[JNV] Peace Prisoner / Mil & Maya News / JNV Appeal Success / Mass Action Proposal / Events
JNV
info at j-n-v.org
Wed, 02 May 2007 18:40:35 +0100
Contents:
1) Peace Activist in prison
- please write today
2) Peace Activists not in prison
- Mil and Maya walk free (for now)
- Mil's blog
3) JNV Appeal ends
- in success!
4) Mass Nonviolent Civil Disobedience
- a proposal and an open letter
5) Events
- the Voices in the Wilderness UK events list
***
1) PEACE ACTIVIST IN PRISON: Please send him a colourful postcard today!
Fr Martin Newell,
WW7472,
HMP Brixton,
Jebb Avenue,
London SW2 5XF
Yesterday (1 May) peace activist and Catholic Priest Martin Newell was sentenced to 14 days in prison for a December 2004 peace protest outside the Ministry of 'Defence'. He will be released between 7am and 10am on Friday 4 May (he should be released Monday, but as it's a Bank Holiday he gets out earlier!).
On December 28th 2004, the Catholic Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martin and six other people mostly from the radical "Catholic Worker movement", converted the lawn outside the Ministry of Defence (MoD) opposite Downing Street into a war cemetery in memory of the dead of the invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq.
Fr Newell was writing "Remember the Innocent – Stop the War" and "Remember Iraqi War Dead" on the wall of the MoD as a memorial to the dead, when he was stopped by police. Prayers of remembrance and repentance were also said. He was later found guilty of criminal damage at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, Westminster and ordered to pay £660 compensation to the MoD. He has refused to pay this as a further act of non-co-operation with the war on Iraq.
The director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (and JNV Board of Advisors member) Chris Cole recently spent two weeks in HMP Wandsworth after also refusing to pay compensation.
For more information on Martin's stand, and on the Catholic Worker movement, please visit http://www.londoncatholicworker.org OR visit http://catholicworker.org
***
2) PEACE ACTIVISTS NOT IN PRISON
Our apologies for not sending an email sooner to report on the 20 April 'trial' of JNV activists Maya Anne Evans and Milan Rai. There is a long report on the JNV website (see http://www.j-n-v.org), but the short version is that the court once again backed down and failed to take action against Maya and Mil for refusing to give their dates of birth.
Their SOCPA trial is now set for 28 August, and Maya is still banned from central London (the entire borough of Westminster) until then. Due to an oversight by the court, Mil is on unconditional bail, free to enter the City of Westminster.
As the prosecution has dropped the charge of 'organizing an unauthorized demonstration', the maximum penalty the pair face is a fine - for 'participating in an unauthorized demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament'.
(Incidentally, as well as editing Peace News, Mil is also doing an occasional blog at http://www.ukwatch.net .)
***
3) JNV APPEAL ENDS - IN SUCCESS!
During April JNV made an appeal for funds to help keep us going through the year. We are very grateful for the extraordinarily generous response you have collectively made.
We asked for £4000 to replace ageing desktop and laptop computers which are vital for our work; to pay for our landline and mobile phone bills; and for our travel and basic office expenses.
By the middle of the month, we had reached this goal.
We also asked for £4000 to pay at least partial wages to JNV workers for at least half of the year.
By the end of April, we had also reached and passed this goal - which we had considered extremely ambitious.
We have been overwhelmed by your response, and we are moved by your support more than we can say. We pledge to make every penny of your donations work for peace and justice.
Yours gratefully,
Maya Anne Evans
Emily Johns
Milan Rai
***
4) MASS NONVIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE - A PROPOSAL TO STOP THE WAR
The upcoming change in Labour leadership should be an opportunity for a radical change in British foreign policy: withdrawing British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, scrapping Trident, and making a firm public commitment not to support any future attack on Iran. Instead Tony Blair’s replacement by Gordon Brown – the man who bankrolled and supported all Blair’s wars – means that it will be business as usual.
The anti-war movement must respond by stepping up its resistance.
In a recent open letter six prominent figures in the anti-war movement join us in calling on the Stop the War Coalition 'to organise mass nonviolent civil disobedience at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth this September' - an action that would complement and extend STW's existing lobbying of Labour MP's, Councillors and Constituency Officers (see http://tinyurl.com/2vb9s3).
