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Discuss ItemsNo to the Politics of Assassination!
Silence is Shame Issue
No.12 October 8 2011
Don't Attack Iran - Stop the War public meeting in Newcastle
Thursday, 16 February 2012.
5.30-7pm
Where Room 204, Lipman Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne
Flyer
'Stop the War: A Graphic History': Book launch
15 February at 19:00 at People's
Bookshop..Durham
UNISON Northern Region Council Passes Motion -The Alternative
to War
On January 18th 2012, Unison Northern Region Council
comprising Unison delegates from the public sector workers across the northern
region passed a motion calling for co-operation with other trade unions, the
TUC and with the Stop the War movement to promote and fight for the alternative
to these wars.
Moving the motion Roger Nettleship delegate of Unison South
Tyneside Health Branch pointed out to the delegates: "I like many unison
members have been involved with the Tyneside stop the war coalition and like
Unison is affiliated to the Stop the War Coalition our branch is affiliated to
the local stop the war group. However, there is now increasing concern from
members that their families are being more and more involved in these wars. And
not only in Afghanistan that is one of the longest wars of occupation since the
second world war where nearly 400 British soldiers, and tens of thousands of
Afghan people killed." He continued that "it is prescient that trade
union movement can and should bring better organisation and get involved to,
not only support the anti-war movement end the current wars, but also to oppose
further ones, with the threat to Syria and Iran and the danger that this brings
us closer to a new world war. The British people and our members have been sold
the lie that justifies these wars and the murdering of tens of thousands of
people when every time there is an alternative to these wars." he said.
The motion will further enable the union in the region to
further the discussion and recommendations in line with its policy that
represent the interests of its members in promoting and fighting for the
alternative to these wars.
Unison Northern Regional Council
Motion
HANDS OFF IRAN AND SYRIA - NO NEW WARS PROTEST RALLY
SATURDAY 28 JANUARY, 2-4PM OUTSIDE THE US EMBASSY 24 GROSVENOR SQUARE, W1A
1LQ Simon Jenkins writes in Wednesday's Guardian that
'Imposing sanctions at Washington's behest is an idiocy, and likely to do
little other than escalate the steps to open conflict'. (See
http://bit.ly/zk2kVc) The new year opened
with further threats against Iran.
More sanctions from Washington and a blacklist of anyone
who does business with the country are an escalation of the Western
confrontation with the country. Israel is talking more and more of an attack on
Iran to 'deal with' its nuclear capability (even though Israel is the only
country in the Middle East which actually possesses nuclear weapons). In an
election year for the US, tensions around this issue are almost certain to
grow. Already, Iran has responded by testing missiles in the Gulf and there has
even been talk of closing the Straits of Hormuz to oil exports.
Following a year when Britain and France led the
intervention in Libya the dangers of further western attacks in the region are
very real. Under the guise of 'humanitarian intervention' in recent weeks there
have been threats to Syria and Iran. There are many signs of covert
intervention in both countries.
Stop the War has called a protest outside the US embassy in
Grosvenor Square on Saturday 28th January from 2-4pm. We are asking all our
supporters in London and the South East to mobilise for it. Any attacks on Iran
or Syria will almost certainly herald a much bigger war in the Middle East than
anything seen so far. We must build an opposition to these threats now.
As Jenkins goes on to say, 'Economic sanctions are coward's
diplomacy. They purport to high moral stance but are merely a low-risk way of
bullying the world. The danger is that they encourage militarist lobbies to
escalate the steps that lead to open conflict.' We know that there are plenty
of militarist lobbies and politicians willing to back them.
We would like all our supporters to campaign against this
threat. There are petitions on the website that can be downloaded (see
http://bit.ly/x9nxvP) and local groups will
be holding meetings on the topic to build a national campaign.
************ TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN - PROTEST AT 400th UK DEATH
A big effort was made over the new year to present the
situation in Afghanistan in a favorable light. The reality on the ground is
suggested by the death of five British soldiers in less than a month, taking
the total to 395. The fact is last year the Taliban proved their resilience and
their military capacity with a series of assassinations, bombings and raids in
northern cities which had been virtual no-go areas for them.
Unsurprisingly, the occupation is increasing levels of
violence in the country. In December there were two attacks by Afghan soldiers
on foreign troops making a mockery of plans for an imminent 'security
handover'. The Western response to what is in reality a worsening security
situation has been to accept the need for talks with the Taliban against
President Karzai's wishes but also to plan for troops to be kept in Afghanistan
permanently. General Allen has publicly called for troops to stay indefinitely
despite President Obama’s pledge to withdraw them by 2014.
Tens of thousands of people have been massacred during the
occupation, and there are many people without food. Most surveys show life has
got worse for the majority in the last decade. As Afghan activist and ex MP
Malalai Joya said on her 2011 tour, the US and NATO use women's rights and
human rights as an excuse for occupation, "yet they blindly bombard my
people from the sky". There is no democracy, she said: "It is the
same donkey with a different saddle. It doesn't matter who votes, it only
matters who's counting". Stop the War is asking its supporters to prepare
for a national day of protest when the 400th British soldier death is
announced, calling for all the troops to be brought home. Please send any local
details for posting on the website.
