically strike within about five yards of their target and are likely to kill anyone within 55 yards of the point of impact.’ Sgt. Fladymir Napoleon, 25: “It’s a great thing blowing stuff up. We’re getting the city free...” Paladin crew chief, Brian Blakey patted a 155mm round: “Three of these, and I can take out a whole building.” Just this one unit’s two artillery pieces ‘fired more than 300 rounds in the first three days of the battle.’ ‘At the other gun a short distance away, Spec. John Kennedy, 26, of Dallas, asked [ Sgt. 1st Class Johnny] Dotson about the rounds his crew had fired that morning. “What were we shooting at?” he asked. “Did we get it?” Yes, Dotson told him. They hit the mosque. Twenty confirmed killed. “We really get no glory,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Moye, 25, of Phoenix.’ (Washington Post, 11 Nov., p. A33) ‘The American military has been using novel and devastating methods to clear Fallujahs’ streets.’ Including the rocket-fired 350-foot-long string of plastic explosives known as Miclic, which can clear a lane through a minefield 8 meters wide and 100 meters long. ‘The Miclic is normally designed for open spaces because it generates tremendous pressure, setting off mines over a large area. In Fallujah the Miclic, fired from 300 to 400 metres, is used to detonate roadside bombs and car bombs. It is highly effective but also indiscriminate, and not normally considered suitable for an urban environment.’ (Times, 10 Nov., p. 9; Miclic details from globalsecurity.org) THE BRUTAL WARRIORS ‘After seven months in Iraq’s Sunni triangle, for many American soldiers the opportunity to avenge dead friends by taking a life was a moment of sheer exhilaration. As they approached their “holding position”, from where hours later they would advance into the city, they picked off insurgents on the rooftops and in windows.’ After calling in mortar fire on a suspected insurgent site, Sgt James Anyett shouted: “Battle Damage Assesment – nothing. Building’s gone. I got my kills. I’m coming down. I just love my job.” (Telegraph, 9 Nov., p. 4) In April, a senior British officer serving in Iraq said of the US attitude to the local people, ‘They don't see the Iraqi people the way we see them. They view them as untermenschen. They are not concerned about the Iraqi loss of life in the way the British are. Their attitude towards the Iraqis is tragic, it's awful.’ The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The phrase untermenschen—literally "under-people"—was brought to prominence by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf, published in 1925. He used the term to describe those he regarded as racially inferior: Jews, Slaves and gipsies.’ (11 Apr.) THE HUMAN COST ‘Randy Gangle, a retired US marine colonel recently returned from the coalition base outside Falluja, said... the US military expected [civilian deaths] to number in the hundreds, not thousands.’ (Guardian, 9 Nov., p. 2) In order to manage perceptions of the human cost of the attack, the first objective was Fallujah’s main hospital. ‘One unnamed senior American officer also admitted that the hospital had become a “centre of propaganda,” reflecting the military’s frustration at the high death toll doctors frequently announce after American bombing raids. It was accounts of the hundreds killed during the first assault on Falluja in April that brought the operation to a rapid halt.’ (Guardian, 9 Nov., p. 3) ‘Sami al-Jumaili, a doctor at the main Falluja hospital who escaped arrest when it was taken on Monday, said the city was running out of supplies and only a few clinics remained open. “There is not a single surgeon in Falluja. We had one ambulance hit by US fire and a doctor wounded. There are scores of injured civilians in their homes whom we can’t move.” (FT, 10 Nov., p. 9) Having destroyed one clinic before the assault (Observer, 7 Nov., p. 2), US forces reportedly destroyed an emergency hospital after taking the main hospital: ‘Twenty Iraqi doctors and dozens of civilians were killed in a US airstrike that hit a clinic in Fallujah, according to an Iraqi doctor who said he survived the strike.’. (Independent, 11 Nov., p. 4) Estimates of civilians remaining in Fallujah on 7 Nov. varied from 100,000 (US military, FT, 9 Nov., p. 10) to 60,000 (Sunni group, Independent, 10 Nov., p. 5). Estimates for the number of fighters left in Falluja before the assault varied ‘from 600 to 6,000,’ meaning that the overwhelming majority of people in Fallujah were thought to be non-combatants. It was reported that ‘Anyone still in the city will be regarded as a potential insurgent.’ (Observer, 7 Nov., p. 18) A threat to kill every human being in Fallujah. At a hospital in Baghdad, the families of civilian victims evacuated from Fallujah ‘claimed that US forces were bombing outlying villages where refugees have regrouped as well as the city.’ (Times, 11 Nov., p. 9) “From a humanitarian point of view, it is a disaster, there is no other way to describe it,” Firdoos al-Ubaidi, of the Red Crescent, said on 10 Nov. “We have asked for permission from the Americans to go into the city and help the people there but we haven’t heard anything back from them. There’s no medicine, no water, no electricity.” ’ (Times, 11 Nov., p. 9) GHAITH ABBOUD Fadel al-Badrani, the only unembedded Western reporter in Falluja, reported the fate of Ghaith Abboud for Reuters: ‘Mohammed Abboud said he watched his nine-year-old son bleed to death at their Falluja home yesterday, unable to take him to hospital as fighting raged in the streets and bombs rained down. “My son got shrapnel in his stomach when our house was hit at dawn, but we couldn’t take him for treatment,” said Mr Abboud, a teacher.’ (Guardian, 11 Nov. 2004, p. 4) ‘In two months – if the elections go ahead – Mohammed Abboud will be able to play a part in what they call democracy. Today, with his remaining family, he sits in a house damaged by the bomb that killed his child. He said: “We just bandaged his stomach and gave him water, but he was losing a lot of blood. He died this afternoon.” It was the highest price of all to pay for the right to vote.’ (Independent, 10 Nov., p. 5) THE BRUTAL LIES - THE ELECTION The assault on Fallujah was justified as necessary to create the conditions for elections due in Jan. 2005. But as Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the UN, pointed out in a secret letter to Mr Bush and Mr Blair, a major military assault leading to an escalation in violence “could be very disruptive for Iraq’s political transition”, and is “likely” to have a “negative impact... on the prospects for encouraging a broader participation by Iraqis in the political process, including in the elections.” (Washington Post, 6 Nov., p. A19) Predictably, the assault led immediately to a call by the influential Muslim Clerics Association for Sunnis to boycott the elections, which would be held “over the corpses of those killed in Fallujah”. (Telegraph, 10 Nov., p. 10) THE BRUTAL LIES - THE TERRORISTS’ SAFE HAVEN Another justification was the need to break the hold of ‘the terrorists’ in Fallujah. However, in Oct., ‘local insurgent leaders voted overwhelmingly to accept broad conditions set by the Iraqi government, including demands that they eject foreign fighters from the city, turn over all heavy weapons, dismantle illegal checkpoints and allow the Iraqi National Guard to enter the city. In turn, the insurgents set their own conditions, which included a halt to U.S. attacks on the city and acknowledgment by the military that women and children have been among the casualties in U.S. strikes.’ (Washington Post, 28 Oct., p. A21) Rejected. A later offer was put forward by a (mainly Sunni) coalition, including the Muslim Clerics’ Association, for ‘a plan to establish the rule of law in those areas through peaceful means’, on the basis of six measures, ‘including a demand that U.S. forces remain confined to bases in the month before balloting’. This was ‘a dramatic shift’ by Sunni groups which had previously insisted that no election would be legitimate until Western troops left Iraq. “This initiative is very significant,” said an official involved in establishing the transitional government. “They’re no longer saying, ‘We’re not participating because the country is occupied.’ They’re saying, ‘The government is not right. The only way we can make it right is by elections.’ If you look at their demands, they’re not impossible. They are things that can be discussed.” Larry Diamond, who served in the U.S.-led occupation authority, said “If there’s a chance that this could be the beginning of political transformation that could change the situation on the ground, I think we’ve got to take it.” (Washington Post, 6 Nov., p. A01) These offers have been brushed aside and erased from the record. They might not have worked, but they were not tried. These briefings are produced by Justice Not Vengeance. We are trying to print and distribute as many as paper copies as possible (for free). We would be grateful for any support you can give. If you can make a donation, please sent it to ‘JNV’, 29 Gensing Rd, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex UK TN38 0HE. To receive e-briefings, visit . -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Mon Jan 03 19:27:26 2005 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1ClXrR-00027D-Qd for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:27:25 +0000 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555; Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:27:14 -0000 Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:27:14 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: <05bde3e13d52a35d983057302f774643@j-n-v.org> X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.2 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.160 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="none" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Action Alert: Corporate Islamophobia against Muslim NGO Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) CORPORATE ISLAMOPHOBIA: 'The Friends of Al-Aqsa' ACTION ALERT 2) PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN ACCOUNT ALSO CANCELLED 1) CORPORATE ISLAMOPHOBIA: 'The Friends of Al-Aqsa' ACTION ALERT a) Action: Email the Royal Bank of Scotland b) The Friends of Al-Aqsa statement from their website c) Guardian article 3 January 2005 d) Bank of England notice regarding the Al-Aqsa Foundation (completely separate organisation) Dear all Today the Guardian reported that a Muslim non-governmental organisation based in Britain is having its bank account closed by the Royal Bank of Scotland in a unilateral and unjustified manner. No explanation has been given by the bank, but it seems that 'The Friends of Al-Aqsa' is being treated as though it was a terrorist-connected organisation. No evidence has been produced that The Friends of Al-Aqsa has any such connections, no charges have been laid, and the Government has not taken any action to suggest that such connections. Despite this, the accounts of the organisation itself and its chairperson are to be closed on 14 January 2005. Please email the RBS immediately to complain. Yours for peace Maya Evans Milan Rai Note: It's possible that 'The Friends of Al-Aqsa' is being confused with the completely separate organisation the 'Al-Aqsa Foundation', which has had its bank accounts frozen by order of the US Government for suspected terrorist links. a) ACTION: Email the Royal Bank of Scotland Please write firmly but politely to the Royal Bank of Scotland asking them to keep open the bank accounts of The Friends of Al-Aqsa, and its chairman Ismail Patel, and to lift their threat to close these accounts on 14 January. You may wish to point out to the RBS that there is no outstanding legal action against The Friends of Al-Aqsa, and that the organisation is said to have a good financial record with the bank. In these circumstances, the closure of these organisational and personal bank accounts appears to be an act of corporate political censorship which contributes to public fear and hatred of Islam. The Friends of Al-Aqsa add: 'If you are not satisfied at the response of the bank and if you have an account with these banks (RBS includes NatWest and Ulster Bank), you may wish to review your banking arrangements before more Muslim organisations and institutes are affected.' (Incidentally, RBS also includes Churchill Insurance, Tesco Personal Finance, and the internet payment system WorldPay.) According to the Friends of Al-Aqsa, the bank can be contacted on the following address: Email: rajnish.bhardwaj@rbs.co.uk PLEASE REMEMBER TO BE POLITE We are trying to get this account reinstated. b) The Friends of Al-Aqsa statement from their website http://www.aqsa.org.uk/ The Friends of Al-Aqsa is a non-profit making organisation with voluntary staff concerned with the defence of basic human rights of Palestinians as supported by various international groups and organisations. It also stands for the protection and safety of Al-Aqsa Haram Sharif (The First Qibla) in Al Quds (Jerusalem). Friends of Al Aqsa Bank Account Closed 3 January 2005 The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (which includes Nat West Bank) has closed the bank account of Friends of Al-Aqsa, and its chairman Ismail Patel's personal and business accounts. This unilateral action by the bank has no legal basis and has come as a shock to us. FoA has been a customer of RBS since its inception some ten years ago and has hitherto had excellent relations with the bank. RBS has refused to enter into discussions and is hiding behind terms like commercial decision and states in its letter it is unwilling to enter into any further discussion. FoA has been given 30 days from December 15 to find alternative banking arrangements. The Friends of Al-Aqsa bank account and that of its Chairman has always been in credit and no accusations of unethical activity has ever been made by the bank or the police. FoA has contacted Scotland Yard and they have assured FoA they have not asked the bank to close our accounts. The fact that a bank can act with such impunity has worrying implications for everyone in this country. Friends of Al-Aqsa suspects that the banks decision is purely political since Friend of Al-Aqsa has always been in credit. The wider implications of RBS actions for Muslims and all active political organisation is of great concern in this era of the anti-terrorism act, where anyone