We strongly urge all members of the Coalition to support this call, and all groups on the STW Steering Committee to raise this matter at this Saturday’s (5 May) Steering Committee meeting. A sample motion to this effect, which could be tabled and voted on at this meeting, is reproduced on the JNV website (see http://www.j-n-v.org).
Gabriel Carlyle (Voices UK)
Milan Rai (JNV)
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CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT THIS SEPTEMBER’S LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE: AN OPEN LETTER FROM GEORGE MONBIOT, HAIFA ZANGANA ET AL.
On 28 February 2003, US soldiers fired on a crowd of unarmed demonstrators outside a school in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, killing thirteen civilians, including two schoolchildren. Two days later, a US soldier fired a machine gun at another group of unarmed demonstrators outside a US army base.
These incidents, and similar killings in Samarra and other towns in the 'Sunni Triangle' - for which no US soldier was ever put on trial - played a critical role in sparking the Sunni insurgency against the US/UK occupation.
To date, at least 186,000 Iraqis have been killed by US-led forces (according to a Lancet-published study that we now know was regarded as 'robust' by the Ministry of Defence). The proportion of Iraqis who regard it as acceptable to attack 'coalition forces' has tripled from 17% in 2004 to 51% in 2007.
We demand a fundamental change in British foreign policy, not merely a change in the leadership of the party in Government. We demand a commitment to peace and justice. This means withdrawing all British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan (as favoured by over 53% of British people in a recent YouGov poll), rejecting the renewal of Trident nuclear submarines, and publicly opposing any US assault on Iran.
If these changes are not made then we call on the Stop The War Coalition to organise mass nonviolent civil disobedience at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth this September.
Nadje al-Ali (author 'Iraqi Women: Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present'),
Iain Banks (author),
Gabriel Carlyle (Voices UK),
Denis Halliday (former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Iraq),
George Monbiot (author),
Milan Rai (JNV),
Hans von Sponeck (former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Iraq),
Haifa Zangana (author 'Women On a Journey: Between Baghdad and London')
***
5) FORTHCOMING EVENTS
(Followed by regular events)
MAY - JUL, LONDON: 'BLOODY TERRORISTS' - TERRORISM IN CONTEXT.
A series of public lectures chaired by Professor Ziauddin Sardar (School of Arts, The City University). All lectures: 6 - 8pm, Oliver Merton Hall, The City University, Northampton Square, EC1V 0HB.
- 9 May: 'Wretched Earth: Terrorism, Wretchedness and Political Philosophy' by Professor Ted Honderich (University College, London
- 23 May: 'Terrorism and Islam: The British Muslim Experience' by Yahya Birt, (Director, City Circle and Research Fellow, Islamic Foundation)
- 6 Jun: 'Martyrs of Postculture: Analysing the Terrorist' by Dr Richard Appignanesi (Associate Editor, Third Text)
- 20 Jun: 'Reporting Terror: How the Media Covers Terrorism' by Professor Adrian Monck (Department of Journalism, The City University)
- 4 Jul: 'Cultural Terrorism and Terrorism of Culture' by Ms Merryl Wyn Davies (anthropologist and writer, co-author of "Why Do People Hate America?" and "American Dream, Global Nightmare")
19 APR – 19 MAY, LONDON: CALLED TO ACCOUNT: THE INDICTMENT OF ANTHONY CHARLES LYNTON BLAIR FOR THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION AGAINST IRAQ - A HEARING. Verbatim play based on a non-official hearing earlier this year. Mon 8pm & midweek 2pm: £8.50. Tues/Wed 8pm & Sat 4pm: £13. Thur/Fri 8pm: £15. Sat 8pm: £18 Midweek mats 9 & 16 May. Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR. See www.tricycle.co.uk or 0207 328 1000.
9 MAY, AROUND THE UK: STW PUBLIC MEETINGS ON IRAN.
* 9 May: Westgate Hall, Canterbury Kent, 7.30pm
* 9 May: Goldsmith’s College, Ian Gulland lecture theatre, Whitehead Building, Lewisham Way, London SE14, 7.30 pm. With Moazzam Begg. 07725 805 871 See www.stopwar.org.uk or 020 7278 6694.
