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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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 Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:22 pm Post subject: 8th OCTOBER: MARCH TO PARLIAMENT, IN DEFIANCE OF THE BAN |
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| Quote: | MONDAY 8 OCTOBER 2007: MARCH TO PARLIAMENT, IN DEFIANCE OF THE BAN
Tony Benn, Brian Eno, Mark Thomas, Walter Wolfgang, George Galloway and Ben Griffin (ex SAS trooper) will head the march to Parliament in defiance of the ban. Make sure you are there to demand troops out and in defence of our civil liberties. It is vital that we defy the ban. Don’t miss this demo.
Assemble at 1.00PM in Trafalgar Square
“If they are planning an Iranian attack they will have a public even more upset and disgruntled than before. This is what this tightening up is about …..Civil liberties never seem very important until you need them. At times like this we need to be re-inforcing them.” Brian Eno
“This is rather a ham-fisted attempt to prevent us from demonstrating. What they (the government and police) do is up to them. We will just ignore them and we have the moral and logical high-ground. I will be marching on Monday 8 October.” Mark Thomas
The 1839 Sessional Orders legislation has been dusted off to ban the 8 October Troops Out march.
Sessional Orders are passed at the beginning of every Parliamentary session under an 1839 law to ensure free passage for MP’s to arrive and depart from Parliament. Similar Orders apply to the House of Lords.
Under the 2005 SOCPA legislation any march / demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament must be allowed to take place so long as a minimum of 6 days notice is given to the police.
Something more restrictive was needed so the 1839 legislation passed many years before this country had universal suffrage is now being used to attempt to ban the 8 October Troops Out march.
Since the march to Parliament is intended to be a peaceful attempt to alert Parliament to the feeling of the majority of the British public about the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan and MP’s themselves will be on the march this cannot be interpreted as obstructing the passage of members of Parliament.
To do so is an affront to the democratic rights of the people of this country and this is made clear in Tony Benn’s letter to the Home Secretary which he delivered on Monday 1 October.
Tony Benn's letter to the Home Secretary
TO:
The Right Hon Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA
Monday October 1st 2007
Dear Home Secretary
LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT ON OCTOBER 8th
I am writing to you as President of the STOP THE WAR COALITION, to give you advance notice that there will be a demonstration in Trafalgar Square the day Parliament meets calling for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan at which I shall be speaking along with others.
Afterwards many of those present – including myself – will be marching along Whitehall to the House of Commons to meet MPs and urge them to support this call for a withdrawal, as I shall be doing in approaching Malcolm Rifkind my own local MP.
We shall be doing this in an orderly manner and I am making available to those who wish to have one, a postcard over my printed signature as a Privy Councillor, asking the police, and others to assist them.
I enclose a copy of this postcard.
The authority for this march derives from our ancient right to free speech and assembly enshrined in our history, of which we often boast and which we vigorously defended in two world wars.
I am copying this letter, and its enclosure, to Jack Straw, the Commissioner of the Metropolis, and as a courtesy, to the Prime Minister’s office.
I hope that you will be able to re-assure me that those who demonstrate and march down Whitehall will enjoy your full support and the support of the police.
But it is only fair to tell you that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I will be among those marching.
Yours in peace
TONY BENN
Sessional Orders from 1839
“ORDERED, That the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis do take care that the passages through the streets leading to this House be kept free and open and that no obstruction be permitted to hinder the passage of Members to and from this House during the sitting of Parliament, or to hinder Members by any means in pursuit of their Parliamentary Estate; and that the Sergeant at Arms attending this House do communicate this Order to the Commissioner.” |
gutted i can't make this one 
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | But it is only fair to tell you that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I will be among those marching |
great quote from Mr Benn there... otherwise translated as 'get it right up ye, ya bunch o' buggers!'
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:42 pm Post subject: Re: 8th OCTOBER: MARCH TO PARLIAMENT, IN DEFIANCE OF THE BAN |
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| luke wrote: | | to ensure free passage for MP’s to arrive and depart from Parliament. |
If MPs are in the march, does that mean any Police who try to stop them reaching Parliament would be in breach of the Sessional Orders Act?