bearing a Muslim title is fair game. It appears the Royal Bank of Scotland and Nat West are being used as tools against those that express sympathy with Israels victims. No bank or institute should be allowed to get away with such anti-Palestinian or anti-Muslim actions. c) Guardian article 3 January 2005 Palestinian aid groups' accounts closed Faisal al Yafai Monday January 3, 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1382302,00.html or http://tinyurl.com/64buu Two British organisations set up to help the Palestinian people have had their bank accounts abruptly closed without explanation, the Guardian has learned. Neither is proscribed by the government, and both claim that their targeting is political. The groups, Friends of Al-Aqsa (FoAA) and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign [see next section], have been asked to find alternative banking arrangements, even though neither appears on watch lists held by the Home Office or the Bank of England. The head of FoAA has also had his personal and business accounts closed. Ismail Patel, chair of the Leicester-based FoAA, said he returned from holiday this week to find a letter from the Royal Bank of Scotland saying a review had been conducted and the bank was no longer willing to provide him with facilities. He was given 30 days to transfer his three accounts. "It came out of the blue. There's nothing I can think of that I've done differently," he said. "I was shocked by the letter." Mr Patel said he had held his personal and business accounts with the bank for more than 20 years and the FoAA account for 10, without incident. He had never even been overdrawn or had any complaints from the Royal Bank of Scotland. "I think it is a political decision - they do not think it's favourable to be associated with those of us working for the victims of Israel," said Mr Patel. RBS said it was not obliged to discuss reasons for closing an account, and stressed due notice was offered. It declined to discuss an individual case. Mr Patel fears his organisation may have been mistaken for one with a similar name. The Bank of England asks all banks to freeze the accounts of people and organisations subject to financial sanctions. Although neither Mr Patel nor FoAA appear on the watch list, a group called the Al-Aqsa Foundation, based in the Netherlands, is named on it. "I would have thought they would have looked at it and told us at least. It's absurd. Without the bank disclosing their reasons we don't know anything," said Mr Patel, who is now consulting lawyers. FoAA estimates that it will cost more than Ł10,000 in lost subscriptions and reprinting costs. d) Bank of England notice regarding the Al-Aqsa Foundation (completely separate organisation) News Release - Terrorist Financing: List of Suspects 29 May 2003 http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/pressreleases/2003/059.htm The Bank of England, as agent for Her Majesty's Treasury, has today directed financial institutions that any funds which they hold for or on behalf of Al-Aqsa Foundation (full identifying details provided below) must be frozen. This is because the Treasury have reasonable grounds for suspecting that Al-Aqsa Foundation is or may be a person who commits, attempts to commit, facilitates or participates in the commission of acts of terrorism. Financial institutions are requested to check whether they maintain any accounts for the organisation named below and, if so, they should freeze the accounts and report their findings to the Bank of England. 2) PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN ACCOUNT ALSO CANCELLED a) Intro This actually happened in July 2004 (you can read the whole story below). If you'd like to protest, the Alliance & Leicester Registered and Group Head Office is Alliance & Leicester plc, Carlton Park, Narborough, Leicester LE19 0AL Main tel: 0116 201 1000 Main fax: 0116 200 4040 On the other hand, you might just take this opportunity to join the PSC: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/ b) Guardian article 3 January 2005 Palestinian aid groups' accounts closed (last section) Faisal al Yafai Monday January 3, 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1382302,00.html or http://tinyurl.com/64buu The Palestine Solidarity Campaign also had its account withdrawn, by the Alliance & Leicester. Zoe Mars, the treasurer for the PSC, said that at the end of 2003 the group sent Ł750 to a medical charity in Palestine. Five months later it got a letter from its bank saying the transaction had been interrupted by the US treasury, which wanted more information on the transfer. The money eventually went through, but three months later, in July 2004, the bank decided to close its account. "We wondered if that worried them and they feared they'd be accused of money laundering," said Ms Mars. "They might have thought, this is more trouble than it's worth. Anything to do with Palestine just raises fears." A bank spokesperson said it would not discuss its reasons but added: "I can assure you ... that the Alliance & Leicester has not closed any accounts for racial or political reasons." The PSC has written to its members asking them to transfer their standing orders, but so far only half have done so. From milanrai@btinternet.com Tue Jan 04 12:37:10 2005 Received: from smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.202]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1Clnvy-0002pZ-OU for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 04 Jan 2005 12:37:10 +0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.154.18.223 with poptime) by smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 4 Jan 2005 12:36:40 -0000 To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2005 12:37:05 -0000 From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] CORRECTION Action Alert - Friends of Al-Aqsa Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all Please send your email of complaint to robert.a.macdonald@rbs.co.uk as the email address contained in our earlier Action Alert belongs to someone who is out of the office until 13 January, and we need to put the pressure on the Royal Bank of Scotland to keep these accounts open before then. Full contact details (as forwarded to us by The Friends of Al-Aqsa): Robert Macdonald, Customer Relations Manager Tel: 0131 523 3243 Fax: 0131 523 6551 Email: robert.a.macdonald@rbs.co.uk Later this week we'll be circulating briefings on the subject of Islamophobia. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Jan 05 16:50:56 2005 Received: from smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.198]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CmEN6-0003E7-Ij for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 05 Jan 2005 16:50:56 +0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.159 with poptime) by smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 5 Jan 2005 16:50:25 -0000 Organization: Justice Not Vengeance To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Message-ID: Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2005 16:50:26 -0000 From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Further correction ACTION ALERT Friends of Al-Aqsa Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all In the last few days we've circulated information about the Royal Bank of Scotland closing down the account of a British-based Muslim NGO working in Palestine. (Some people seem to have received an empty email, for some reason. We're very sorry - the information is now up on our website.) We circulated an email address for complaints to the RBS. We must apologise again to the many people who have already tried to email the Royal Bank of Scotland over this disgraceful affair. The second email address given by the Friends of Al-Aqsa has also failed to work. There are two alternatives: phone or web-based complaint form: 1) PHONE Please call Robert Macdonald RBS Head Office, Customer Relations Manager Tel: 0131 523 3243 2) COMPLAINT FORM One activist used the following complaint form though and it worked: http://www.rbs.co.uk/Personal_Finances/Get_in_touch/Tell_us_what_you_think/complaints_4.asp if that link is broken, please try Please do try to register your complaint. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV PS Letter sent by one person in response to the Action Alert: I was dismayed to read in yesterday's Guardian that the Royal Bank of Scotland has unilaterally decided to close all the bank accounts of Friends of Al-Aqsa along with those of its chair, Ismail Patel. The stated aims of FoAA include the following: "(l) To lobby heads of Governments, elected Members of Public offices and Foreign Secretaries as a way of achieving an international recognition to the right of Palestinians and Muslims to the custody and guardianship of Al-Aqsa. (m) To use all legal means to raise the profile of the issue and create awareness in the general public. (n) To participate with international heritage, cultural and humanitarian organisations in joint ventures leading to the advancement of the aims. (o) To open direct contacts with International Organisations in order to achieve human rights for the Palestinians." Please could you tell me what possible objection the RBS could have to providing banking facilities for an organisation which campaigns by "all legal means" to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people? There are, of course, indeed terrorist organisations which (ab)use the name of Al-Aqsa, but if your sources of information had done their homework properly they should have been able to establish readily enough that FoAA has no connections with such people and explicitly states that it pursues its aims and objectives "using all the available peaceful, legal and democratic means". I believe you have been misinformed about the nature of FoAA and I urge you to reconsider your decision. If I do not receive a satisfactory answer from RBS I will regrettably have to draw the conclusion that it is discriminating against Muslim organisations and/or organisations connected in some way with Palestine, and in that case I will encourage all my friends and family to close any accounts they have with RBS. I myself was considering applying for an RBS credit card, but will no longer be doing so. I look forward to hearing from you. With best wishes, -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Mon Jan 17 18:48:12 2005 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1Cqbv7-0000jP-Ak for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:48:11 +0000 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:48:08 -0000 Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 18:48:08 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: <22bc9d87646aa1a4e2e345efdbdc537c@j-n-v.org> X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.2 X-Originating-IP: 81.154.23.111 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="none" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Bush Inauguration Protests Thursday 20 Jan Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Bush Inauguration Protest Thursday 20th January EDINBURGH 6.30pm, The American Consulate, 3 Regent Terrace Organised by ad hoc group of Scottish anti-war activists from independent networking event in Glasgow in December. LONDON 5 - 6pm, US Embassy, Grosvenor Square London CND and Stop the War are organising a silent candlelit protest. With Bruce Kent, Pat Arrowsmith, Rae Street, David Shayler, George Galloway, Kate Hudson, Lindsey German and others. There will be one hundred candles each representing one thousand Iraqi civilians killed since the invasion. We will also be laying a wreath. Please wear black if possible. From milanrai@btinternet.com Mon Feb 07 16:33:30 2005 Received: from smtp813.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.203]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1CyBpK-0001mE-4u for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 07 Feb 2005 16:33:30 +0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.155.12.116 with poptime) by smtp813.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 7 Feb 2005 16:32:59 -0000 Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 16:33:22 -0000 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Peace Not War Party and Workshops - London 12 Feb Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Party 2) Workshops (including Voices in the Wilderness/JNV workshop) Valentine's Make Love Not War Party! Saturday 12th February at London's hottest squat: Circle Community Centre (the big old St George's Theatre) 49 Tufnell Park Rd, London N7 (Tufnell Park or Holloway tube) Asian Dub Foundation Soundsystem Carpetface The Rub & Angel (electronic set) The Unpeople DJ Rubbish DJ Disorientalist Rhythms of Resistance Samba Band Robb Johnson Pok Hosted by Angel It costs Ł5/Ł3 + all day workshops and creative forum by the European Creative Forum crew, hosts of monthly radical creative spaces at RampART, Project 142, European Social Forum, Chucha Theatre and Unity Works. http://www.peace-not-war.org/ From milanrai@btinternet.com Mon Feb 14 20:28:55 2005 Received: from smtp806.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.196]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D0mpz-0004nQ-9X for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:28:55 +0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (dissidentvoice@earthlink.net@81.154.23.111 with poptime) by smtp806.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 14 Feb 2005 20:28:23 -0000 Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:28:36 -0000 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Two Iraq Comments Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Iraq: Whose Side Are You On? (A 5 February talk by Milan Rai) 2) Whoever You Vote For, Washington wins: How Washington Plans To Dominate The New Iraqi National Assembly (An article for the next issue of Peace News) Hi everyone Here are two long pieces of writing from today. I hope you find them useful. We've been having website problems, so I'm not sure when they will go up on the JNV site. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV 1) Iraq: Whose Side Are You On? Speech to the Labour Against The War conference by Milan Rai, University of London Union, Malet Street, London, 5 February 2005 [edited version] Commenting on the handling of terrorist suspects, the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on Wednesday 2 February, ‘the one thing I will not do as Prime Minister is engage in anything that I think puts the security of our country at risk. That is paramount for me.’ (Hansard, ) Why, then, did he ignore the advice of British intelligence, which warned him in February 2003 that the invasion of Iraq would ‘heighten’ not lessen the risk of terrorism against Britain? The Intelligence and Security Committee report into Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, published in September 2003, found that the Joint Intelligence Committee gave this warning to Tony Blair on 10 February 2003: ‘The JIC assessed that al-Qaida and associated groups continued to represent by far the greatest threat to Western interests and that threat would be _heightened_ by military action against Iraq.’ ( emphasis added) Tony Blair invaded Iraq knowing that his action would put the security of this country at risk. The truth is that, as with previous prime ministers, there were other factors that were ‘paramount’. The security of the British people was not, and is not, a crucial issue. What about the security of the Iraqi people? Mr Blair claims to have the interests of the Iraqi people at heart. He likes to frame the current conflict as one between ‘democracy’ and ‘the terrorists’. He likes to place himself on the side of ‘democracy’, against ‘the terrorists’. Why then did he enthusiastically support the US in imposing on Iraq as interim Prime Minister a known former terrorist, Iyad Allawi? (There are those who still deny that Allawi was imposed by the US. When we go back to his elevation, we find that the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council put forward three names for the top job (and derailing the UN process for selecting the prime minister in the process). According to The Times, the US vetoed two of the candidates as ‘too Islamist’, leaving Allawi to take the job. (31 May 2004, p. 27) So George Bush is not lying when he says he did not select Allawi. He just vetoed every other possible candidate.) Let us run briefly through Allawi’s terrorist background. The last time car bombs went off in Baghdad (before the US/UK invasion) was in 1994-95. These bombings, which, if they were carried out today, would be denounced by Allawi as vile terrorism, were carried out by the Iraqi exile opposition group known as the Iraqi National Accord (INA), headed then (as now) by... Iyad Allawi. Backed by the CIA and preparing for a 1996 coup attempt, the INA bombed a cinema, a mosque, and the street outside an official newspaper, killing a total of perhaps 100 civilians. The CIA role in these bombings was confirmed in the New York Times by 'former intelligence officials' who 'while confirming C.I.A. involvement in the bombing campaign, would not say how, exactly, the agency had supported it.' 'The bombing and sabotage campaign, the former senior intelligence official said, "was a test more than anything else, to demonstrate capability." ' (NYT, 9 June 2004, p. A1 ) 100 Iraqi civilians were blown up to demonstrate Iyad Allawi’s terrorist capabilities. In October 1995, Allawi followed this up by ordering the bombing of the headquarters of the Iraqi National Congress, an umbrella group for Iraqi oppositionists-in-exile which his INA party technically belonged to. 28 anti-Saddam activists were blown up. Three men were arrested and, under interrogation by Kurdish police, confessed that they planted the bombs on the orders of the INA. The CIA carried out its own investigation, taking away fragments from the scene: the results were never released. (Andrew and Patrick Cockburn, Saddam Hussein: An American Obsession/Out of The Ashes) Allawi was never punished for these activities by the US, for the simple reason that he and his INA party was at the centre of US policy towards Iraq for over a decade. And the reason Allawi and the INA has been at the centre of US policy towards Iraq for over a decade is that Allawi is a former Ba’athist, and his party is a party of former Ba’athists. Since 1991, the US has been pursuing a policy in Iraq not of ‘regime change’, but of ‘regime stabilization, leadership change’. That’s why in March 1991 Richard Haass, a Middle East staffer on the US National Security Council told a fellow Bush administration official, ‘You don’t understand. Our policy is to get rid of Saddam, not his regime.’ (Saddam Hussein: An American Obsession/Out of The Ashes) That’s why in October 2002, the White House spokesperson, Ari Fleischer, when asked about the multi-billion-dollar cost of invading Iraq, replied that the cost of the invasion could be saved for the ‘cost of one bullet.’ Pressed on whether he was advocating the assassination of Saddam Hussein, Fleischer replied, ‘Regime change is welcome in whatever form it takes.’ One-bullet, one-man regime change. Leaving the Ba’athist military, intelligence services, judiciary, police, and civil service intact would have amounted to ‘regime change’, if only the supreme leader had been despatched. If we had had the Nazi state without Hitler. I’ve written about more about this in Regime Unchanged. Allawi was at the heart of US policy towards Iraq because Allawi represented the best chance of organising a coup within Iraq, and leaving the Ba’athist system in place. Allawi joined the Ba’ath Party early, and was an enthusiast. Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA case officer who served in the Middle East, told the New Yorker, ‘Allawi helped Saddam get to power. He was a very effective operator and a true believer.’ For Gerecht, ‘Two facts stand out about Allawi. One, he likes to think of himself as a man of ideas; and, two, his strongest virtue is that he's a thug.’ Allawi moved to London in 1971, to run the European operations of the Ba’ath Party organization. He commanded the local activities of the party’s intelligence arm, the Mukhabarat, until 1975, according to US intelligence officials. ‘If you're asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does,’ says Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA officer. A a ‘cabinet-level Middle East diplomat’ told Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker that Allawi was involved with a Mukhabarat ‘hit team’ that sought out and killed Ba'ath Party dissenters throughout Europe. (New Yorker, ) Allawi’s involvement in terrorism did not start in 1994, then. For years, the US tried and failed to organise a coup via Allawi and his INA. When the invasion finally took place, Saddam’s regime collapsed, much to the dismay of Washington. Allawi was brought in to provide what the Foreign Office used to call ‘an Arab façade’ for the occupation, and to aid the US programme of recruiting and restoring Ba’athists to power. At first, the Shia mobilization forced the US to declare a ‘de-Ba’athification’ process – while quietly re-hiring Saddam’s spies. In the same month that US governor Paul Bremer announced ‘de-Ba’athification’, the US occupation forces re-hired for intelligence work Mohammed Abdullah, a colonel with ten years in the Mukhabarat and eight in military intelligence. The colonel told the Sunday Times in September 2003, ‘We are under strict instructions not to publicise our work with the Americans, but dozens of former Mukhabarat officers have already been recruited.’ (Mark Franchetti, ‘CIA recruits Iraq’s feared secret police,’ Sunday Times, 21 September. 2003, p. 26) The Sunday Times reported, ‘US officials claim all recruits from the former Mukhabarat are vetted.’ Unfortunately, he notes, vetting is tricky: ‘The Americans often find themselves forced to rely on Mukhabarat agents already working for them when selecting new recruits.’ The Gestapo were vetting the Gestapo. Once imposed as interim prime minister, Allawi accelerated the process of re-Ba’athification. He appointed ex-Baathists to key cabinet posts, including Falah al-Naqib, the son of a prominent Baath official who ultimately became Iraq's ambassador to Sweden, who became minister of the interior. He chose Hazem al-Shaalan, a former Baathist from al-Hillah, as Defence Minister. Brig. Gen. Muhammad Abdullah Shahwani, an old-time Ba’ath officer, was made head of the Iraqi secret police. According to Dr Juan Cole, an Iraq expert who calls this group ‘a network of ex-Baathists (or perhaps neo-Baathists)’ ‘Shahwani is alleged to be a long-time CIA asset who is being groomed as a replacement for caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi should the latter be assassinated.’ Allawi even re-hired former Special Forces soldiers from the old regime, to serve in a ‘police commando’ strike force. Maj. Gen Adnon Thabit, who now acts as a Iraqi Police Service adviser for the Ministry of the Interior says, ‘we have police who have previous experience fighting terrorism and also people who received special training under the former regime - people who used to be in the army.’ U.S. Army Col. James H. Coffman Jr., who works alongside the Major General, says, ‘They needed a strike force that reported to the Ministry of Interior… So they purposely went out and recruited against these former special forces and (former Directorate of General Security [Mukhabarat]) personnel that had a high degree of training existing already… to capitalize on the previous skill sets that they had.’ Col. Coffman, who has a Special Forces background himself, adds, ‘This is a very disciplined unit. These are disciplined soldiers who are doing a very good job, and they're very impressive because of it.’ (American Forces Press Service, 20 October 2004 < http://tinyurl.com/6ss2t>) The Washington Post observes, ‘Supporters of Allawi's actions - including, implicitly and quietly, _the United States_ - believe that the Baathist military and intelligence officers, trained in the ways of control, are Iraq's best hope of successfully combating the violent insurgency. (3 February 2005, p. A21 , emphasis added) Allawi tried to force the doors open wider for the old gang. Last October he tried to abolish the Supreme Commission for De-Ba’athification, but was found by a court to be acting unlawfully. He wanted to bring in a new rule that any official of any rank could be brought back into government service if they had not actually been found guilty of a crime in a court of law. This policy is supported by Washington, and they would like the new government to institute something like this. Unfortunately the Shia coalition which has won the most votes in the election is dead against re-Ba’athification, for obvious reasons. To make the issue concrete, consider the case of Rasheed Flayeh, appointed last summer by Allawi’s Interior Ministry to the post of director-general of the secret police force. The De-Ba’athification Commission objected that, as head of security in the southern city of Nasiriya, he had taken part in the brutal suppression of the 1991Shia uprising. So what. He was appointed anyway. (New York Times, 13 October 2004 ) Re-Ba’athification is US policy. It is at the centre of US policy, and has been for over a decade. Re-Ba’athification cannot truly be reversed until the occupation is reversed. That is the reality of Iraq. Real security for the Iraqi people means de-Ba’athification and freedom from occupation. Real security for the people of Britain means ending Tony Blair’s foreign adventures. Here in Britain, we have a choice. We can be on the side of Rasheed Flayeh, of the men and women with blood on their hands. We can be on the side of Iyad Allawi and his neo-Ba’athist network, the terrorists and thugs of yesterday and today. We can be on the side of Washington, which promotes the re-nazification of Iraq. We can be on the side of Tony Blair and his democratic terrorism. Or we can be on the side of all those struggling for real regime change in Iraq, and for an end to the US-UK occupation. 2) Whoever You Vote For, Washington wins: How Washington Plans To Dominate The New Iraqi National Assembly JNV Briefing 76: 14 February 2005 An article for Peace News The elections in Iraq have been an unprecedented opportunity for ordinary people to influence the destiny of their country, but the National Assembly they have elected is so hedged in with US-imposed restrictions that the cabinet it produces will be more like a chain-gang of prisoners than an independent government. A prominent Iraqi politician in the Shia coalition told the New Yorker in January that the US had quietly told the parties before the election that there were three conditions for the new government: it should not be under the influence of Iran; it should not ask for the withdrawal of US troops; and it should not install an Islamic state. One important but neglected issue is the steady re-Ba’athification of the security forces under US direction. This re-Ba’athification is hotly rejected by the majority Shia coalition, and is therefore a key issue for the new government. The British mass media, as elsewhere, has concentrated on the division of power between the Sunni, Shia and Kurdish communities, and on how power may be shared between the different elements of the ‘winning’ Shia coalition. What has not been examined is the framework within which the newly-elected National Assembly, and the soon to be appointed ‘Iraqi Transitional Government’, must operate. What has been off the agenda, due to a colossal act of media self-censorship, is the division of power between the elected Iraqi National Assembly and the unelected US-led occupation. There are several levers of power that the US has created to retain control. One US device is the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), an interim constitution written in Washington and imposed on Iraq in March 2004. Jawad al-Maliki, member of Daawa, one of the two main Shia parties, has pointed out correctly that ‘the body which we have elected has more legitimacy than this document’. (FT, 14 February 2005, p. 9 ) Unfortunately, the TAL is self-defined as the default constitution of Iraq until a permanent constitution has been adopted in a referendum. In a clause bitterly rejected by the Shia majority parties, the TAL states that the permanent constitution must obtain the approval of at least one-third of the voters in sixteen of Iraq’s eighteen provinces. This was put in to give Kurdish provinces a veto over the final text (it also gives Sunni-dominated provinces the same veto). (Nathan J. Brown, ‘Post-Election Iraq: Facing the Constitutional Challenge’, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Democracy and Rule of Law Project, February 2005, ) If this veto is used by the Kurds, the TAL continues to be the constitution. (And, according to Article 59 of the TAL, the Iraqi military will continue to function under US command.) (Nathan J. Brown, ‘Post-Election Iraq: Facing the Constitutional Challenge’, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Democracy and Rule of Law Project, February 2005, ) The effect of these provisions of the Transitional Administrative Law is to give Washington’s most loyal clients in Iraq – the Kurds – a powerful veto over political progress. Another device for US control is the debt relief plan put together in November 2004, under which some of Iraq’s creditor nations will forgive some of Iraq’s debt (in stages), conditional upon the Iraqi government following an IMF ‘liberalization’ programme. This programme will prioritize foreign investors, privatization, and ‘tax reform’, but not unemployment or poverty in Iraq. The new Iraqi government will have to choose between defying the rulers of the international economic and financial order, or following the IMF. Following the IMF will also mean pursuing the economic re-structuring and privatization set in motion by US administrator Paul Bremer during his time as ruler of Iraq. The main tool of US control is, of course, military. As the FT pointed out recently, ‘US leverage rests upon awareness among the Shia that their government is unlikely to survive a civil war without continued US support’. (13 January 2005) The Shia coalition that won the greatest number of votes in the election had to announce its list of candidates in the Convention Centre in the US-controlled ‘Green Zone’ in Baghdad, ‘protected by US soldiers’. (Independent on Sunday, 19 December 2004) In November 2003, when the US unveiled an earlier version of the ‘handover’ process, a senior US official told the New York Times, ‘It’s a gamble, a huge gamble. But it’s easy to overestimate the degree of control over events we have now and to underestimate how much we will retain.’ Another senior official said that even after the establishment of the interim Iraqi government, ‘We’ll have more levers than you think, and maybe more than the Iraqis think.’ Among the levers the US expected to be able to use: the US military presence itself; the $20bn US reconstruction budget for Iraq; and the requirements of US investors. (‘America’s Gamble: A Quick Exit Plan for Iraq’, New York Times, 16 November 2003) Another device for maintaining control was Paul Bremer’s appointment of key officials for five year terms just before leaving office. In June 2004, the US governor ordered that the national security adviser and the national intelligence chief chosen by the US-imposed interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, be given five-year terms, imposing Allawi's choices on the elected government. Bremer also installed inspectors-general for five-year terms in every ministry, and formed and filled commissions to regulate communications, public broadcasting and securities markets. (Washington Post, 27 June 2004, p. A01 ) It is in the area of national security that Allawi’s choices are most significant. A former Ba’athist himself (see JNV Briefing 67 ), Allawi restored former servants of the Saddam regime to important posts, and has filled the security forces with former Ba’athists. Saddam’s Special Forces soldiers and former intelligence officials are even being rehired as a police commando strike force. Last summer Allawi’s government appointed Rasheed Flayeh to the post of director-general of the secret police force, despite objections from the Supreme Commission for De-Ba’athification that as head of security in the city of Nasiriyah, Flayeh had taken part in the brutal suppression of the 1991 Shia uprising. Last October, Allawi tried and failed to disband the De-Ba’athification Commission (headed by his old rival Ahmed Chalabi). Allawi wanted to be able to openly readmit former senior Ba’athists to power unless they have been found guilty of serious crimes in court, a policy supported by Washington. The Shia coalition that has ‘won’ the elections has vowed to reverse re-Ba’athification, and it is likely that Allawi’s enthusiasm for this policy will bar him from being a compromise prime minister in the new government. < http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041013/ZNYT03/410130453> Since 1991, the US government has pursued a policy of ‘regime stabilization, leadership change’ in Iraq. The collapse of the regime in 2003 was a shock from which Washington has not yet recovered. The Bush Administration has been forced into a zigzag path of retreats and assaults which has landed us, today, with a major defeat for the (heavily-US-funded) Bush candidate Iyad Allawi, a plurality of votes for the most Iran-friendly group of parties in Iraq, and a strong voice in the National Assembly for the de-Ba’athification brigade, who are determined to reverse the US-directed re-nazification of Iraq. Washington is going to need every lever of power that it’s got. ENDS -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Feb 25 14:16:34 2005 Received: from smtp802.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.139]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D4gGg-0008WK-4i for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:16:34 +0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.214 with poptime) by smtp802.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 25 Feb 2005 14:16:03 -0000 Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:43:48 -0000 From: lrcndnvrn To: "Kay Murphy (Sittingbourne)" , "Marthe Mundy (Bethnal Grn)" , "dermot moynihan" , "David Milner" , "Paul Milling (N - Oxf)" , milanrai@btinternet.com, "Mid Somerset CND" , "Merseyside CND" , "Vijay Mehta" , "Helene McLeod (Guildford)" , "Isobel McHarg" , "Kate McCormack (L-SE5)" , "Jenny Maxwell" , "Dan Martin (SW18)" , "Lucy Mann" , "Finn MacKay" , "Noel Lynch (London Green)" , "London Catholic Worker" , "David Leal" , "Robert Laurie (Camden Trades Council)" , "Peter Lang" , "Ginnie Landon" , "Labour Against the War" X-Apparently-To: milanrai@btinternet.com via 217.12.13.31; Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:44:55 +0000 Authentication-Results: mta818.mail.ukl.yahoo.com from=supanet.com; domainkeys=neutral (no sig) X-Originating-IP: [213.40.2.15] Received: from [213.40.252.34] (helo=b3z6i1) by bedpan.sout.netline.net.uk with smtp (Exim 4.24) id 1D4cxj-0003RV-Gq; Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:44:48 +0000 Message-ID: <008901c51b27$062ffd50$05fc28d5@b3z6i1> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Resent-To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Resent-From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Resent-Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:16:30 -0000 Resent-Message-ID: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=4.4 required=5.0 tests=BLANK_LINES_70_80,DEAR_FRIEND, SUBJ_ALL_CAPS autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: **** Subject: [JNV Announce] URGENT ACTION CONCERNING PREVENTION OF TERRORISM BILL Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Campaign against the Criminalisation of Communities URGENT ACTION Alert (forwarded by JNV) Dear Friend The Government is rushing through the new Prevention of Terrorism Bill through the Parliament with unseemly haste. The second reading was completed on Wednesday the 22 Feb. The Committee Stage and the final stages are to be completed on Monday the 28 Feb 2005. The Bill abandons the presumption of innocence completely and gives the Home Secretary the executive power to restrict a person's liberty with a range control orders up to and including house arrests on the basis of suspicion rather than proof. There would be retrospective judicial reviews to confirm the decision. The Home Secretary will rely upon secret intelligence which may have been obtained through torture by third parties. The accused will not be able to test the case against him in any meaningful way because of the proposed closed court sessions. The Bill has come under severe criticism from MPs from all parties all human rights and civil liberties organisations. It is only the three-line whip of the Labour party that will secure its passage. The Bill is ill-conceived and dangerous and if implemented it would lead to serious human rights violations and erosion of civil liberties. Those who are concerned with preserving human rights and civil liberties need to act urgently given the short time scale. Please consider the following options. OPTION 1 This option is for every person in every constituency throughout the United Kingdom. It can be done within 5 minutes. Copy and paste this message- change it in the way you wish and then fax it www.faxyourmp.org.uk or www.writetothem.com Do this not later than Sunday 27 Feb. OR simply ring the House of Commons telephone inquiry line 020 7219 4272, ask for your MP's office and talk to them. If nobody is available, leave a message. "Dear I urge you strongly to vote against the so called Prevention of Terrorism Bill. I am deeply concerned that the Prevention of Terrorism Bill is being rushed through the House with unseemly haste and without appropriate Parliamentary and public scrutiny it requires. The bill proposes to remove the presumption of innocence as the core principle of British justice and vests the power with the Home Secretary to deprive a person of his/her liberty on the basis of suspicion rather than proof. The bill proposes closed retrospective judicial reviews where evidence obtained by secret intelligence will be used. The accused will thus not be able to the test against him or her. I fear that the bill if implemented will lead to gross violations of human rights, erosion of civil liberties and miscarriage of justice. As one of your constituents, Please let me know which way you will be voting. Yours sincerely " Your MPs are in their constituencies this Friday and Saturday. Why not see if you can see them when they are holding a surgery and express your concerns. OPTION 2 If you live in Inner London, Greater London and the Home Counties and are willing to travel to the House of Commons on Monday to lobby your MP between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. then you need to phone your MPs office at the House of Common using the number 0207 219 4272 or phone the local constituency office. Ask for a lobbying appointment at the House of Common at a mutually agreed time on Monday the 28 anytime between 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. If you are working, it will have to be after working hours say between 6 to 8 p.m. This is open to people outside South East as well if they have grave concerns and are prepared to travel to London. To prepare yourself, get the most up to date information from the following websites: http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/ http://web.amnesty.org/ http://www.cacc.org.uk/ In solidarity Saleh Mamon CAMPACC CO-ORDINATOR FOR THE NATIONAL LOBBY -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Tue Mar 08 15:08:37 2005 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D8gK4-0004kb-Gu for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:08:37 +0000 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:08:52 -0000 Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:08:51 +0000 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.2 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.94 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="none" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Repression in the UK: Control Orders Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all Here are two articles from today's newspapers about the 'control orders' that the British Government is trying to rush through Parliament. Please do protest to your MP as soon as possible, and take part in the CAMPACC lobby this weekend. has all the information. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV 1) Satirical The Financial Times, 8 March 2005 Robert Shrimsley, Notebook column, p. 20 'Top cop says nail these fanatics' Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police chief, this weekend used a News of the World column to back the government's anti-terror legislation and attack on the civil liberties lobby. Below are edited extracts. Even as you read this there are at least 100 trained fanatics walking Britain's streets. Of course when I say walking the streets, don't take that literally; some will just have popped into Starbucks for a latte. I refer of course to the ranks of civil libertarians and human rights lawyers stalking our country. Intelligence sources show there are at least 100 trained human rights lawyers at large, threatening to invoke habeas corpus, questioning the reliability of police evidence and patronising the home secretary in the House of Lords. In ordinary times, their activities could be monitored without undue alarm. But these are not ordinary times. The terror threat to our nation is greater than it has ever been. There are quite literally a gazillion al-Qaeda trained terrorists at large in Britain today. It is truly terrifying. I'd leave the country, but I'm afraid to fly. They are being aided by the hordes of lawyers, many of them schooled in training camps in Lincoln's Inn under fanatical liberal masterminds such as Cherie Blair or Michael bin Mansfield. Now, I know there are those who think that there must be a middle ground between the extreme civil rights lobby, which behaves as if there were no threat, and those who say we should take any steps necessary to safeguard our citizens. But there isn't. Let me tell you, the intelligence I have seen shows that you cannot negotiate with these people. It is madness to let these lawyers roam free. We have seen the damage they can do. Only last week they forced Charles Clarke to let a judge decide who gets put under house arrest. Now it is all very well to say a judge should determine whether people can be detained without trial or subject to swingeing control orders. But that way madness lies. Today it may be judicial sanction: tomorrow these lawyers will be demanding the accused be told the evidence against them. Let's not get in a twist about judicial oversight or a sunset clause on the legislation. I have seen the intelligence against these terrorists and let me tell you they are villains of the worst order. That's all you need to know. The problem is we do not have the evidence to bring