* 9 May: 7.30pm, Westgate Hall, Canterbury, Kent. With Guest Speakers Andrew Murray (STWC) and Mehri Henerbon Holliday (Campaign Iran). Contact Joel 07786367975
1 MAY - 2 JUN, LONDON: "FALLUJAH" PLAY written and directed by Jonathan Holmes. Based on research and interviews carried out by the Oxford Research Group, "Fallujah" presents verbatim testimony from those at the heart of the US siege of the city. Times: Mon-Sat, 7.30pm; Wed & Sat 3pm. Venue: The Atlantic Building, The Old Truman Brewery, 146 Brick Lane, E1 6RU. Tickets £20 / £18. Book now on 0207 930 3647 or via www.ica.org.uk. The 1 and 2 Jun performances will be accompanied by a discussion with Dahr Jamail, Jo Wilding and Rana al-Aiouby: from 9pm on 1 Jun, 5.30 - 6.30pm on 2 Jun. See www.fallujah.co.uk for more info.
5 MAY, LONDON: FILM SCREENING OF “OMAR DEGHAYES: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE” followed by a panel discussion with Sarah Teather MP. Victoria Brittain and a speaker from the Save Omar Campaign. Omar Deghayes is one of the British residents currently being held without charge or trial in Guantanamo Bay. 4-6pm, Gladstone Park Primary School, Sherrick Green Road, NW10 1 LB (tube: Dollis Hill). Organised by the London Guantánamo Campaign. 07809 757 176.
9 MAY, LONDON: PROTEST OUTSIDE THE AGM OF ARMS DEALER BAE SYSTEMS, one of the UK's leading war profiteers (BAE has a multi-billion dollar contract with the Pentagon to re-fit the Bradley fighting vehicles being used in Iraq and Afghanistan). From 9.30am, Queen Elizabeth Centre, Broad Sanctuary, SW1P 3EE (tube: St James' Park). Protest org. by Campaign Against Arms Trade: www.caat.org.uk.
12 MAY, LONDON: "NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION' WORKSHOP WITH TURNING THE TIDE.
One of a series of monthly 1-day workshops for those interested in learning about tools for radical change. £20 per workshop. Follow-up workshops on 9 Jun, 7 Jul, 8 Sept and 20 Oct [CHECK DETAILS]. For more info contact Turning the Tide, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. 020 7663
1064/1061, sophier@quaker.org.uk or visit www.turning-the-tide.org.
12-13 MAY, LONDON: CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE at the London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. www.campaigncc.org.
14 MAY, BRISTOL: SECOND TRIAL OF TOBY OLDITCH AND PHIL PRITCHARD, two peace activists who entered RAF Fairford and attempted to disarm USAF B-52 bombers on 18th March 2003 (their first trial resulted in a hung jury). 10am, Bristol Crown Court, The Law Courts, Small Street, BS1 1DA. Support welcome: the trial is scheduled to last for several days. For background info on the trial see www.b52two.org.
14 MAY, LONDON: BOOK LAUNCH OF 'IRAQI WOMEN' BY NADJE SADIG AL-ALI. 'An extraordinary book ... Particularly sobering is the author's balanced and sensitive analysis of the negative effects on women's rights and lives of the decade of sanctions and the current US-British occupation' - Lila Abu-Lughod, Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies, Columbia University. 5.30 - 8pm, Khalili Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1.
14 MAY, LONDON: “THE BATTLE OF THE STORY: USING THE POWER OF STORYTELLING FOR EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNING.” A free one-day workshop for grassroots anti-war activists. 10am - 5pm, Old Truman Brewery – 146 Brick Lane , London E1. Workshop run by Isabelle Fremeaux (co-founder of 'The Laboratory of the Insurrectionary Imagination') and Tim Markham. Part of the 'Fallujah' month of events (see 1 May - 2 Jun listing above). Contact i.fremeaux@bbk.ac.uk
16 MAY, LONDON: FOREIGN POLICY AFTER BLAIR. Public meeting organised by Hackney Stop the War. Venue: the Round Chapel, Powerscroft Road, Lower Clapton, E5(buses 106, 253, 254, 242, 38, 55, 48, S2). Time: 7.30pm. With Craig Murray (former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan), Adam Price MP (secretary Stop the War parliamentary group), Walter Wolfgang (vice-president CND, vice-chair Labour CND, Labour NEC) and Chris Nineham (national officer Stop the War).
