Despite a ‘game changing’ move by the Taliban towards peace talks, the US looks committed to continuing its war in Afghanistan far into the future – albeit retooled to place more emphasis on drones, special forces and local proxies. The consequences for ordinary Afghans are likely to be disastrous.
In January – in a what the New York Times described as ‘a first major public sign that they may be ready for formal talks with the American-led coalition’ – the Taliban declared that it had…
On 2 February, the police oversight body, her majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC), published a report on national police intelligence units. This was a response to the outing of a number of police spies – including Mark Kennedy – who infiltrated protest groups on a long-term basis, forming sexual relationships with protesters, and some even having children with them, using their false personae. (See PN 2528, 2530.)
The main target of the report was the national public order…
Disabled People Against the Cuts activists in Oxford Circus, 28 January. PHOTO: Rikki
On 28 January, London’s Oxford Circus was brought to a standstill when 20 wheelchair users using handcuffs and bicycle locks chained themselves together in the middle of Regent Street and were then joined by 200 others.
After two hours, the protesters voluntarily ended their blockade of two of London’s busiest streets. There were no arrests.
The action was organised by Disabled People Against…
Stop the War march om 28 January. PHOTO: Mina Boromond
With increasing pressure for a military attack on Iran and for military intervention in Syria, the Stop the War Coalition called a demonstration at the US embassy on 28 January under the portmanteau title ‘Stop the war before it starts: don’t attack Iran/Syria.’
Coupling the two was illadvised – there are important differences. And so it proved: several speakers were booed or chanted down, and groups supporting the Syrian and…
Three anti-nuclear power protesters who had ‘occupied’ a grove of oak trees near Hinkley Point in Somerset were evicted after two days on 9 February by local police and a five-man tree-climbing team hired by power company EDF.
The grove of mature oak trees was scheduled to be cleared in late February to make way for a new nuclear power plant. On 12 February, activists then took possession of an abandoned farm on the development site. On 13 February, they were visited by a civil…
On 4 February, in cities around the world, anti-war protesters, marching to the common message, ‘No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations,’ led a day of mass action against a possible war in Iran.
The wordwide protests were organised by over 60 anti-war, pacifist and human rights groups.
In the US, the largest protest took place in New York, as a group of 500 marched from Manhattan’s Times Square to the US mission to the United Nations and then to the Israeli…
A group of 15 or so people who set up the Cwtch Community Centre in the empty Dolphin Hotel in Swansea city centre have vowed to carry on their work after being been evicted. In a story carried by the South Wales Evening Post, Rev, a member of Cwtch, said the group would carry on their work: ‘Cwtch has been providing a brilliant service to the community. When we open, people without homes take shelter here and elderly ladies come for coffee.’
The Dolphin Hotel has been unoccupied for…
Cymdeithas y Cymod, the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales, will hold their 2012 Vigil at the Talbot hotel, Tregaron, on Friday and Saturday, 23-24 March. The theme of this year’s Vigil will be Henry Richard, the ‘Apostle of Peace’. Almost exactly 200 years since he was born on 3 April 1812, we will meet in his home town to celebrate his work for peace between the world’s nations.
The Vigil will begin with dinner at 6pm on the Friday night, which will be followed by a talk by Gwyn…
Photo: PAWB
About 300 demonstrators braved the rain and gloom of a January Saturday afternoon to march through the streets of the small market town of Llangefni, on the Isle of Anglesey, in order to express their support for the Jones family of Caerdegog. These determined farmers are refusing to allow their land, which has been in their family for about 300 years, to be grabbed by Horizon Nuclear.
The broadening of support shown in the march was significant. As well as local…
Scottish CND’s new report investigates where Trident might go if it couldn’t be in Scotland and concludes that there are no viable options. The hope is that this will boost the prospects for ridding the world of nuclear weapons, though, of course, the politics of any deal on Scottish independence would also have an impact.