them to trial and secure convictions. That is why it is vital to remove the need for evidence or trial. Sometimes we do have the evidence but don't feel minded to present it. And why should we? Time was when the word of a policeman was enough. Next we'll be scrapping the presumption of guilt. Wake up Britain. These liberals are standing between us and safety with their demands for "conventional evidence", whatever that might be. Would you really feel safer if that dripping liberal Michael Howard got his way? These days "human rights" are being too skewed towards the individual. We need to get back to the days when human rights were too skewed towards the state. Before it is too late. 2) Serious The Guardian, 8 March 2005 'A stampede against justice' In a plea to parliamentarians, Gareth Peirce spells out the dangers of control orders Gareth Peirce is a solicitor representing detainees under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 This week, our future and our liberties are in your hands. We cannot forgive you if you betray us, and you betray us if you compromise. You betray us if you do not see the excesses of a totalitarian state in what you are asked to endorse. Any person who has a control order imposed upon him is from that moment branded, forever, as an individual "involved in terrorism-related activity". He can never disprove that label as he will never be told why the order is being made against him. And not only is the man or woman who becomes the subject of the order branded, so too are their entire family, their friends and associates. The children of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa speak of the scars that still remain because they grew up, just as much as their parents, under house arrest. The children and grandchildren of those witch-hunted by McCarthy in 1950s America lived thereafter branded as the families of traitors. And before we have even had the opportunity to cure the serious mental illnesses caused not just in the men detained under the 2001 act, but in their families also, we are being plunged into new nightmares, unconscious of the lessons of history. In order not to frighten parliamentarians, it is at present claimed that control orders do not require any individual to remain in his home 24 hours a day. In every fundamental way, however, his life can be destroyed. If he disobeys any aspect of an order, he will be imprisoned. He can be prohibited from possessing specified articles, he can be prohibited from specified activities, he can be restricted "in respect of his work or his business", he can be restricted in his association with specified persons or, open-endedly, "with other persons generally". He can be restricted as to where he lives or who lives with him, where he goes and when. He will be required to give access to "specified persons", to allow those persons to search his place at any time of day or night, to be tagged, to comply with his movements and communications being monitored and, chillingly, to provide information to a specified person if demanded. We remember the requirement imposed upon hundreds of Americans by McCarthy to provide information on demand, and the heroic stance of those who took the fifth amendment and were sent to prison. "Naming names" will be the order of the day here in just the same way; the individual will be branded, and then, on pain of imprisonment, be required to brand others. Anyone from the Muslim community in Britain, or who has any knowledge of their experience, will have heard the terrified reports, in particular of those who have no safe immigration status, of being repeatedly approached - outside their homes, in supermarkets, with their children - by intelligence agents to provide "information" in exchange for regularisation of their immigration status or face the consequences if they refuse. Can future recipients of control orders anticipate them and modify their behaviour accordingly? Based upon the experiences of those detained under the 2001 act, the answer is firmly no. Far from becoming clearer with time, those detained are, after three years, even more confused as to the basis for their detention. What is asserted by the home secretary in March 2005, in relation to each detainee to justify his continuing detention, is that each remains wedded to his extremist jihad ideals. How can this assessment have been made? Of those about whom it is made, three are in Broadmoor hospital and have had access only to their doctors (who proffer their view that no such ideas or behaviour have ever been manifested throughout the years they have been there). Another, driven into madness and under house arrest has had no visitors or communication with anyone other than his wife, children and lawyers for nearly a year. The others, all in Woodhill or Belmarsh, have had no one come near them to make any such assessment since all were thrown into prison in 2001. All that has happened in the past three years (and now is being redesigned for relegislation for the future) is the antithesis of any criminal justice system. It is a delusion to think that imposing a judge at any stage in the process, whether it be at the outset or further down the unjust line, can remedy the fact that all of this construct is created to avoid our constitutional protections of fair, public and open trial, by a jury of your peers, in which the most important aspect of all is that your accuser tells you at the earliest possible moment what the accusation against you is, so that you have the opportunity of replying. None of this construct can be improved or affected by amendments since the very purpose of the new legislation is to avoid these central obligations. Once the individual is branded, any information to justify the branding is considered behind closed doors. What do we know of the origins of that information? Enough to disturb us greatly. Only because he was forced into the answer, did the home secretary acknowledge that the government uses information obtained from torture and that the only caveat to its use is what weight to give it. I remain astounded that no parliamentary debate followed to question this most extraordinary admitted breach of our every international and domestic treaty obligation. Nor do I understand why, within this present legislative stampede, there is no serious questioning of what has openly thereby been admitted, that the government's assessment of threat, is erected, to a significant degree, upon information extracted around the world from torture. As each new wave of British detainees emerges from Guantánamo Bay, individual accounts of horrifying ordeals have one common denominator: from the first days of unlawful capture of each, whether in Pakistan, the Gambia, Zambia or elsewhere, British intelligence agents were there. What those agents wanted was information demonstrating a threat in this country; what they did not want was evidence that there was not. The same predetermination to find particular answers is not only to be found in the behaviour of our intelligence agencies in Guantánamo Bay. The most extraordinary proof that this was the only approach ever intended was clear from the first moment of arrest of all of those interned under the then 2001 legislation. Were they ever arrested, interviewed by police or indeed anyone to discover what they had to say before they were taken to Belmarsh? No. Have they ever been spoken to since that time? No. The question that ought to inform parliament above all, is "Why not?" Is it that no one in authority wanted to know the answers to the questions that might have been put? Is it really sane, let alone lawful, to try to discover whether there is a threat to this country by frightening individuals unofficially in the aisles of supermarkets, or by obtaining the byproducts of coercive interrogation and torture abroad and yet deliberately to forgo the opportunity of engaging in official processes of inquiry? Fairness to those accused is not dissonant in any way with the interests of society. The interests of society collectively, as well as of the individual, demand that criminal accusation be precise and foreseeable and communicated. How otherwise can members of society determine in advance whether they risk offending against the law? These fundamental questions demand the clearest possible debate as to what is and what is not acceptable in society, what is banned and what is not. What the government asks for here is the ultimate demand of any totalitarian regime: the executive is the accuser; the moment of accusation is also the moment of the imposition of the penalty. Wherever in the process a judge comes to be involved, the executive has already pre- determined that the individual will be stigmatised and punished on the basis of suspicion - that suspicion backed only by secret "information". This is a stigma that is intended to attach itself to the accused wherever he moves (if he can) nationally, and conveyed onwards, internationally. It is, of course, open-ended. It will destroy his family for generations. The accuser, the executive, invokes a judge for one reason alone, to give its procedure a spurious cover, to safeguard it against any future judgment of the law lords or the European court of human rights. However, in a sense it matters not to the executive if in three or four or five years it comes to lose the legal argument once again, since those accused under any new law will have been been immobilised. The government's only preoccupation now is to force this legislation through parliament. Without protection for the individuals who make up society, society itself founders. Nor is there a balance to be struck between the rights of individuals and national security: national security depends upon every individual in this country having inalienable rights. We have not voted for you as our representatives for you to throw these away. Circulated by Justice Not Vengeance www.j-n-v.org From info@j-n-v.org Mon Apr 04 23:28:30 2005 Received: from ns2.studio2online.net ([82.108.68.205]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DIa3a-0004HB-Ay for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Mon, 04 Apr 2005 23:28:30 +0100 Received: from localhost by NS2.STUDIO2ONLINE.NET (Studio 2 Online Ultimate Mail Server ) with SMTP id KNA74555 for ; Mon, 04 Apr 2005 23:28:54 +0100 Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2005 23:28:54 +0100 From: JNV To: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org Message-ID: <419a8647233a9c0d0b8b5d100e9ba824@j-n-v.org> X-Mailer: IceWarp Web Mail 5.3.2 X-Originating-IP: 217.44.165.179 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="none" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=ORDER_NOW autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] NEW JNV Badge 'I Vote Anti-War' - order now Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) New JNV 'I Vote Anti-War' Badge 2) New JNV 'Counter Terror: Build Justice' DVD Dear friends We hope you find these useful tools in your work. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV 1) New JNV 'I Vote Anti-War' Badge Today (Tuesday) Tony Blair is due to announce the official beginning of the British General Election campaign. Justice Not Vengeance is responding by bringing out a badge for the election, which says, simply, 'I VOTE ANTI-WAR'. This should be a powerful message to canvassers, fellow voters, doubters, and prospective parliamentary candidates. One challenge for the anti-war movement is to get as many prospective parliamentary candidates/MPs seeking re-election to commit themselves to an anti-war agenda. How better to make this concrete than to ask everyone who wants your vote to wear an 'I VOTE ANTI-WAR' badge? As you may know, JNV badges are traditionally black lettering on a yellow background. Because yellow is associated with one of the political parties, and we don't believe that everyone in the anti-war movement will be voting for that party (the Liberal Democrats), we have shifted over instead to a salmon pink background. You can see what the design looks like on our home page We are speedily printing a limited number of badges, which will cost us about 35p each to produce. We are asking for Ł4.00p for every 10 badges (it's up to you how much you sell them on for, perhaps 50p). For 10 badges, please add 50p p&p. For 20 badges and more, p&p is free. Please contact us immediately if you are able to sell some - email us your name, address and number of badges (multiples of 10, please), and send a cheque at the same time made out to 'JNV', to JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN38 0HE. 2) New JNV 'Counter Terror: Build Justice' DVD Justice Not Vengeance has produced a short film about the 'war on terror'. Here are some extracts from early reviews: VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS UK, April 2005: An excellent, short, thought-provoking primer, explaining why the UK Government's "war on terror" is not only wrong but actually endangering UK citizens. "Counter Terror: Build Justice" demonstrates clearly how al-Qaeda draws upon legitimate grievances to create a reservoir of support – and therefore what a real "counter-terrorism" strategy, draining that reservoir, would actually involve. Highly recommended. Review by Gabriel Carlyle LABOUR LEFT BRIEFING, April 2005: “Are governments pursuing policies that reduce the risk of terrorism or increase it?” asks Milan Rai at the start of this new DVD from Justice Not Vengeance. Tony Blair was warned by the security services that invading Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack – but he went ahead anyway. This short film uses interviews with Bruce Kent, Labour MP Michael Foster, and Dr Tariq Rajbee to look at the causes of terrorism and why Britain is a target. The message from this excellent film is that protest really does make a difference. Review by Mike Phipps JOURNALIST Hugh Warwick: An intelligent and rigorous challenge to the vicious cycle of terror met by yet more terror: it presents something we all need; a vision of hope. HOW TO ORDER: The DVD is available now for Ł5 plus Ł1.50 p&p from JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN38 0HE. Please email us for orders from outside the UK. There is an order form on the JNV website at From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Apr 15 16:51:37 2005 Received: from smtp803.