As you may know, I’ve stewarded many of the “Stop the War†marches here in London – it’s a small enough gesture. They have all been utterly peaceful affairs and the stewarding has been largely symbolic. Supporters are drawn from all corners of British society, and include Iain Banks, Tony Benn, Brian Eno, Miriam Margolyes, Michael Nyman, Mark Thomas, Susannah York, Benjamin Zephaniah and many more.
On Monday 8th October (next Monday) another march was planned. I quote from an e-mail just received from the organizers:
After a series of relatively co-operative meetings, the police now say they have been instructed not to allow the march to take place and that all demonstrations are banned within a mile of Parliament whilst in session.
This is a new development which threatens our democratic rights.
When Gordon Brown became prime minister he promised to liberalise the laws on protest, saying that one of his principles would be, “civil liberties safeguarded and enhanced”. Government ministers, including Gordon Brown, have lined up to support the right to protest in Burma. It is important that these same ministers also defend the rights of people in this country to protest peacefully.We are determined to march to make our views known to parliament on 8 October, when Gordon Brown will make his long awaited statement on Iraq. We urge everyone who opposes the war policies of our government to join the call for all British troops to come home immediately and to help defend our civil liberties now under attack.
If you care about preserving our democratic right to voice dissent, please sign the online petition here:
The march will go ahead on Monday, with or without permission from the police. This may be the first time I actually have to do something as a steward – I just hope some over-zealous mountie doesn’t decide to use me for target practice.