************ STOP THE WAR NATIONAL CONFERENCE NATIONAL CONFERENCE
SATURDAY 3RD MARCH ULU, MALET ST, WC1E 7HY
We are holding our Annual General Meeting on March 3rd at
the University of London Union in Malet Street. The conference will be a chance
to discuss and analyse the West's interventions in Central Asia and the Middle
East and to debate and decide our policies, strategy and campaigns for the
coming year. It will be addressed by MPs activists and experts. As well as
delegates from affiliated groups, the conference is open to all members of Stop
the War before January 1st 2012. Members who have joined since can attend as
observers. To book a place for yourself or a delegation e-mail
office@stopwar.org.uk or phone 0207 801 2768.
************
Statement of Tyneside Stop the
War Coalition:
No to the Politics of Assassination!
These days the
US and British leaders and the other NATO powers are gloating at the killing of
Colonel Gaddafi in Libya and their hand in it. Hilary Clinton who went to Libya
the day before Gaddafi's death said “I came, I saw, he died.” It
almost beggars belief that the Anglo-US powers should be so shameless in the
lawless world they are creating and that they have apparently got away with
this breathtaking crime against the Libyan people and against progressive world
opinion.
Whatever the
facts of the case, it is the outcome of the assertion in practice of Britain
and the NATO powers that they have the right to decide who should govern Libya.
This is their official policy.
These
Governments and their obedient media put forward their notorious doctrine of
the “responsibility to protect” to fool people, and set out to
create the maximum confusion in promoting debates about whether Gaddafi’s
regime was dictatorial, or progressive. They covered over the issue of the
right of a sovereign country to decide its own destiny. They created and
inspired a “revolution” of those it could find to back to topple
Gaddafi, and then promoted these forces as the “legitimate”
representatives of the Libyan people. Worst of all this
“liberation” consisted of massive destruction by NATO's armed might
of one of the most advanced and prosperous countries of Africa with untold loss
of life and tens of thousands of armed “missions” to rain down
death and destruction. The anti-war movement is also concerned that NATO,
spurred on by its 'successes' in Libya is using this as a springboard
for further aggression against Africa as well as Syria, and Iran.
It is really
outrageous that the same neo-liberal values which have brought and are still
bringing such crisis to the countries of Europe, of North America and elsewhere
are being imposed everywhere these imperialists can possibly do so by any means
necessary. Chaos and destruction have also been what these values have brought
to Afghanistan and Iraq, and this is what will be brought to Libya also.
The anti-war
movement must continue to utterly condemn this armed aggression of NATO which
still continues in Libya, and always support the principle that it is
the right of all peoples to exercise their sovereignty, to decide their own
path without outside interference. They must also go all out to ensure the
principle is upheld that conflicts of interests internationally must be sorted
out without the use of force of any sort.
Therefore it
is up to the people’s movement against war to become the force to
establish the new rule of international law, bring our own war criminals to
justice and to establish and anti-war government so that society is organised
along lines that respects people’s sovereignty as individuals,
collectives and nations. This and only this is what is required to safeguard
peace, democracy, security and the actual rule of law.
Afghanistan and the War on Terror - Ten Years On
On Wednesday October 5th Tyneside Stop the War held a
successful public Meeting in the University of Newcastle -upon Tyne. Over 60
people, veterans from the 10 years of the stop the war coalition and youth and
students from the community and from the Universities. The meeting marked 10
years of stop the war movement in Britain. We have posted the audio file of the
two speakers and the concluding remarks of the chair Roger Nettleship. Click on
the link to listen to the speakers. The meeting concluded with the showing of a
new documentary on the stop the war movement, part 1 and part 2 with more to
follow in the future. Meeting was Organised by Tyneside Stop the War and
Newcastle University's Place/Space/Politics research cluster.
SPEAKERS:
Lindsey German - National Convenor of Stop the War Coalition since
2001 Lindsay addresses the meeting
- audio
Professor Stuart Elden - Durham University, author of award-winning
book 'Terror and Territory: The Spatial Extent of Sovereignty'
Stuart addresses the meeting -
audio
PDF version of Paper of Professor Stuart
Elden
Chair's concluding
remarks
Please make collecting signatures for the petition and
encouraging all your supporters to sign it online, an urgent focus for your
group in the next two weeks. BRING THE TROOPS HOME PETITION:
Sign online:http://www.petitiononline.com/mfaw09/petition.html
Download to print and collect signatures:
Petition
Fake Political Theatre
and Not Election - Mohammad N Asif
Download
petition demanding the Troops out of Afghanistan
See Also: The
misery in Iraq after six years of occupation BISMILLAH AL RAHMAN AL
RAHEEM Petition to
Support British soldier refusing to fight in Afghanistan
Article By Afghan Jounalist
-Mohammad Asif who spoke at June AGM of Tyneside Stop the War
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