Scottish CND’s latest statement on the independence referendum states: ‘We want to ban the bomb in Scotland and in Britain and beyond. We are delighted that the…
Faslane Peace Campers are announcing 30 Days of Nonviolent Direct Action against nuclear weapons at the Faslane naval base to mark the 30th birthday of the peace camp and the ongoing travesty of nuclear weapons. The actions will commence on Saturday 9 June 2012 and continue until 9 July.
Ready for action!
Over the last year a small group of us have been endeavouring to make the peace camp a healthy and happy place to facilitate direct action against Trident We are ready for…
As PN went to press, Egyptian pacifist Maikel Nabil Sanad was continuing his hunger strike in protest against his imprisonment for criticising the new military regime. 20 January marked his 150th day without food: his kidneys were beginning to fail.
Maikel’s sentence has been reduced from four to two years. He is now on a water-only fast.
On 16 January, Chris Cole, 48, a peace activist from Oxford, appeared before Westminster magistrates’ court in Marylebone Road, London, to be tried for a protest at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair in September 2011. Chris was arrested for spraying “DSEi Kills” and “Stop the arms trade” at the entrance to the fair, as delegates queued to enter.
Chris, who has pleaded “not guilty” to charges of criminal damage, was prepared to argue that he was acting…
Tents at Northwood gates. PHOTO: Maria Albrecht
On 29 December, the Christian Holy Innocents Day, a group of 16 Christian peace activists closed the main entrance to the Northwood military headquarters for two hours. After pitching their tents, some knelt to pray, while others held placards outside the north London base, which is the command centre for all British forces in Afghanistan. A banner reading “Occupy Northwood HQ not Afghanistan” was…
On 17 January, high court judge Keith Lindblom ruled that Occupy LSX, the tent city that has stood in front of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral since 15 October, was unlawfully obstructing a public highway.
Enforcement was delayed until 24 January (after PN goes to press) to allow time for an appeal.
However, despite the prospect of losing the birthplace of the UK’s Occupy movement, residents of the St Paul’s Cathedral encampment told PN they were not discouraged by the ruling. …
UK Uncut activists brought a bit of cheer to Aberystwyth streets at Christmas, singing very special carols outside a number of deserving businesses. Those graced with their very own seasonal songs included Lloyds TSB, who splashed the cash on a £1.45m bonus for former chief executive Eric Daniels in 2011 – despite having been bailed out to the tune of £19.9bn by taxpayers in 2008. Tax avoiders HSBC and Boots as well as big-bonus-paying loss-makers RBS/HSBC were all serenaded with adapted…
Satisfied with the European Commission's response to Fukushima, the European parliament petitions committee closed four petitions which raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power stations. However, Plaid Cymru's group in the parliament (Greens/EFA) has raised serious doubts about the Commission’s “stress tests”. An independent study highlighted their failure to assess the risks of accidents. For example, they do not evaluate the risks of fire, human failure or an aeroplane crash.…
On 15 March, Plaid Cymru will elect a new leader. Known by environmentalists as ‘Ieuan Air’ on account of his practice of flying from his constituency in Ynys Mon (Anglesey) to Cardiff, Ieuan Wyn Jones is standing down.
Four candidates have declared their intention to stand in the election: Elin Jones, Lord Elis Thomas, Simon Thomas and Leanne Wood. Progressive MEP Jill Evans told PN: “This is a critical time in Welsh politics and a very exciting one. We have to have a real and honest…
On 2 January, Scottish members of a “Stop the JNF” delegation joined trade unionists and Stop the Wall campaigners to re-plant trees as part of a new project in a previously devastated area of Palestine.
The group, which included people from a nearby refugee camp, planted 111 trees, representing the number of years since the foundation of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) which plays a key role in Israel’s policy of displacing and dispossessing Palestinians.
Non-Jewish people are…
The Occupy LSX library outside St Paul's Cathedral, November 2011. PHOTO: Milan Rai
With bitterly cold winter weather affecting camps, the US Occupy movement is focusing on this year’s US presidential and legislative elections, set for November. The movement also organised a number of activities to mark the Martin Luther King Jr holiday in January. Occupy US is also planning a “Shut Down The Corporations Day” scheduled for 29 February.
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