Stepping up Stop the War's election campaign‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER No. 1149  
12 April 2010 
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              020 7801 2768      end_of_the_skype_highlighting  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:  
1) STEPPING UP STOP THE WAR'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN  
2) LONDON DEBATE: SHOULD THE TROOPS BE IN AFGHANISTAN? 
3) ASTOUNDING RESPONSE TO ELECTION SURVEY  
4) SPECIAL ELECTION RESOURCES 
5) CRUEL PRISON TREATMENT OF SOLDIER JOE GLENTON  
6) IT'S OFFICIAL: THROWING SHOES AS A PROTEST IS ALLOWED  
7) WATCHING THIS VIDEO ANGER CALCIFIES THE HEART

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1) STEPPING UP STOP THE WAR'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Hardly any of the politicians vying for our votes in this  
election have mentioned the war in Afghanistan, even as the  
country sinks further into a quagmire of destruction and  
wasted lives, with the rate of British soldiers being killed  
double what it was a year ago.

We are stepping up our campaign to raise the profile of the  
war as an election issue and to get the candidates to state  
their views publicly on Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other  
anti-war issues, which many people will want to know when  
deciding how to cast their vote.

Local Stop the War debates, question times, hustings etc are  
now rolling out across the country. We are posting details of 
these on our website as soon as we receive them: SEE  
http://bit.ly/crQiHe

A major all-London debate will take place this Wednesday 14  
April (details below) .

Stop the War now has available a range of election special  
resources (see below). Our Cost of War briefing card has  
proved so popular that it sold out within a few days and is  
now being reprinted.

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2) LONDON DEBATE: SHOULD THE TROOPS BE IN AFGHANISTAN?

WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL 6.30 PM  
OLD CINEMA LECTURE THEATRE  
WESTMINSTER UNIVERSITY 
309 REGENT STREET, LONDON W1B 2UW

Participants include Mehdi Hasan from the New Statesman,  
Professor Christopher Coker from the London School of 
Economics, Martin Cakebread from the National Defence 
Association, and Lindsey German, Convenor of Stop the War.

Arguments for and against the war will be presented and there 
will be plenty of opportunity for contributions and questions 
from the floor.

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3) ASTOUNDING RESPONSE TO ELECTION SURVEY

In just a few days, we have had an astounding response to our 
Election Candidates Survey. Close to 4000 emails to candidates 
have been sent already, asking where they stand on  
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other anti-war issues.

This is a reflection of the anger many voters must feel seeing 
all the main parties ignore what should be a key issue in the 
election.

If you haven't sent a message to your local candidates yet,  
requesting they tell you what their view is of this country's 
current war policies, we urge you to do so now. It takes just 
1-2 minutes here:  http://bit.ly/8X35fk

The more people pressure candidates, the more they will feel  
they have to respond. Please forward the link to or Candidates 
Survey to everyone you know and encourage them to send their  
message.

As we get the responses from candidates, they will be 
publicised on the Stop the War website, and we will name and  
shame those who have remained silent.

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4) SPECIAL ELECTION RESOURCES

Stop the War has produced a range of election special 
resources for our campaign to force the war in Afghanistan  
onto the election agenda. These are all available from the  
national office: Tel: 020 7801 2768 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              020 7801 2768      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

* AFGHANISTAN: THE COST OF WAR This briefing card has proved  
so popular that it sold out within days. It is now being  
reprinted.

* PETITION: DON'T THEY KNOW THERE'S A WAR ON - BRING THE  
TROOPS HOME A petition for downloading to print and collect  
signatures in your work, school, college, community etc.  
Download here:

* AFGHANISTAN: 10 REASONS WHY THE TROOPS SHOULD COME HOME  
A new pamphlet written by Steve Bell with a preface by Paul  
Flynn MP. £2.50 incl p&p. BUY ONLINE: http://bit.ly/bGJTi3

* STOP THE WAR'S PRINTED NEWSLETTER We produce a by-monthly  
printed edition newsletter, the latest issue of which is an  
election special (50p. Reduced rate for 5 or more copies). If 
you've not seen the printed newsletter before, back issues are 
available here: http://bit.ly/c4r9Ot

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5) CRUEL PRISON TREATMENT OF SOLDIER JOE GLENTON  
.  
Joe Glenton, the British soldier who refused to return to  
fight in Afghanistan because he believed the war to be 
unjustified and unwinnable, is receiving cruel treatment at  
the hands of military prison staff, following his court  
martial and sentence to nine months imprisonment.

The prison authorities are trying to force him to sleep under 
an unwashed or dirty blanket - a punishment that often leads  
prisoners to get body lice - and to wear boots despite the  
fact he has broken his toe. This follows a disciplinary  
hearing following what his legal team say is the trumped up  
claim that Joe insulted an officer.

Please send complaints about the way Joe is being treated in  
prison to: mctcwelfare@hotmail.com.

To send Joe a message of support and for background and  
updates on his case, go to: http://bit.ly/dgLAck

Joe's legal team is lodging an appeal against his jail 
sentence, at which Stop the War will be organising a protest  
calling for his immediate release.

PROTEST AT JOE GLENTON'S APPEAL HEARING  
CALLING FOR HIS IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
WEDNESDAY 21 APRIL 9.30AM  
ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE  
STRAND, LONDON WC2

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6) IT'S OFFICIAL: THROWING SHOES AS A PROTEST IS ALLOWED

Seventy protestors face imprisonment for their involvement in 
the demonstrations in January 2009 against Israel's onslaught 
on Gaza, but one after another the cases are falling apart.

In the latest, Student Aquib Salim, 21, was likely to face  
prison for throwing a shoe at the Israeli Embassy but, as the 
Sunday Times reported (see http://bit.ly/b6b2h0 ), not now it 
has been revealed that the Metropolitan Police had said  
previously that throwing shoes as a sign of protest was  
permitted.

For background and updates to the Gaza Protestors Defence  
Campaign, see: http://bit.ly/d1FqIA

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7) WATCHING THIS VIDEO ANGER CALCIFIES THE HEART

The video released by Wikileaks showing airmen in US  
helicopters slaughtering Iraqi civilians with unrestrained  
glee, is shocking enough in itself, but it is only unique in  
the footage we can now watch and hear which makes the atrocity 
irrefutable, unlike the countless occasions when Iraqis -- and 
Afghans -- have reported equivalent atrocities and were  
ignored.

See the video and the comments of Haifa Zangana, Iraqi 
novelist and former prisoner under Saddam Hussein, who tells  
how watching it made anger calcify in her heart:  
http://bit.ly/9iUnkT

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LOBBY YOUR ELECTION CANDIDATES HERE: http://bit.ly/8X35fk  
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