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:50 pm Post subject: |
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| that's a good point mandy, but I'd guess it's down to the Sergeant at Arms' discretion.
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nekokate
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Location: West Yorkshire, UK
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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| This shoud be very interesting. I hope lots of people are wearing saffron.
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| is anyone going? be cool if loads of people do wear saffron, so many photo opportunitys ... maybe it'll result in the media covering it more for a change
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| I wish I could go, but I'll check and see if there's a march here too.
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 1021
05 October 2007
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) BANNED MARCH IS LEGAL SAYS LIBERTY
WE WILL MARCH MONDAY 8 OCTOBER
ALL TROOPS OUT NOW: NOT ONE MORE DEATH
2) HELP STEWARD OCTOBER 8 DEMONSTRATION
3) NEW BOOK: WAR WITH NO END
************************************
1) BANNED MARCH IS LEGAL SAYS LIBERTY
WE WILL MARCH MONDAY 8 OCTOBER
ALL TROOPS OUT NOW: NOT ONE MORE DEATH
We will be marching to Parliament on Monday 8 October, despite
the government insisting that our protest is banned. Human rights
group Liberty says our march is legal and we will be exercising
our democratic right to protest peacefully on the day Gordon
Brown makes his long awaited speech on Iraq to the House of
Commons.
Stop the War has been flooded with messages of support and a
commitment to join our protest, including from Shami Chakrabarti
(Liberty), Tony Benn, Walter Wolfgang (Labour Party NEC, Bob
Wareing MP, musician Brian Eno, comedian Mark Thomas, author Iain
Banks, poet Benjamin Zephaniah and playwright David Edgar (SEE
QUOTES BELOW).
We urge everyone who has opposed the British government's support
for George Bush's war, and who agrees that our right to peaceful
protest must be defended, to join us on Monday
ASSEMBLE 1PM TRAFALGAR SQUARE FOR RALLY
(Speakers include Tony Benn, , Brian Eno, Mark Thomas, Walter
Wolfgang, George Galloway and Ben Griffin (ex SAS trooper)
MARCH TO PARLIAMENT
WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN US:
In the run up to this much anticipated general election, the
leaders of each major political party have claimed to champion
our civil liberties. No doubt they will now unite to ensure that
this peaceful demonstration takes place.
SHAMI CHAKRABARTI, Director of Liberty
The authority for this march derives from our ancient right to
free speech and assembly enshrined in our history. It is only
fair to tell you that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I
will be among those marching.
TONY BENN, in letter to the Home Secretary
A protest demanding all the troops out now is of national
significance. To try and stop that protest is a major
interference with free speech. The march should go ahead whether
it is formally permitted or not.
WALTER WOLFGANG, Labour Party NEC
The government want to bury the issue of their disastrous war.
They will not succeed. We will be marching in our thousands on
Monday.
LINDSEY GERMAN, Convenor Stop the War Coalition
In a democracy we expect peaceful protest to be permitted. We are
not yet in the kind of tyranny that the Burmese people have to
suffer, I hope the authorities will reconsider.
BOB WAREING MP
Gordon Brown cannot praise protesters in Burma and then ban a
protest in London. I will be protesting on Monday, regardless of
whether Police permission is granted.
BEN GRIFFIN (ex SAS trooper)
If people aren't allowed to have their say on all our streets,
what kind of Parliament are we meant to be defending?
MICHAEL KUSTOW, theatre director
This is rather a ham-fisted attempt to prevent us from
demonstrating. What the government and police do is up to them.
We will just ignore them and we have the moral and logical
high-ground. I will be marching on Monday 8 October.
MARK THOMAS, comedian
It's becoming remarkably hard to escape the feeling we're ruled
by people who are basically paranoid authoritarian incompetents.
IAIN BANKS, author
It is depressing that our democratic rights are being whittled
away bit by bit. We will look back and wonder how this happened.
They wouldn't get away with this in one go. First an arrest for
reading names, then a ban on marches. What will be next?
BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH, poet
The stop the war demonstration on 15 February 2003 was arguably
the most politically influential march in Britain since the
1970s, so it's no surprise that politicians are immobilising
anti-war demonstrations now. At a time when the political debate
at Westminster occupies ever narrower ground, it's vital that
voices from outside are heard.
DAVID EDGAR, playwright
************************************
2 HELP STEWARD OCTOBER 8 DEMONSTRATION
If you would like to help steward our Troops Out Now
demonstration on Monday 8 October, please come to the stewards
meeting at 12 noon in Trafalgar Square.
************************************
3) NEW BOOK: WAR WITH NO END
Stop the War's new book WAR WITH NO END has now been published by
Verso. The book brings together some of the finest contemporary
writers to explore the impact of the "long war" across the world:
Joe Sacco, Arundhati Roy, John Berger, Haifa Zangana, Hanif
Kureishi, Phyllis Bennis, Ahdaf Soueif, Tram Nguyen, September
11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Naomi Klein
The book has an introduction by Lindsey German (national convenor
Stop the War) and Judith le Blanc (Chair United for Peace and
Justice)
The book is published to coincide with the Troops Out National
Demonstration on Monday 8 October, called by Stop the War
Coalition: see www.stopwar.org.uk
Retail price: £7.99, from all good bookshops, or
From Stop the War Coalition at special price of £7.00 including
p&p
Send cheques to Stop the War Coalition marked on reverse with
'War With No End' together with your address for delivery, or pay
by credit card and call 020 7278 6694--
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net |
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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| did anyone go? anyone seen any reports? what was the turn out like? any trouble? so many questions ... and no answers!
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Mandy
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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Protests mark UK parliament's return
www.euronews.com
Britain's Stop the War coalition has marked the return of the British parliament after its summer holiday and the debate on the conflict in Iraq by staging a march from London's Trafalgar Square to outside Westminister. It was in defiance of the authorities, as no police clearance has been given, and the government had invoked a 170-year-old law to keep the marchers away from parliament, although this was later revoked.
Organisers of the march complained they never had to protest under such legislation before, and they were joined by a number of celebrities who marched with them to raise the protest's profile. The little-known law has existed since the time of the Chartists' protest movement, the embryonic trade union organistation.
WATCH VIDEO
-------------------
Good on them for taking the risk of police attack - pity the video was mainly based on the daft arrests though.
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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at least it went ahead as planned  hopefully there will be some pics on line over the next few days ... wheres salim 
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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wow - the tiscali homepage has even covered it! they never cover stuff like this ... must be a slow news day or something!
| Quote: | Thousands in anti-war march
08/10/2007 20:47
Thousands of people took part in an anti-war march to Parliament on Monday after police made a last minute decision to lift a threatened ban on the protest.
The Stop The War Coalition said the demonstration struck a significant blow for "liberty and democracy" and claimed that the attempt to stop it going ahead had swelled the number of supporters.
Police said 2,000 people joined the march, but organisers said the figure was at least double that number, with students, trade unionists and peace activists taking part.
The march disrupted traffic outside Parliament just as the Prime Minister was due to arrive in the Commons to tell MPs about the latest phase of British troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Gordon Brown was seen being driven along adjoining roads to Whitehall to avoid being caught up in the demonstration.
Scores of police officers escorted the banner-waving, chanting protesters from Trafalgar Square to Parliament, past Downing Street.
Lindsey German, convener of the Stop The War Coalition, said the group had been told time and again by police in recent days that they could not go ahead with the march, and she claimed the authorities and MPs had underestimated the determination of the anti-war movement.
She said her message to the Government was: "You will never draw a line under this war until you bring all our troops home. "And we don't want the troops brought home just so they can be sent to Afghanistan or the Iranian border. We want a permanent break with George Bush's murderous, imperialistic policies."
Ms German also claimed that Britain is now seeing restrictions on civil liberties as a direct result of the war in Iraq.
Andrew Murray, chairman of the coalition, announced to the crowd that the police relented just 30 minutes before the rally was due to start, adding: "This is a tribute to this movement and to everyone who has campaigned to assert our right to hold this Government to account for the criminal policies it is following around the world." |
and
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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