Showing posts with label military families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military families. Show all posts

Sunday, 17 January 2010

The people's dossier versus the dodgy dossier‏



STOP THE WAR COALITION 
17 January 2010
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

THE PEOPLE'S DOSSIER VERSUS THE DODGY DOSSIER

Have you submitted your question to Tony Blair for the
People's Dossier, which Stop the War will be presenting to the
Iraq Inquiry? Hundreds of questions have been sent in,
including contributions from Hans von Sponeck, the former UN
coordinater in Iraq, musician Brian Eno and a number of
military families.

Sami Ramadani, from Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation, has
sent in this question:

Mr Blair, you have often said that you "strongly believed" you
were doing "the right thing" when you sent British troops to
invade and occupy Iraq. Considering that Hitler and other war
criminals strongly believed that what they were doing was
right, do you think that strongly believing in something makes
it right, or pardonable if it proved to be terribly wrong?

Last week Alistair Campbell told the Iraq Inquiry he defends
"every single word" of the dossier presented to parliament in
September 2002. Blair wrote in the forward that it showed
"beyond doubt" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, when
both he and Campbell knew full well that the intelligence had
not produced any evidence that they existed.

The second "dodgy" dossier" published in February 2003 was an
even more blatant fabrication intended to justify war crimes.

If you haven't sent in your question yet, please do so now.
Blair will be appearing at the Iraq Inquiry within the next
three weeks and we want the People's Dossier to be
representative of everyone who protested in such vast numbers
against his warmongering under the slogan "not in our name".

HOW TO SEND YOUR QUESTION
Send it by email to Stop the War. Write "Blair question" in
the subject title of the email and send to
office@stopwar.org.uk

SEE UPDATES TO THE PEOPLE'S DOSSIER
We have posted a selection of questions received so far here:
http://bit.ly/5lfaSN
We will be posting the full list of questions received soon,
which will be update daily.

PROTEST THE DAY BLAIR GIVES EVIDENCE
Stop the war will call a protest outside the Iraq Inquiry when
Blair appears to insist there is no whitewash of his war
crimes. There will be events all day, including a naming the
dead ceremony, poetry readings, music and other performances.

Saturday, 19 December 2009

Mon 21 Dec: join military families handing in petition to Downing Street

Please come to these two protests, next Monday and the Sunday after Xmas.
1) DECEMBER 21 MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
2) GAZA PROTEST AT THE ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER
3) Thanks to everyone who supported the protest outside Kingsland Shopping Centre 12 Dec.
4) Activity in the New Year

***************************
1) DECEMBER 21 MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

With another two soldiers killed, bringing the total in 2009
to 102, the delivering of our Bring the Troops Home petition
to Downing Street on Monday 21 December, 5pm, could not be
more timely.

Military families are coming from around the country, with
their supporters, to take the petition to Gordon Brown's door.
They will be joined by former soldiers.

The families have asked for as much support as possible.

Hackney Stop the War banner will be present.

Stop the War thanks everyone for their efforts in collecting signatures for the
petition. It doesn't yet have a total figure because petition
sheets are still coming into the office, but tens of thousands
of signatures have been collected.

MILITARY FAMILIES DELIVER PETITION TO GORDON BROWN
BRING THE TROOPS HOME
MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 5PM
DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL, SW1A 2AA
PLEASE SUPPORT IF YOU CAN
For more information see: http://bit.ly/4Z3eCR

***************************
2) GAZA PROTEST AT THE ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER

Sunday 28 December will be exactly one year since the start of
Israel's attack on Gaza and there will be worldwide protest
marking the anniversary.

The UK protest will be at the Israeli Embassy in London from
3-5pm. It has been called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative, Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament and many other organisations and
campaigns (For full list here:and details of Remember Gaza
events around the UK, go to http://bit.ly/5bxUAn )

With a British Court having issued a summons for the arrest of
Tzipi Livni (see http://bit.ly/8b11ul) - one of the three
Israeli ministers who led the Gaza onslaught - the issue of
war crimes, the need for Israel to be brought to account for
war crimes now documented by the UN's Goldstone report, is as
urgent as ever.

The protest at the Israeli embassy will also be calling for an
end to the Gaza siege, through which Israel is strangling all
aspects of civil life for one million Palestinians.

Please publicise the protest as widely as possible.

REMEMBER GAZA: END THE SIEGE
SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER 2009 3-5PM
HIGH STREET KENSINGTON LONDON W8
(High St Kensington tube station)

***************************

3) Thanks to everyone who came to the 40 strong protest outside the Army Show Room at the Kingsland Shopping Centre on Sat 12 Dec.

We collected signatures to bring the troops home and got people to sign a xmas card for Joe Glenton, the soldier who courageously refuses to fight in Afghanistan and who faces the prospect of up to 10 years in prison.

We also remembered the 100 British soldiers killed this year, together with the many Afghan civilians who have lost their lives in this pointless war, and demanded the Army Show Room be shut down.

We got a very good response.

****************************

Finally....

4) Tony Blair is likely to appear at the Iraq Inquiry in January
and Stop the War's officers are discussing plans for how best
to give him a warm reception.

On 28 January, Gordon Brown's international conference on
Afghanistan, which will be attended by Hamid Karzai, president
of Afghanistan in name but not legitimacy. Stop the War will
of course be organising protests and other events, details of
which will be published soon.

It may not have been called, but the general election campaign
has effectively started, with suggestions the date may be as
early as March. Stop the War intends to ensure that the wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq are central issues in the election.

*********************************


Hackney Stop The War sends best wishes to all our members and supporters for the New Year.

Monday, 14 December 2009

Military families petition Gordon Brown to bring the troops home‏


Stop the War Coalition Friday
14 December 2009
Web: www.stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
CONTACT: Andrew Burgin 07939 242 229
Lindsey German 07810 540 584

PRESS RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
Military families petition Gordon Brown to bring the troops home.

On Monday 21 December at 5pm military families, who have either lost loved ones
or have relatives serving in Afghanistan, will deliver a petition to Gordon
Brown in Downing Street, calling for all British troops to be withdrawn. They
will be joined by former soldiers.

The military families and former soldiers will hold a press conference an hour
prior to delivering the petition, at 4pm in the Silver Cross, Whitehall, SW1
2BX.

Graham Knight, whose son was killed in Afghanistan, said, "We will hold a vigil
at Downing Street for those who have been killed. We have suffered terrible
personal loss in this war and we don't want any more families to go through the
same pain."

Joan Humphries, whose grandson was killed in August 2009, said, "Everyone knows
now this is a pointless war, deeply unpopular in Britain and Afghanistan. Young
lives are being sacrificed so that politicians can save face."

Lindsey German, Convenor of Stop the War Coalition said, "Tens of thousands of
people from across Britain have signed this petition, and 71% of the population
oppose the war. 100 British soldiers have been killed this year in a senseless
and unwinnable war. Gordon Brown should listen to the families of those who
have lost loved ones in the war and bring the troops home."

For further information, contact:
Andrew Burgin 07939 242 229
Lindsey German 07810 540 584