18 MAY, FARINGDON: MAKING WAR OR PEACE? AFGHANISTAN ... IRAQ ... IRAN ...
WHAT ARE WE DOING? Public meeting with Jo Wilding, Ed Vaizey MP (Con.), Paul Ingrams (BASIC), and perhaps a spokesperson from the Defence Academy. 7.30pm, United Church , Coxwell Street, Faringdon. Org. by Faringdon Peace Group. 01367 240508 or www.faringdonpeacegroup.org.uk.
19 MAY, HAMPSTEAD: CHALLENGING OPPRESSION WORKSHOP. Training to empower people working for social change with the practical tools and analysis of active nonviolence. 10.30am – 5.15pm, Hampstead Friends Meeting House, 120 Heath Street, Hampstead NW3 1DR. £20 / £10. For bookings and further details contact Turning the Tide: 020 7663 1061. Org. by 'Peaceful Aloud' and Quaker Peace and Social Witness.
23 MAY, LONDON: SCREENINGS OF 'A LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER' AND 'TESTIMONIES FROM FALLUJAH' followed by discussion with 'A letter ...' director Julia Guest. 7.30pm, ICA, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH. Box Office: 020 7930 3647 / Switchboard: 020 7930 0493. Tickets: 8 pounds / 7 pounds. www.ica.org.uk
24 MAY, LONDON: GUANTANAMO BAY - CLOSE IT DOWN. Talk with speakers Moazzam Begg and Sadat Sayeed. 6.30pm, London South Bank University Keyworth Centre.
See http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/about/maps.sht.
27 MAY, LONDON: PARTY4PEACE. Benefit gig at THE BEDFORD, Balham SW12 with doors open at 7pm and live acts from around 7.45pm onwards. Acts confirmed include David Knopfler, Sam Beste, Graham Hodgin and drama from 'Subverse'. Political stalls and guest speaker. For info contact: ray.sil@btopenworld.com
28 MAY - 2 JUNE, BRIGHTON: TENT STATE UNIVERSITY UK: "EDUCATION NOT WAR." Noam Chomsky will speak via video link and dozens of academics and activists will lead discussions at an 'alternative university', organised by a group of Sussex staff and students. University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton. web@tentstate.org.uk
JUNE, LONDON: "WAR IS STILL THE ISSUE" PEACE CAMP IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE. See Off Blair With Brian Haw! The Camp will begin at 12 noon, the Saturday before Brown is scheduled to become leader (probably Saturday 16 June, contact 0845 458 2564 to confirm) and run until 12 noon the day after he becomes leader. Please note that this is an "unauthorised" demonstration within 1km of Parliament: a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to 1000 pounds. See www.voicesuk.org or 0845 458 2564.
2 JUN, EASTBOURNE: PEACEMAKING IN PALESTINE. Talk by John Lynes (Christian Peacemaker Teams).Friends Meeting House, Wish Road, Eastbourne. michael3col@yahoo.co.uk or 01323 430040.
4 JUN, LONDON: TALK BY INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST DAHR JAMAIL (IRAQ DISPATCHES) with Tariq Ali and Haifa Zangana. Time and venue tbc. See www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk.
9 JUNE, LONDON: 40 YEARS OF OCCUPATION IS ENOUGH! National demonstration and rally against the Israeli occupation. 1.30pm, Trafalgar Square. Org. by the ENOUGH! coalition.
12 JUNE, LONDON: HOW PEOPLE CAN INFLUENCE THE UN ON HUMAN RIGHTS. Talk by Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International. 7pm, Friends House, Euston Road, London. Contact 0208 399 2547 or info@action-for-un-renewal.org.uk.
17 JUNE, MILTON KEYNES: 27TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE MILTON KEYNES PEACE PAGODA with Buddhist ceremony, speaker from Faslane 365 and a multi-cultural celebration. 10.30am - 3.30pm, Peace Pagoda, Willen Lake, Milton Keynes, MK15 0BA. Lunch provided. 01908 663652.
