After a week of presiding over the trial of the Pit Stop Ploughshares in Dublin's Four Courts, Judge Frank O'Donnell dismissed the jury after admitting that that his actions could be perceived to be biased. He ordered a retrial for October.
On 3 February 2003, the Pit Stop Ploughshares Five disarmed a US Navy C40 plane in a hangar at Shannon Airport, County Clare, Ireland (see PN2458).
Two years later, on Monday 7 March, they finally went to trial. One hundred and fifty…
On Saturday 5 February more than 250 peace activists and supporters crammed into Ramparts squatted social centre in east London to attend the party of the year ... the Peace News relaunch party!
The event was organised to celebrate the new-look PN and featured peace movement favourites Leon Rosselson, Raised Voices and Penny Rimbaud as well as poets Paradox and Will Holloway, acoustic act The Rub and bands Nayfumble and Walking Wounded - who really got the crowd rocking…
A lengthy legal struggle by two campaigners has been vindicated with a final victory in the the European Court of Human Rights: on 15 February the ECHR ruled that the McLibel 2 - Helen Steel and Dave Morris - had been denied freedom of expression and a fair trial when they were sued for libel by the multinational junk food giant McDonald's.
In other words, officialdom has caught up with what the rest of the world knew more than 10 years ago.
What's wrong with McD?McDonald'…
As Big Ben struck 4.30pm, on Tuesday 15 February, around 60 people lay down on the street in front of Parliament Square in silence, and in protest.
Three minutes of silence remembering all the victims of the Iraq war was followed by raised voices, demanding that the troops be withdrawn from Iraq, now.
Unfortunately, what could have been a very effective and long-lasting blockade instead became a short and very symbolic occupation of one lane of the street, with passengers on…
The European Constitution has a range of militarist provisions which could serve to strengthen the already powerful military forces within EU states, and the constitution includes a plan for a Europe-wide military force.
The militarisation of Europe is being widely opposed by grassroots activists throughout Europe. On Saturday 5 March 2005, a conference in Manchester will examine and oppose the growing militarism and nuclearism in Europe.
The conference, “A Europe for Peace”…
On 4 February more than 20,000 packed into London's Trafalgar Square to hear Nelson Mandela issue a rallying cry to “make poverty history” in 2005, and challenging world leaders to “recognise that the world is hungry for action, not words”.
His call came as finance ministers from the world's richest countries arrived in London for the G7 meeting where they will discuss cutting poor countries' $39 billion debt burden.
Mr Mandela was invited to London by the Make Poverty…
The four anti-war activists who last November staged a series of die-ins to highlight the slaughter in Iraq - one of which took place deep inside the Cabinet Office - have had their cases dropped (see PN2458)
The four had been bailed to return to West End Central police station on 2 February for “questioning”. When first arrested, they were never interviewed in spite of being held in police custody for 24 hours, during which time they were strip-searched, had all their clothes…
O-I-L (One In Love) held its annual Valentine's Day action of collectively concentrating love and sending it out to the world.
A festive atmosphere with free T-shirts and a live samba band was kindled around the Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus, London.
People were invited to form a circle to send love and healing to all the beings in this world.
The response was phenomenal. The statue and steps of Eros were cleared as people walked out to take their position in the…
On Wednesday 2 February, a pirate ship set sail from the south coast of England, docking three days later at Carlingford Lough in Ireland. But this wasn't just any pirate ship, it was the Enterprise - an ex Royal Navy minesweeper - converted by volunteers into a force for good by the Southampton-based charity Pirates For Peace.
The aim of the Pirates For Peace project is to foster cooperation and opportunity for the young people of Ireland, north and south, through the…
On 15 February, Yeovil, Sherborne and Area Stop the War Coalition held a peaceful demonstration at RNAS (Royal Naval Air Station) Yeovilton in Somerset in protest at the continued occupation of Iraq.