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.140]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DMT6X-0002lF-36 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 15 Apr 2005 16:51:37 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.89 with poptime) by smtp803.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 15 Apr 2005 15:51:05 -0000 Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 16:51:16 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV Announce] Voting Anti-War: Some Reflections by Milan Rai Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear friends I hope you find these thoughts on the British General Election useful. Please feel free to circulate them and to post them on websites without further permission. Incidentally, we still have a few I VOTE ANTI-WAR badges left. (You can see the latest version on our home page ). If you would like some, please let us know the number required and your address as soon as possible, and we'll send them out first class. Best wishes Milan Rai JNV ----------------- VOTING ANTI-WAR The Anti-War Movement Must Resist Labour Scaremongering Milan Rai OUR OPTIONS The British anti-war movement currently has three broad options in relation to the British General Election: vote anti-Tory (as Tony Blair is urging us); vote anti-Labour (as Michael Howard and the more punitive elements of the movement are urging us); or to vote anti-war. (There is also the option of not voting, discussed below.) The vote is indeed a blunt instrument, but the danger of a 100-seat Labour Government majority is greater than that of a Conservative victory. We must vote anti-war. Apart from voting, there is also the question of who you campaign for, if anyone. It has been suggested by Labour Against The War (), that anti-war activists who support the Labour Party should campaign for any nearby anti-war Labour candidates, for example, whatever they do with their vote in their own constituency. This tactic might sometimes also apply to supporters of other parties. Returning to the question of how to use your vote, what does ‘voting anti-war’ mean? For JNV, it is an approach rather than a definite prescription, an approach that attempts to respect the differing political loyalties and commitments activists hold within the anti-war movement. THE LESSON OF THE WAR The big question for the anti-war movement is what lesson the British political establishment is going to draw from this election regarding the war on Iraq. Is the election going to show that you can’t get away with a major war which is clearly illegal and massively unpopular, even if you are ‘the most gifted political communicator’ of your age? Or is the election going to show that, in the end, the voters will forgive you such misdemeanours if you can present yourself as the lesser of two evils? How will the political establishment judge the election? One indicator will definitely be the number of seats Labour loses in the election. Another will be the share of votes going to ‘anti-war’ parties. I put ‘anti-war’ in quotation marks because what matters, from the Establishment point of view, is how the parties are perceived. The Liberal Democrats, for example, opposed the war on Iraq before it started, then supported it as soon as the bombs started falling. They’ve supported the occupation of Iraq, but they’ve also called for the end of the occupation in December of this year. These are not the positions of a principled anti-war party. However, the Liberal Democrats are *perceived* as an anti-war party, and, yes, they are the only mainstream party setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. A vote for the Liberal Democrats will be *seen* as an anti-war vote. As will a vote for the Green Party, for the independent anti-war candidates who are springing up around the country, for the Scottish Nationalist Party, for Plaid Cymru, for Respect, and for the Scottish Socialist Party and for a host of other socialist parties. The proportion of votes going to such parties – particularly the parties which have the highest profile and are most clearly identified as ‘anti-war’, such as the Lib Dems, the Greens, the independent anti-war candidates, and Respect – will be part of the foreign policy establishment’s assessment of the political cost of war on Iraq. The logic of this analysis, then, is that anti-war activists should vote for ‘anti-war’ parties, even people who have formerly voted for the Labour Party. The beauty is that no vote is wasted. Even in a 'safe' Labour or Tory seat, votes for anti-war parties will count towards the national total of 'anti-war' votes. ANTI-WAR LABOUR A complication is that there are also ‘anti-war’ Labour MPs and candidates, some of whom are fighting in marginal seats. Should traditionally-Labour-voting anti-war activists support such candidates? The argument against is that returning a Labour MP, even an anti-war one, helps to re-elect Tony Blair. On the other hand, there are two strong arguments in favour of supporting such candidates (if you are inclined to vote Labour at all). Firstly, if anti-war Labour MPs do better than pro-war Labour MPs (holding their majorities or increasing them, when pro-war MPs lose votes and seats), this will sharpen the lesson of the war. Secondly, if Labour is returned to power, it is important to the movement to have as large a proportion of the Parliamentary Labour Party composed of anti-war MPs as possible. SCAREMONGERING In general, then, voting anti-war means voting for anti-war candidates. But the Labour Party high command are trying to get *anti-war* voters to vote *anti-Tory* instead of anti-war. The Robin Cook line is that you can’t vote for an anti-war government. You can only vote for a chastened Labour government, which has learned its lesson, or for an enthusiastically pro-war Conservative government. Labour loyalist Polly Toynbee argues that you should ‘Hold your nose, vote Blair and Brown will be the victor’. (Guardian, Wednesday 6 April, p. 22) (This is Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer who financed the invasion of Iraq, and who funds the continuing occupation without demur.) In the Independent, Johann Hari surveys the quiet redistribution policies of the Blair government, and quotes Ken Livingstone: ‘If we experience a disastrous result on election night, it will not be Tony Blair who is punished. It will be the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.’ (6 April, p. 35) LOOK TO THE FUTURE Polly Toynbee writes: ‘forget retribution and look to the future... Revenge for a war that will never be repeated is a poor excuse’ for voting against Labour. What matters is the future, and especially the future of those who would suffer under a Conservative government which would reverse the social welfare programmes put into place by the Blair administration. But the purpose of an anti-war protest vote is not simply backward-looking revenge. We’re interested in the future. In the future, what kind of government is most likely to bring British participation in the ongoing occupation of Iraq to an early end? In the future, what kind of government in Westminster is most likely to be an obstacle for future US warmongering? In the future, what lessons will British political parties and British governments draw from the Iraq experience? The election can influence the make-up of the next Government, can place limits on its foreign policy ambitions, and can have a lasting impact on British politics - if and only if an unpopular war of aggression results in enormous political damage. The anti-war movement is concerned for the future of the Iraqi people, and the future of other peoples under threat from President Bush’s so-called “war on terrorism”. We are far from convinced that Iraq was ‘a war that will never be repeated’. The only way to reduce the chances of it being repeated is to deal a punishing blow to Tony Blair and his government. A BLUNT INSTRUMENT Jonathan Freedland (and others) notes that many of ‘those people who usually put a cross by the word “Labour”.... would like to vote for an option marked “Return a Labour government, but with a sharply reduced majority so that Tony Blair learns the lesson of the Iraq war.” ’ He points out that these and other desirable options are not on the ballot paper. Freedland points out that when you vote, you can only vote for a Labour candidate or for the candidate of another party -- you can't vote for a 'reduced-majority Labour government'. Key sentence: ‘If everyone who wanted that outcome withheld their vote, the result would be a Tory victory.’ For the vote is 'a blunt instrument.’ (Guardian, 6 April, p. 21) What Jonathan Freedland, Robin Cook and all the other nose-holders fail to point out is that the reverse is also true. If everyone who wants to prevent a Tory victory turns out and votes for Labour, then the government will be returned with a majority of over 100 parliamentary seats. This will be seen as vindicating Tony Blair. It will be seen as rewarding the invasion of Iraq. It will help to clear the way for future wars of aggression. If left-wing and liberal voters put the defeat of the Conservatives as an overriding political priority, and vote Labour, they will hand Tony Blair a mandate for future wars, and signal that the war on Iraq was an acceptable foreign policy option. WORST-CASE SCENARIO What is the worst-case scenario for the anti-war movement? Is it a Conservative victory? Or is it the vindication of Tony Blair and his decision to launch the invasion of Iraq? In my own view, the worst-case scenario would be a Labour victory of over 100 seats. Yes, the Conservatives are a pro-war party, but their victory would not be interpreted as an endorsement of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The defeat of the Labour Party would be a severe lesson to the British Establishment. At the time of writing, the balance of probabilities is very much in Labour’s favour. The question is how large Labour’s majority is going to be. It is said that Michael Howard’s goal is actually to reduce the Labour majority; he does not hope to actually win the election. Even when the polls give them a level pegging, Labour is ahead because of the distribution of its voters across constituencies. The Conservative Party 'needs a 10.8 per cent swing from Labour to gain a majority of one.' (Ben Hall, FT, 6 April 2005, p. 3) The Tories need to be over 10 per cent ahead in the opinion polls to win the General Election (if the swing is uniform throughout the country and counting only those who are actually going to vote). Given the polls as they stand at the moment (15 April) the chances of ending up with a Conservative government are remote, to say the least. The question of the day is how large the Labour majority is going to be. Conservative strategy is apparently to appeal to its core voters and to motivate them to turn out, while turning off everyone else so that overall turnout is low. At the beginning of the campaign, ‘On a 78 per cent turnout, Labour would have a majority of 128 in the Commons. On a 56 per cent turnout, that majority falls to about 50.’ (Financial Times/MORI, 1 April, p. 4) ‘On a 55 per cent turnout, however, if the Conservative five-point lead were to be replicated, Labour would still be in power – just – but in a hung parliament and at the mercy of the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government.’ Robert Worcester, head of MORI, comments: ‘The “project” – the proposed pact between Labour and the Lib Dems – would be back on.’ (FT/MORI, 5 April, p. 3) The Sunday Times reported two weeks ago that, ‘Early indications show that Labour is likely to lose more than 68 of its 408 seats and that its majority will be cut from 161 to less than 60 seats... Professor Paul Whiteley, one of the authors of the 2005 British Election Study, said there was evidence that the turnout could slide even further, to as little as 53% this time, and that such a turnout could seriously undermine Labour’s prospects.’ (3 April, p. 10) That sounds like we could have a hung parliament. But then Michael Howard's racist rhetoric about immigration spurred more people to support Labour. The FT noted early on that ‘a prediction based on an average of polls taken in the past month by Electoral Calculus, the online election predictor, gives Labour a four-point poll lead, which would produce a majority of 106.’ On the other hand, punters on the internet ‘are betting that Labour’s election majority will be slashed to about 60 seats, a much smaller margin of victory than most polls suggest.’ (‘Punters bet on Labour majority shrinking to about 60 seats’, 1 April, p. 4) According to James Blitz of the Financial Times, reporting the consensus view, a majority of 70 is the minimum needed to provide the Prime Minister with a comfortable working majority. ‘A margin of 100 would be a solid win that went a long way to wiping clean the Iraq problem in politics’. A widely-held judgement of overwhelming significance to the anti-war movement. Blitz notes that, ‘Anything fewer than 40 – a big haemorrhage of Labour seats would raise serious questions about how long Mr Blair could stay in office.’ (FT, 6 April 2005, p. 3) Blair might be forced to resign immediately as Labour leader and as Prime Minister. Alternatively, such a disastrous result might ‘encourage Gordon Brown to challenge him for the leadership.’ MARGINAL CONSTITUENCIES This election is going to be decided in marginal constituencies. If Labour loses 76 of its most marginal seats, it will lose its majority in the House of Commons. (For an explanation of the mathematics, see Alan Watkins, ‘Unglaze your eyes: the magic number is 76’, Independent on Sunday, 10 April 2005, p. 27) A full list of Labour marginals is at . In those 76 constituencies (from Dorset South down to Watford), activists should have no hesitation in voting for anti-war parties (unless there is an anti-war Labour MP standing for re-election) even if this is likely to let in Conservatives. If Conservatives get in to these seats, it will erode Tony Blair’s majority. That is entirely acceptable from an anti-war point of view. In particular, Liberal Democrat supporters who have voted Labour in the past (following an anti-Tory strategy) should have no hesitation in voting for their beliefs in those constituencies, stopping their tactical voting, and voting ‘anti-war’ instead. At the constituency level the highest priority is probably to vote (or campaign for) for anti-war MPs, people who voted against the war and who oppose the occupation of Iraq - if you can stand voting for their party. As pointed out above, maintaining or increasing the proportion of anti-war Labour MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party would be a valuable achievement for those parts of the anti-war movement who are at all willing to vote Labour. Rewarding anti-war Labour MPs for their courage would contrast with, and deepen, the punishment handed out to pro-war Labour MPs for their dishonesty and cowardice. In marginal constituencies, it is clear, many former Labour voters are defecting to the Liberal Democrats in order to register their disgust with the behaviour of the Blair government, over Iraq, and over many other issues also. There is certainly an argument for this defection. The argument is particularly strong when, as in my own constituency of Hastings & Rye (62 in the list of Labour marginals), the Liberal Democrat candidate is strongly anti-war (he is actually a former Labour Party mayor and councillor who defected in disgust over the war in Iraq). NOT VOTING It is difficult not to sympathise with the voices calling for abstention, spoiled ballots and so on. Neither of the two potential governments-in-waiting is enormously attractive. On the other hand, for the anti-war movement this is a historic opportunity to demonstrate to the British political establishment that blatantly illegal and deeply unpopular wars of aggression carry real costs. Spoiled ballots and abstentions by anti-war activists cannot be distinguished from the general and growing disillusionment of the electorate at the empty convergence of the major parties. CONCLUSION Given (a) the serious risk that the anti-war movement voting (and/or campaigning) for Labour candidates will mean victory for Blair on a scale that grants him vindication,; and (b) the remote possibility that voting (and/or campaigning) for non-Labour candidates will lead to a Conservative victory, the anti-war movement must set a clear overall priority. In general terms, it is more important for the anti-war movement to prevent a (quite possible) 100-seat-plus victory for Labour than to prevent a (quite unlikely) victory for the Conservatives. Milan Rai JNV -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Wed Apr 20 08:38:34 2005 Received: from smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.198]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DO9n8-0007J6-2N for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Wed, 20 Apr 2005 08:38:34 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.154 with poptime) by smtp808.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 20 Apr 2005 07:38:03 -0000 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 08:38:04 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV] Tony Blair in Brick Lane today Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all Tony Blair is said to be visiting Brick Lane in London today, Wednesday 20th April, at 2pm. Stop The War Coalition have called a demonstration for 1pm to protest this visit. Join the protest at 1pm, Whitechapel end of Brick lane. Nearest tube Aldgate East. The STWC phone number being given out is: 079 585 35231 We can't vouch for the accuracy of this information, but it seems highly plausible. Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai JNV -- Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Thu Apr 21 03:23:20 2005 Received: from smtp804.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.141]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DORLc-0006Kk-CP for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Thu, 21 Apr 2005 03:23:20 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.154.18.206 with poptime) by smtp804.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 21 Apr 2005 02:22:49 -0000 Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 03:17:15 +0100 From: "Milan Rai" To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) Resent-To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" Resent-From: "Milan Rai" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Resent-Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 03:22:53 +0100 Resent-Message-ID: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV] RICIN: New JNV Anti-War Briefing Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: 1) Apology re Tony Blair visit 2) Election links 3) NEW BRIEFING Kamel Bourgass and the 'ricin' fiasco Dear all 1) Apology re Tony Blair visit Firstly, our apologies for the false alert regarding Tony Blair's suspected visit to Brick Lane yesterday. We've since been informed by Tower Hamlets Stop The War that the visit was cancelled the night before: 'I have to let you know that the StWC protest set for Blair's visit to East London has been cancelled. We heard late last night, that Blair was not coming. Obviously this is the sort of thing that happens in an election campaign - the information we had was that the media had been put on stand by yesterday afternoon for Blair to come to Brick Lane and invitations were extended to local restaurateurs as well as heavy police presence across the immediate area.' Our apologies once again for the false alert, and we will make sure we do more rigorous checks before putting out something like that again. 2) Election links We've added some election-related links to the Justice Not Vengeance site (unfortunately the site is down at the moment, but we hope it will be running again by the time you read this). 3) NEW BRIEFING We hope you find this briefing useful. A double-sided A4 pdf version will be on the JNV website as soon as it comes back up again (or we can email you a pdf if you want to print it out for distribution). Best wishes Maya Evans Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance ***************** RICIN FIASCO The Truth About The The ‘Ricin Cell’: There Was No Ricin And No Cell JNV Anti-War Briefing 79 (20 Apr. 2005) THE WILD CLAIMS On 13 Apr., an Algerian asylum-seeker named Kamel Bourgass was found guilty of plotting to use poisons to cause a ‘public nuisance’ in Britain. This rather minor offence has been blown up into a national crisis by the British Government, the police, the intelligence services, and the mass media, in yet another example of ‘counter terror’ scaremongering. At the start of the misnamed ‘ricin affair’ in Jan. 2003, the public was told that an al Qaeda cell had been arrested before it could launch a terrorist attack using the chemical weapon ‘ricin’. The public was told that the police had discovered traces of ricin in the flat used by the cell. It has now been established that there was no ‘ricin’, and no ‘cell’. BRAVE FACES IN SCOTLAND YARD ‘Senior Scotland Yard officers are putting on a brave face even though several privately admitted that the outcome of the case was “disappointing”... [After] one of the biggest operations mounted by SO13, the Yard’s anti-terrorist branch, only one man, Kamel Bourgass, was convicted of a terrorist offence’—his eight co-defendants were found not guilty or had charges dropped against them. (Sunday Times, 17 Apr., p. 4) It was ‘a blow’ to police and the intelligence services, who ‘arrested more than 100 people and visited 26 countries’ during a two-year investigation. (Times, 14 Apr., p. 1) Defence lawyers said (accurately) that it was ‘a “catastrophic” embarassment for the government’s war on terror.’ (FT, 14 Apr., p. 5) THE TRUTH ABOUT RICIN Kamel Bourgass confessed to having copied out a recipe for making ricin—a poison which can kill if it is injected, eaten or inhaled. ‘The jury heard that the plan had been to kill people by smearing ricin on door handles in Holloway, north London. But Prof [Alistair] Hay [the toxicologist] said: “With these recipes they could not have killed people. Ricin is not absorbed through the skin.” ’ (Guardian, 14 Apr. ) The US Government’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website says of ‘skin and eye exposure’: ‘Ricin in the powder or mist form can cause redness and pain of the skin and the eyes.’ Redness and pain. That is what Bourgass was convicted of conspiring to inflict on North Londoners. ‘Porton Down scientists who tried to recreate Bourgass’s experiments found that they might have produced material sufficient to kill a large sheep, but not a single human being, let alone thousands.’ (Editorial, Observer, 17 Apr. ) THE SHIFTING CHARGES This is partly why Bourgass was convicted only of conspiring to cause a “public nuisance”—‘a common law offence said by the Crown to involve plotting to use poisons to cause “disruption, fear and injury”... the jury could not decide on a more serious charge of conspiracy to murder using poisons, including ricin and cyanide, for which he had recipes. He will not face retrial on this charge’. (Daily Telegraph, 14 Apr., p. 1) ‘Charges against the [defendants] claiming they conspired to make chemical or biological weapons were quietly withdrawn from some of the original indictments drawn up by the Crown Prosecution Service. Instead, prosecutors substituted charges of “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”—a highly unusual charge dismissed by defence lawyers as a “Mickey Mouse” offence. Because of a gagging order granted by the court at the request of government lawyers, the fact that the chemical weapons charges had been dropped was not reported.’ (Sunday Times, 17 Apr., p. 4) RICIN NOT FOUND When a team from Porton Down chemical and biological weapons research centre entered Bourgass’s flat on 5 Jan. 2003, it detected the presence of ricin: ‘But these were high sensitivity field detectors, for use where a false negative result could be fatal’. ‘A few days later in the lab, Dr Martin Pearce, head of the Biological Weapons Identification Group, found that there was no ricin.’ (Duncan Campbell, Guardian, 14 Apr.) There are different accounts of what happened next. Duncan Campbell says in the Guardian that, ‘when this result was passed to London, the message reportedly said the opposite.’ The Sunday Times says that Porton Down ‘only formally informed Scotland Yard about their new findings at a meeting in March [2005]’: ‘Sources in the case say Andrew Gould, a scientist at Porton Down whose role was to liaise with Scotland Yard, has accepted responsibility for the bungle. Gould admitted in court that he had not passed on the test results and that the public had been misled as a result.’ (Sunday Times, 17 Apr., p. 4) This is contradicted by another Guardian report which says that, ‘Porton Down documents show that by January 8 scientists at the defence research facility had written to the police declaring there was no ricin on several items from the flat. (Guardian, 14 Apr. ) An intriguing mystery. Whatever the truth behind these confusing reports, it is a fact that the non-existence of the ricin supposedly at the heart of the ‘ricin’ trial received little attention in the media. The Telegraph left it to the last paragraph of their front-page story to tell its readers that the initial ricin scare had been a “false positive result”. The Guardian left it to the 25th para in its 28-para main story to note that ricin was not actually found. AL QAEDA NON-CONNECTION—MEGUERBA There was no ricin. There was no ‘cell’. What about al Qaeda? The Telegraph said Bourgass was ‘trained by al-Qa’eda to be one of its top poisoners’—‘a trained assassin and one of Osama bin Laden’s most ruthless followers’. (14 Apr., pp. 1, 2) The only evidence to this effect came from the confession of a fellow Algerian, Mohammed Meguerba, under ‘interrogation’ by the Algerian security forces. Interesting, then, that, ‘Evidence from Meguerba was withheld from the jury during the trial, after the prosecution argued he was an unreliable witness.’ ‘Although information said to come from Meguerba was used to mount the raid that led to the ricin arrests, he later changed his story when interviewed in Algeria by British police officers, saying that he played no part in preparing the poisons and had merely heard Bourgass talking about his expertise as a poison maker.’ (Observer, 17 Apr., p. 8) AL QAEDA NON-CONNECTION—THE RECIPES & GSPC The prosecution argued that Bourgass had copied chemical recipes from al Qaeda manuals. But ‘It [Bourgass’s recipe book] had nothing to do with al-Qaeda and was translated into Arabic from American survival handbooks. This was demonstrated by Duncan Campbell, the espionage expert, and accepted as such by Porton Down, the MOD’s chemical research establishment.’ (Simon Jenkins, Times, 15 Apr., p. 20) It has been alleged (but not proven) that Bourgass is a member of the Algerian terror group the GSPC. But the GSPC is not al Qaeda. As the FT notes, ‘the trial has ended without producing any definitive evidence of Mr Bourgass’s links with any terrorist organisation, and with questions remaining over his true identity and that of a co-conspirator Mohamed Meguerba who remains detained in Algeria.’ (14 Apr., p. 5) MEGUERBA—AGENT PROVOCATEUR? ‘The Observer has discovered that [Meguerba] was forced by his country’s intelligence service to make a telephone call to Britain to “provoke” his associates into further action... The news raises the possibility that Meguerba was working for the Algerians as an agent provocateur... One call had been made to “locate” an individual of interest to Algerian intelligence, and a second to “provoke” another person.’ (17 Apr., p. 8) Interestingly, ‘Bourgass himself said that he had copied out the poison recipes at Meguerba’s request.’ (Sunday Telegraph, 17 Apr., p. 21) BOURGASS—MURDERER The one crime definitely committed by Bourgass was the killing of Detective Constable Stephen Oake, part of the team that arrested Bourgass. However, ‘a vital question remains unanswered... was he a hardened terrorist, or a fugitive scared out of his wits at being sent home.’ Bourgass is a failed asylum seeker turned illegal immigrant. (Independent, 15 Apr., p. 42) RICIN AND THE WAR ‘Tony Blair claimed at the time of Bourgass’s arrest just before the Iraq war, in flagrant contempt of court, that he was intent on launching “weapons of mass destruction” with “huge potential”... Peter Hain predicted a “ricin attack”, whatever that is, on the House of Commons. All this was garbage.’ (Simon Jenkins, Times, 15 Apr., p. 20) Blair went to the Commons in Feb. 2003 ‘to tell MPs that the alleged conspiracy was “powerful evidence” of a continuing terror threat to the nation.’ (Independent, 14 Apr., p. 4) George W. Bush and his Cabinet also used ‘the ricin plot’ to build a justification for the invasion of Iraq. We know now that there was no ricin, and no ‘cell’. One man experimented with poisons—showing no signs of preparing to use them in this country. There is no evidence (apart from the unreliable Meguerba) as to the intended targets of ‘the plot’ or as to Bourgass’s alleged terrorist affiliations. The ‘chemical weapon’ was not lethal, but merely irritating to the skin. The pathetic reality behind the lies that led to war. -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Apr 29 00:05:44 2005 Received: from smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.202]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DRI4l-0005md-Ry for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 29 Apr 2005 00:05:43 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@217.44.165.86 with poptime) by smtp812.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 28 Apr 2005 23:05:10 -0000 Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 00:05:16 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV] JNV Media Note: The Attorney General's Advice, Government Spin and The Weapons Inspectors Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Dear all The publication of the Attorney General's legal advice gives the anti-war movement an opportunity to put the issue of Iraq firmly on the map. We do need, however, to be able to combat the spin that is coming thick and fast. I hope the following notes are useful in responding to some of the government lies and media servility in the next couple of days. A longer discussion (and both the Attorney General's statements) is/are on our website . These notes have been written to help in lobbying journalists in broadcast and print media. I guess they can be used on candidates too! Best wishes Milan Rai JNV ***************** JUSTICE NOT VENGEANCE Media Note The Attorney General's Legal Advice, Government Spin and the Weapons Inspectors A JNV media note by Milan Rai, with assistance from Genny Bove, Ali Klevnas, Mike Lewis and Jonathan Stevenson INTRODUCTION As the Government attempts to defend the gap between the legal advice rendered by Lord Goldsmith on 7 March with the statement made in his name on 17 March, a crucial part of the spin operation involves distorting the work of the UN weapons inspectors in this period. Journalists should be made aware of the facts about this period. The Government is relying on the low profile of the inspectors during this period to try to hoodwink media professionals. Jack Straw and Tony Blair claimed today that the Attorney General's change of mind between 7 and 17 March were brought about by 'changed circumstances'. They are re-writing the record. Circumstances did indeed change: what changed between 7 and 17 March were weapons inspectors' statements of *increasing* cooperation by Iraq; and *no* new evidence of lack of cooperation, or failure to disarm. The Attorney General's position on 7 March was that war would only be legal if 'strong factual grounds' could be provided by the UN weapons inspectors that 'Iraq had failed to take the final opportunity [to disarm]'. If such grounds were not evident on 7 March, the UN inspectors gave the *opposite* evidence between 7 and 17 March. Lord Goldsmith's insistence, and that of Tony Blair and Jack Straw today, that changing circumstances in that time provided convincing grounds for legality, is thus demonstrably untrue. Instead, they have re-written the record of precisely the weapons inspectors' statements that we now know were so central to the Attorney General's legal opinion. SUMMARY Jack Straw says that Iraqi cooperation with UN weapons inspectors was decreasing in the first half of March 2003, when it was actually increasing. Jack Straw misrepresents the 173-page 'clusters document' drawn up by UN weapons inspectors into 'evidence' of Iraqi noncompliance, when it actually identified areas where there was a 'lack of evidence' about Iraqi compliance. Jack Straw erases the inspectors' 'key remaining disarmament tasks' and their 'draft work programme' from history, despite their central importance in the legality of war, according to the Attorney General. Jack Straw skates over the fact that the inspection effort in Iraq was brought to a premature end by the United States and Britain, just as it was about to enter a final, decisive phase. These are desperate manoeuvres. Activists and journalists should try to stop the Government getting away with this re-writing of history. JACK STRAW'S INTERVENTION On the Today programme this morning (28 April), Jack Straw said that 'the evidence of Iraq's continuing further material breach, its failure to comply with its clear obligations mounted, not least in that 173-page document which was [presented] by Dr Blix [the chief UN weapons inspector] to the Security Council in the very late evening UK time of the 7th of March.' The Foreign Secretary also rubbished the recent remarks by Hans Blix, saying, 'Dr Blix is now saying this, but the whole burden of what Dr Blix was saying before the Security Council in January-February and March the 7th of 2003 was frankly different. He didn't have to put that 173-page document before the Security Council, which did not say in 173 pages, What he did say is, .' Here are the facts on these matters: 1) MOUNTING EVIDENCE 'the evidence of Iraq's continuing further material breach, its failure to comply with its clear obligations mounted' See the 7 March statement by Dr Blix to the Security Council, which can be obtained from 'Selected Security Council Briefings' at . (Dr Blix did not make another statement to the Security Council until 19 March, hours before the bombing began.) In his 7 March statement, referring to the voluntary destruction by Baghdad of al Samoud missiles, Dr Blix famously said: 'The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament - indeed, the first since the middle of the 1990s. We are not watching the breaking of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed.' Referring to other forms of Iraqi cooperation, Dr Blix said, 'What are we to make of these activities? One can hardly avoid the impression that, after a period of somewhat reluctant cooperation, there has been an acceleration of initiatives from the Iraqi side since the end of January.' Dr Blix continued: 'It is obvious that, while the numerous initiatives, which are now taken by the Iraqi side with a view to resolving some long-standing open disarmament issues, can be seen as , or even , these initiatives 3-4 months into the new resolution cannot be said to constitute cooperation. Nor do they necessarily cover all areas of relevance. They are nevertheless welcome and UNMOVIC is responding to them in the hope of solving presently unresolved disarmament issues.' In other words, far from 'evidence of Iraq's continuing further material breach, its failure to comply with its clear obligations' 'mounting', as Jack Straw claims, the reverse was the case. Iraq's compliance with its obligations was increasing, not decreasing. Iraq's cooperation was increasing not decreasing. 2) THE CLUSTERS DOCUMENT 'that 173-page document which was [presented] by Dr Blix [the chief UN weapons inspector] to the Security Council' The 173-page 'cluster document' can be obtained from the weapons inspectors' site . It is an exhaustive study of the available documents and past investigations into Iraq's suspected weapons. For various categories of weapons and weapons systems, 'identifies the questions that are deemed outstanding and unresolved'. The cluster document said that a question could be unresolved 'because of the lack of convincing evidence [that a weapon or component had been destroyed] or, in a few cases, because of evidence that conflicts with Iraq’s account.' On 27 January 2003, Dr Blix had explained the issues clearly, saying of the documents used to compile the 173-page study: 'These reports do not contend that weapons of mass destruction remain in Iraq, but nor do they exclude that possibility. They point to lack of evidence and inconsistencies, which raise question marks, which must be straightened out, if weapons dossiers are to be closed and confidence is to arise.' Far from the 7 March cluster document being new and 'mounting evidence' of Iraq's failure to comply with its clear obligations, it was a historical survey of areas where there was a 'lack of evidence' about Iraq's compliance with its disarmament obligations, which had to be cleared up. 3) KEY REMAINING DISARMAMENT TASKS 'that 173-page document before the Security Council, which did not say in 173 pages, .' True, the 173-page cluster document did not say 'Saddam is in compliance'. Nor did it say 'Saddam is not in compliance.' The cluster document identified issues which had to be investigated. It was the basis for the drawing up of priorities for inspection: 'key remaining disarmament tasks' to be completed by Iraq. The drawing up of 'key remaining disarmament tasks' was required of the inspectors by UN Security Council Resolution 1284 or . This was a British Resolution. The 173-page cluster document invoked by Mr Straw, and the key remaining disarmament tasks were actually critical stages in the drawing up of a programme of work for the Iraqi authorities (and for the inspectors) which could clarify for once and for all (a) whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and/or (b) whether Iraq was prepared to fully cooperate with the UN weapons inspectors. The inspectors' draft work programme, containing the 'key remaining disarmament tasks', was submitted in writing to the Security Council on 17 March 2003. Dr Blix's oral presentation of the draft work programme to the Security Council on 19 March can be found at (or and comments by Security Council members can be found at (or ) 4)Torpedoing the inspectors Jack Straw and the Government have consistently obscured or denigrated the significance of the inspectors, and their 'key disarmament tasks' and 'work programme', presented to the Securing Council on 17 March. Jack Straw and the Government have never acknowledged the fact that the inspections were about to enter a final and decisive phase on 17 March, a final and decisive phase that would last only months, according to Hans Blix himself. Blix said on 7 March: 'How much time would it take to resolve the key remaining disarmament tasks? While cooperation can and is to be immediate, disarmament and at any rate the verification of it cannot be instant. Even with a proactive Iraqi attitude, induced by continued outside pressure, it would still take some time to verify sites and items, analyse documents, interview relevant persons, and draw conclusions. It would not take years, nor weeks, but months.' Jack Straw and the Government have never acknowledged the fact that the inspectors were ordered out of Iraq by George W. Bush. In his address to the nation on 17 March, President Bush said, 'Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals -- including journalists *and inspectors* -- should leave Iraq immediately.' See or . 5)The significance of the inspectors for the Attorney General's legal advice In his 7 March advice, the Attorney General pointed out that: 'the argument that resolution 1441 alone has revived the authorisation to use force in resolution 678 will *only be sustainable* if there are strong factual grounds for concluding that Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity.' (emphasis added) In the Guardian (28 April) Anthony Lester QC described the phrase 'only be sustainable' as 'very strong words' for a lawyer. The Attorney General went on to say that it was necessary 'to be able to demonstrate hard evidence of [Iraqi] non-compliance and non-cooperation'. This could only have been demonstrated through the implementation of the UNMOVIC/IAEA work programme, and the performance (or non-performance) of the 'key remaining disarmament tasks'. The Attorney General then warned that 'Given the structure of the resolution as a whole, the views of UNMOVIC and the IAEA will be highly significant in this respect.' UNMOVIC and the IAEA were clear that they could not come to a final view on Iraq's weapons programmes, or of Iraq's cooperation with them, until they had completed the 'key remaining disarmament tasks' in the draft work programme. Therefore, 'hard evidence' backed up by the inspectors would probably be obtainable only at the completion of this programme. In other words, the British Government's senior legal adviser, the Attorney General, put forward a formal legal opinion to Tony Blair before the war which identified a central role for UN weapons inspectors and, by extension, the 'key remaining disarmament tasks' programme of work, in determining the legality of military action against Iraq. A longer version of this discussion is available on -- Milan Rai Justice Not Vengeance landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int) mobile phone (0)7980 748 555 www.j-n-v.org From milanrai@btinternet.com Fri Apr 29 16:36:13 2005 Received: from smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com ([217.12.12.199]) by sphinx.mythic-beasts.com with smtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DRXXI-0007SP-B6 for jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org; Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:36:12 +0100 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.btinternet.com) (jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org@81.155.12.124 with poptime) by smtp809.mail.ukl.yahoo.com with SMTP; 29 Apr 2005 15:35:40 -0000 Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:35:48 +0100 To: "jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org" From: "Milan Rai" Organization: Justice Not Vengeance Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=utf-8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3865) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63-sa_mythic (2004-01-11) on sphinx.mythic-beasts.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.4 required=5.0 tests=TO_ADDRESS_EQ_REAL autolearn=no version=2.63-sa_mythic X-Spam-Level: Subject: [JNV] Rebutting Gordon Brown - More On The Attorney General's Advice and Iraq Sender: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org Errors-To: jnv-announce-admin@lists.j-n-v.org X-BeenThere: jnv-announce@lists.j-n-v.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.12 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: info@justicenotvengeance.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: jnv-announce