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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