Another President, another demonstration

Three years ago I joined the demonstration against George W Bush on his visit to the UK. Since then things have got even worse so when Barack Obama came to visit our Queen I was there again.

Three years ago we were worried about the USA and UK's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Three years later Iraq is a little better but the Afghan war has spread to Pakistan, where drones are sent in to this sovereign state to kill their people, and we have a new war in Libya where we are taking sides in a civil war that is simply not our business.

The argument that we are doing this to protect citizens has been shown to be a deceit as we are refusing to help citizens in Syria, Bahrain, Gazza or, going further afield, Ivory Coast or Sudan. We just go after people that we do not like who have oil. Simples.

And it's not as though these wars are going to achieve anything. We've tried to impose our will through military might in most of these countries before and it did not work then either.

I don't expect my little act of protest to achieve very much but the alternative was not to do anything at all and peace deserves more than that.

#march26

The only question for me on the big anti-government march on 26 March was which banner to march under as various groups that I belong to or support were taking part.

I chose to march with the peace contingent as one of the easy cuts this government could make to address the deficit is Trident. We've never used it and never will use it but we still spend billions on it.

This was also the opportunity to protest against our imperialist involvement in Libya where we have taken sides in somebody else's civil war just because we don't like Gaddafi.

All the peace groups congregated on Victoria Embankment between Temple and Blackfriars. I got there around 11am and had plenty of time of lap up the atmosphere before we got going.

And the atmosphere demanded to be lapped up as it was thick with indignation, good humour and camaraderie. Four hundred thousand people with one purpose.

As expected, the Kingston Peace Council / CND were there and I spent most of the day with them and their colourful banner.

I've been a member for years but have only managed to get to a few meetings so this was a good opportunity to meet some fellow members. Through this I learnt that one shares my surname and lives just round the corner from me and another used to work for the same company as me until very recently.

For five hours we marched slowly along the Embankment to Parliament, up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, along Pall Mall and Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus, and finally west on Piccadilly towards Hyde Park.

There was no point going in to Hyde Park at that point as it was almost 5pm and the speeches had long been over by then. So I nipped in to Green Park station and made my way home after an exhausting but exhilarating six hours of standing, walking and occasional marching.

During all that time I saw no violence, no anger and less damage than Westminster normally gets on a Saturday of hosting hordes of shoppers, football fans and fun seekers.

I brought the TUC issued flag that I had carried all day home with me and I'll end by quoting the three final words on it; "Jobs - Growth - Justice".

Images of London

Another Stop the War demonstration took me to London on Saturday and I took the opportunity to do some other sightseeing while I was there.

Exiting from the tunnel at South Kensington station I went first to the National History Museum where there was a small exhibition of ice sculptures.

My favourite was this one of three penguins that must have felt right at home in the cold foggy conditions that engulfed London at that time.

It is virtually impossible for me to go anywhere near South Kensington without popping into the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), and this was no exception.

After the usual visit to the architecture section I wandered almost aimlessly and found some sections that I am sure that I have not been to before, including an Arts and Crafts section that I would have been to several times before if I knew that it was there (I refuse to use a map of the museum because that would take away some of the mystery).

One of the many things I like about the V&A is the collections of normal household objects of which this lovely period tin is an excellent example.

Walking up Exhibition Road towards Hyde Park takes you past the modern entrance to Imperial College London.

Imperial specialises in science and technology so it is not that surprising to see a Ferrari Formula 1 car in the entrance hall.

Students, like most office workers, do not care who follows them through a badged door so I was easily able to get in to take a shot unhindered by glass and then escape before my unauthorised presence was noticed.

And finally to a frosty Hyde Park for the demonstration for peace in Gaza.

We assembled by Cumberland Gate before heading off west along the evocatively named North Carriage Drive to leave the park at Lancaster Gate.

From there the scenic route took us through some of the smartest streets in London as we travelled along Bayswater Road, down Kensington Church Street and then east along Kensington Road to the Israeli Mission in Old Court Palace.

The march was the usual oxymoron of a harmonious singing crowd brought together by something bad. It was cold miserable day but the spirit of the crowd and the importance of the cause were uplifting. It was a good place to be.

March for peace

On Saturday I went on what could be the first of several demonstrations against the violence in Gaza.

The march started at Embankment, on the Thames in Central London. It was due to start at 12:30 but I got there just after 1:00 (I had to take my eldest son to Pizza Express first).

The march had already started but there were still many people congregated there waiting to move out.

We took a fairly familiar route, heading first along Victoria Embankment towards Westminster and then back along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square.

Also familiar were the colourful banners (mass produced and home made), the chanting, the mix of people different in many ways but united in one, and the sheer comfort of being in a large crowd with a common purpose.

Trafalgar Square provided a dramatic setting for the rally at the end of the march. In happier circumstances I would have spent more time savouring the architecture and art but buildings like the National Gallery were only a backdrop, a solid silent frame to enclose the movement and noise of the crowd.

There were several speakers but, to be honest, there was not that much that needed to be said as we all knew that the immediate need was for Israel to stop the killing.

I walked around the square to absorb myself in the atmosphere of the event and caught sight of Ken Livingston and Tony Benn. The later has been a hero of mine for many years and the former has said some wise words on the current situation, especially the comparison with Northern Ireland where the UK deliberately did not respond to acts of violence during the successful peace process.

