Candle-lit vigil at Syrian embassy, London, 10 December.
Photo: Dan Viesnik
On 10 December, Syria Peace and Justice, a grassroots group formed in October 2013, marked International Human Rights Day with a ‘Peace Pilgrimage’ for the people of Syria.
Two feeder groups visited embassies and offices in central London with a connection to the Syrian crisis (including Downing St and the foreign office) to deliver a letter from the group. The two groups then…
The British government may have had Tacitus in mind when it launched its latest PR offensive on drones by inviting a select number of journalists — not once, but twice — to view the UK’s new drone control centre at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
British pilots in Waddington fly the deadly unmanned aircraft currently in operation over Afghanistan (see PN 2558). ‘This is [about] defence correspondents talking about defence and the military ... If you start touching [on foreign nations…
Bahrain Watch and CAAT protest outside the
South Korean embassy, London, on 18 October,
demanding an end to exports of tear gas to Bahrain.
Photo: CAAT
The government of Bahrain has been using tear gas to repress pro-democracy demonstrations since the Arab Spring spread to the Gulf state in February 2011.
A Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) report in 2012 found that ‘Bahraini law enforcement officials routinely violate every UN principle’ in their ‘unusually…
The white poppy is a symbol of grief for all people of all nationalities, armed forces and civilians alike, who are victims of war.
A silent vigil for peace by Aberystwyth Women in Black preceded the ceremony which combined songs, poems and words of peace and reconciliation. In addition to David Roberts’ poem, ‘There will be peace’, Harry Rogers read his own powerful and moving ‘White Poppies’ and ‘Son’, the latter written in response to the loss of a friend’s…
After some deft public relations interventions in September and November, Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is not expected to make any serious moves before the March 2014 local elections.
In April, we speculated that Erdogan was spurred to initiate peace talks with the PKK by the mass nonviolent uprising of Turkish Kurds last autumn, sparked by a Kurdish prisoners’ hunger strike that began last September (see PN 2556, and 2552-2553). It may need another…
Palestinians and Israelis at the negotiating table in a town square.
Photo: Minds of Peace
Alongside official peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators which never seem to get anywhere, a group called ‘Minds of Peace’ has for over a year been carrying out what it describes as a ‘campaign of grassroots Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the streets and public squares of Jerusalem’ and other cities.
…
Currently before the house of lords, and expected to receive royal assent next spring, the anti-social behaviour, crime and policing bill will make behaviour perceived to, or potentially able to, ‘cause nuisance or annoyance’ a criminal offence.
The new law also grants local authorities, police and even private security firms the power to bar citizens from assembling in public places.
The bill claims to simplify the large number of ‘orders’ legislated into…
Defendant Linda LeTendre wrote afterwards of her shock: ‘I sat at the defense table with my mouth hanging open while the courtroom erupted in cheers and applause. I remember thinking, “I must look a fool with my chin hanging lower than my navel.” ’
“We will not be complicit with our government’s war crimes”
It was the first acquittal of anti-drones…
In a Kafkaesque twist, even the explanation of why the release of this information would involve ‘risk to [service personnel’s] life and limb’ has been witheld.
Chris Cole, founder of the small NGO Drone Wars UK, brought a case before the tribunal in September after an earlier appeal to the information commissioner was turned down in February.
Early in 2012,…
Veterans for Peace marching in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday.
Photo: Guy Smallman
As a child I was captivated by the sombre parades of Remembrance Sunday. The soldiers in their greatcoats, the veterans wearing their medals, and ‘The Last Post’, all played a part in recruiting me into the army.
Since I left the army, the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday have become hard for me to endure. The public relations campaign waged each year by the Royal British Legion…
Howard worked for Peace News during the 1970s and 80s and remained a constant supporter, board member, and friend. In 2012, Peace News reprinted Howard's seminal text, Making Nonviolent Revolution.