The group handed leaflets to military and civilian workers about the Military Families Against the War campaign to bring the troops home. Although they were observed by MoD Police on the gate, a considerable number of incoming workers took leaflets. One worker said “I don't need one, I…
In January, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) participated in the Feminist Dialogues II and the World Social Forum 2005. Discussions focused on militarisation and war, fundamentalisms and neo-liberal globalisation, underlining the strategies that the women's movement has used or may use in the future to confront those forces. WLUML issued a statement which called on the democratic movement at large, on the anti-globalisation movement gathered in Porto Alegre and, specifically, on the…
With a true sense of nostalgia, Peace News reflects back on its long history of publishing. Even half a century ago, PN was “providing a forum where nonviolent and anti-militarist movements could develop common perspectives” … in the form of a weekly tabloid (well, you never know...).
Everyone can change1955 had many the same conflicts and issues that continue to trouble the world today, from the poor distribution of wealth to massive arms build-ups. In the 4…
When the invasion of Iraq was being planned, the US government needed bases to refuel and load planes full of troops en route to its bases in Qatar and Kuwait. They picked Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland. And, despite its much-vaunted neutrality, the Irish government was more than willing to help.
According to recent calculations, approximately 50,000 soldiers have passed through Shannon Airport on their way to fight the war in Iraq, never mind the weapons, which reportedly…
Five peace activists Margaret Jones, Paul Milling, Phil Pritchard, Toby Olditch, and Josh Richards, have been given leave to appeal to the House of Lords with regards to their various attempts at attempt to disarming USAF equipment at Fairford during early 2003.
Toby and Phil said their action was motivated by the inability of international pressure to prevent the prosecution of an illegal and unjustified war. Olditch and Pritchard entered Fairford with the intention to disabling the…
Bush inauguration marked in both silence and rage
Outside the US embassy in London on the evening of president Bush’s inauguration for a second term in office, a silent candlelit vigil was held to remember those who have lost their lives in the Iraq conflict. A black coffin, representing the estimated 100,000+ who have died, was placed directly opposite the front doors of the embassy.
Brought to a standstill (again)Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the US (see…
On 20 January, just outside 10 Downing Street, the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities organised a protest – supported by an alliance of campaigning and human rights groups – against the detention of suspects without trial and calling for an end to the political terror that the anti-terror legislation has itself created. Activists, human rights lawyers and members of the London Muslim community attended the event at which they urged the government to stop detention without trial and…
In November 2004 – on the day of the reopening of parliament – four anti-war activists staged a series of die-ins to highlight the slaughter in Iraq and the deafening silence of both politicians and the mainstream media. The first die-in took place outside parliament – where the four were quickly dragged off and searched under anti-social behaviour legislation. The second, outside 10 Downing Street, went on for much longer, under the bemused and sometimes supportive gaze of tourists. After…
US army deserters
The US army is facing strong criticism from within its own ranks over the war in Iraq. Around 5500 soldiers have deserted since coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003 with some seeking refuge in Canada. One of these is Jeremy Hinzman, a soldier in the Elite Infantry Division, 82nd Airborne, who fled to Canada seeking refugee protection after being refused status as a conscientious objector. Hinzman stated, “This is a criminal war and any act of violence in an unjustified…
On 22 March 2003, three coaches set off from London to protest against the bombing of Iraq by US B52s which were flying missions from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Police stopped, searched, turned away, and detained the London coaches before they reached the demonstration. The police actions have consequently become the subject of an ongoing legal case which had a ruling at the Court of Appeal on the 8 of December 2004. The recent ruling was unsatisfactory to the protesters even though…
On 19 January, London’s Mayors For Peace reception provided the venue for the launch of the city’s contribution to the “protective wall of international law” initiative. The wall project was started in Heidelberg, Germany, by young people who have together built a wall made up of small individually decorated blocks of plywood. Every brick represents one person and demonstrates in a highly visible way the reality of the struggle for global peace: that no nation can support the Charter of the…