Another demonstration is planned for next weekend in Hyde Park. I hope that it proves to be unnecessary but if the violence is still happening then I will be there.

Stop Gaza Massacre demonstration

I would rather that there were not injustices in the world to demonstrate against but there are and so I am off to London today to join one of the many UK demonstrations against the current violence in Gaza.

I appreciate that the Israelis are concerned about their own safety but two wrongs do not make a right and there is no justification for their use of such force against a civilian population that they have imprisoned and blockaded.

The demonstration is also against the submissive position adopted by most western countries to this atrocity, and George Bush's recent statement putting all the blame on Hamas is neither truthful nor helpful.

I am not sure what effect, if any, our demonstration will have but I would much rather be there showing my support for peace than sitting at home watching it on TV.

Welcoming George Bush

On Sunday evening I joined a demonstration against George Bush's foreign policies, particularly with respect to Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran, but not forgetting his other indiscretions, such as Somalia and Palestine.

We convened in Parliament Square next to the Houses of Parliament, which you can see in the background here.

Parliament Square is on the tourist bus route so we had a succession of open-top buses going past full of intrigued tourists taking pictures of the demonstration. All publicity helps.

Once assembled we were treated to a number of rousing speakers, including the surprisingly (to me) effective Bianca Jagger. Another surprise was the loud cheer of support given for the actions of the Conservative MP, David Davis, for resigning his seat so the he could fight an election on the one policy of this (Labour) government's increasing restrictions on civil freedoms.

And we soon got a taste of those restrictions when we were refused permission to march down Whitehall past Downing Street. We tried anyway, of course, and a few people got hit on the head by the police for their efforts. I saw three people with bleeding heads moving away from the front line.

But this was not a group of agitators looking for a fight. There were lots of older people and women there as well as the more bumptious students. I spent some time standing next to a 30s something pregnant woman in a Liberty dress. She and I are now on the police video.

The announcements made by Gordon Brown following his meeting with George Bush show that he is as supine as Blair was and that we were not listened to. But we had to try.

Stop the War March

I was in London today for the Stop the War March that was help on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. This started with a rally at Trafalgar Square at midday so I took advantage of this to pay a quick visit to the National Gallery (which is on the north side of the square) and also to enjoy the square itself.

The square has four plinths but one of them was left unadorned and unloved until recently when they started holding competitions to pick a work of art to sit there for a period. The current incumbent is the colourful and lovely Thomas Schütte's Model for a Hotel 2007.


After the short cultural hit it was on to the main business of the day, standing up and being counted as part of the opposition to wars and occupations Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Somalia, Congo, Tibet, etc. etc. (sadly it is a long list).

As always with these events, I have the mixed emotions of the joy of being with so many with people who share the same passion for fairness and justice and the frustration that we need to hold marches like this to remind people how much of these things we have given up.

The event kicked off with a number of speakers from all aspects of the "peace movement" and there was lots of cheering, whistling and clapping to unite us even closer and to raise our spirits.

On this up-beat note we set of on our march. The route was rather circuitous taking us to Parliament Square, over Westminster Bridge, south past Lambeth Palace, back over the river at Lambeth Bridge then north to Parliament Square again where we collected for a final short rally.

I was near the head of the march and we arrived back at Parliament Square just as the tail of the march left, some 4 Km behind us.

I am not really expecting much to change as a result of our march but there are times when you need to stand up and be counted and I am very glad that I did so today.

A busy time for international politics

I'm not sure if it is just because it is the start of a new year or if it is a symptom of a growing instability and uneasiness in the world but my inbox is filling with invitations to meetings and news international developments.

Unfortunately I am unable to attend the meeting organised by CND on 22 January about OPPOSING US MISSILE DEFENCE: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE as I shall be working in Kiev then. The speakers include Lubomir ZAORÁLEK MP, Shadow Foreign Minister from the Czech Republic, which is another reason why I would have liked to attend.

One meeting that I should be able to get to is Towards a progressive immigration policy, organised by Compass: direction for the democratic left, on 29 January. If you want to know what my views on immigration are then watch Planet Corduroy by Marcus Brigstocke!

On Saturday 15 March there is a Stop the War march in London which I hope to be on, having been on most of them over the last five years, including the one last year. Incidentally, Marcus Brigstocke was there too.

I have, of course, voted for the anti-Iraq war protesters in the Channel 4 Political awards.

Finally, it is good to see recognition for the International Crisis Group who have just been listed as one of the top ten think-tanks in the world. They continue to provide thoughtfully analysis on all the potential crisis situations in the world (there ate lots of them). Anyone who wants a broad understanding of what is happening in the world would do well to start here.

Stop the War march

Today I joined the tens of thousands that marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to protest against the government's stance on a range of related issues, i.e. Iraq, Iran, replacing Trident and Palestine.

I went on the 2 million march when the Iraq war started and also went on some of the subsequent ones but the last march I went on was a couple of years ago when George Bush was staying in the UK. So another march was long overdue and I am very glad that I went to show how strongly I feel on these important topics.

As with previous marches, there were several discrete groups of people there. There was the age 60 plus group who are long-time protesters against all things nuclear (I am a member of CND too), lots of students and nationals from the relevant countries. Somewhat absent were the 30s/40s, they were probably too busy shopping!