He was also Coordinator for War Resisters International for many years and more lately WRI Chair, and committed to many other peace initiatives. Howard lived in Spain with his partner, Yolanda Juarros Barcenilla, and…
On 19 October, around 70 academics, activists, campaigners, and others concerned about recent militarisation in everyday life in the UK came together in London for an information-sharing and networking conference, organised by ForcesWatch. The aim was to allow academics and activists to share their work and ideas, through a series of presentations and discussions and discussions, and to develop ideas for to raising public debate and encouraging critical thinking on the issue.
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Effective nonviolence at the Reclaim the Power camp in Balcombe, West Sussex, part of a summer of action against fracking exploration by Caudrilla. PHOTO: Reclaim the Power
Nonviolence study groups underpinned much of the success of the US civil rights movement in the 1960s (see editorial, p12). Campaign Nonviolence, a new year-long project initiated by California-based peace group, Pace e Bene, aims to promote the formation of such study and action groups. Campaign Nonviolence has been…
Over 100 people crowded London’s Cockpit Theatre on 13 October for a Peace News benefit celebrating the power of ordinary people to change the world. ‘Come out! We have you surrounded!’ featured the Songlines Choir, stand-up comedian Chris Coltrane, rebel poet Attila the Stockbroker, Hedgemustard (pictured above) and singer-songwriters @dogcatchicken and (final act) Tracey Curtis. Many thanks to indefatigable event organiser (and compère) Jon Lockwood. Roll on, next year!
Activists celebrate their success outside the Savile Club. PHOTO: Stop the Arms Fair
When Stop the Arms Fair activists showed up at the Savile Club in central London at 8am on 8 October, they discovered that a ‘security breakfast briefing’ they were going to protest outside had been moved to a secret location.
The breakfast (cost £72 per attendee) was part of a series organised by the London chamber of commerce with military industry leaders as keynote speakers and arms dealers and…
On 18 October, immigrant activists in San Francisco blocked a bus carrying foreign nationals in the custody of immigration officials, shouting: ‘Undocumented, unafraid!’, part of a growing US campaign of nonviolent resistance to the deportation of ‘undocumented’ Latinos.
During October, activists chained themselves to the tyres of buses carrying immigrants to court, blocked traffic on Capitol Hill, surrounded Tucson police when they targeted two immigrants during a traffic stop,…
The consortium Miller Argent have submitted a planning application to Caerphilly council for the Nant Llesg open-cast coal mine. If Miller Argent obtain planning permission, Nant Llesg near Rhymney will mine up to nine million tonnes of coal and be responsible for approximately 20 million tonnes of CO2.
Local opposition the United Valleys Action Group (UVAG) say this will be a disaster in terms of climate change. UVAG also know the impact of the dust and noise from mining on…
US drone attacks are increasing the risk of terrorism, the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee told US president Barack Obama during a private meeting in the White House in Washington DC on 11 October.
Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, 16, said in a statement released after the meeting that she had thanked the president for supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan: ‘I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fuelling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in…
On 17 October, five ‘No Dash for Gas’ protesters successfully appealed against their sentences of 150 hours of community service. Nottingham crown court reduced their sentences to conditional discharges.
A year earlier, ‘No Dash for Gas’ members had occupied the chimneys of West Burton gas-fired power station in Nottinghamshire to protest against government plans to build up to 20 new gas-fired power stations (see PN 2552-3).
When the 21 climate activists came to trial…
Get rid of Trident - Eat it! Photo: Lotte Reimer
Early on 3 October, a small but committed contingent from Wales and Bristol, along with an intrepid lone Glaswegian, blockaded the ministry of defence (MoD) road to the Burghfield atomic weapons establishment (AWE).
A ‘Mad Trident Tea-Party’ was set up and attended by three large red dragons and numerous small ones. With members of Côr Cochion and Côr Gobaith present, the singing rarely stopped for the six hours of the blockade. We…