7 JULY, FARINGDON: 26TH GRAND PEACE FETE. 2-5pm, Coleshill. See http://tinyurl.com/yp5lm2 for map. 01367 241 707.
6, 10 AND 11 JULY, BURY ST EDMUNDS: TRIAL OF THE LAKENHEATH EIGHT - eight peace activists charged under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act for entering USAF Lakenheath and chaining themselves to the gates of a munitions storage area to stop the movement of cluster bombs. Bury St. Edmunds Magistrates' Court, Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1HF. Support welcome! Contact 0845 337 0282 or
mellcndeast@cnduk.org.
14 - 21 AUGUST: CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION 2007. www.climatecamp.org.uk.
11 - 14 SEPT, LONDON: PROTESTS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE DSEI - Britain's biggest arms fair. See www.dsei.org and www.caat.org.uk.
27 OCT, LONDON: STOP THE WAR NATIONAL CONFERENCE.
1 DEC, LONDON: INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFERENCE. Org. by STWC.
***
REGULAR EVENTS
EVERY FRIDAY, LONDON: ANTI-GUANTANAMO BAY PROTEST OUTSIDE THE US EMBASSY.
6-7pm, outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1 (nearest tube: Marble Arch). Organised by the London Guantanamo Campaign. 07824 386 747 or london_gitmo@yahoo.co.uk.
EVERY MONTH, LONDON: MONTHLY MEETINGS OF IRAQ OCCUPATION FOCUS. Second Thursday of every month: 10 May, 14 Jun, 12 Jul, 9 Aug, 13 Sept, 11 Oct, 8 Nov, 13 Dec. All meetings 7.30pm, Indian YMCA, 41 Fitzroy Square, W1T 6AQ.
See www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk
EVERY MON-SAT, BRISTOL: PEACE VIGIL. Running since a few days after 9/11. 5.30-6.30pm (Mon-Fri) & 3-4pm (Sat). City Centre, opposite The Hippodrome, St. Augustines Parade.
EVERY MONTH, ALDERMASTON: NEW MONTHLY CAMP AT BRITAIN'S ATOMIC WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT (AWE) to add further pressure to the /Block the Builders/ campaign to halt development of the next generation of nuclear weapons. Contact 0845 4588 368 or www.blockthebuilders.org.uk.
EVERY SUN, LONDON: FREEDOM TO PROTEST PICNICS in Parliament Square. In defence of the right to protest, recently criminalised under s132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (April 2005). Bring food, drink and music to share. 1.30pm, Parliament Square, Westminster. For more info contact 0785 439 0408, marshall_darkness@hotmail.com or visit
www.peopleincommon.org
EVERY WED, MOULSCOMBE: NOISE DEMO OUTSIDE EDO MBM - 'an arms company that makes bomb parts used in the Iraq war' (Guardian). 4-6pm, EDO MBM, Home Farm Road. Contact 07891 1405 923. www.smashedo.org.uk
FIRST SUNDAY OR EVERY MONTH, LONDON: WALK IN PEACE. A slow, silent walk for peace in peace.Meet at 11.00am, Speakers Corner Café, Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London. (Nearest tube Marble Arch) Walk for an hour returning to
starting place at 12 noon. Contact: Clare 020 8755 0353 or e-mail beatricemillar@freeuk.com.
EVERY TUESDAY, MENWITH HILL: DEMO OUTSIDE THE US SPY-BASE used for (amongst other things) intelligence and surveillance gathering in the Middle East. 6-8 pm outside the main entrance to Menwith Hill Nr Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Contact the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases: www.caab.org.uk
FIRST SAT OF EVERY MONTH, EASTBOURNE: PEACE VIGIL OUTSIDE EASTBOURNE LIBRARY. 5-6pm. Organised by Eastbourne for Peace and Liberty. Contact michael3col@yahoo.co.uk or 01323 430040.
UNTIL 27 AUG, LONDON: STATE BRITAIN. Art exhibit by Mark Wallinger recreating peace campaigner Brian Haw’s vigil display as it was prior to its destruction by police last year, including over 600 weather-beaten banners, photographs, peace flags and messages from well-wishers. 10am - 5.50pm, Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG. See http://tinyurl.com/2xmlu5.
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