All in all, the Stop The War protest was a fun day out as well as a serious exercise in democracy and (it seems) the only way to get heard these days. I emerged from Hyde Park Corner tube station into pouring rain thinking that it would be as miserable an experience as the tube journey (no Northern or Victoria lines so the Piccadilly line was very overcrowded). Anyway the weather cleared up shortly after I met up with Rachel and the rest of the day was very pleasant.
It was obvious from the beginning that this was going to be a very large demonstration, there were hoards of people at Speakers Corner and the march didn't get started until about 1:30 PM and people were still arriving. We positioned ourselves close to some excellent drummers to keep our energy up and we were entertained by some performers dressed in funky day-glow skeleton costumes, a bit like a 21st Century Danse Macabre I thought, only funnier.
The route the march took was down Park Lane then down Piccadilly into Haymarket and finally into Trafalgar Square for the rally. That short distance took over two hours which should help give an idea of how many people there were. Sky News was apparently reporting 'several hundred people', I heard that the police said there were 10,000 protesters while the organisers claimed 60,000 (George Galloway said it was 100,000). From the ground it was impossible to tell but based on previous demonstrations I guessed (and this is just a guess) between 40,000 and 50,000 people turned up. Both Rachel and I had the foresight to take our hip flasks with us. Mine had Cognac and Rachel's had whiskey and when you're shuffling along a few swigs definitely helps. We also had whistles so we could contribute to the drumming and chanting.
Trafalgar Square was totally packed when we arrived and it was very difficult to move about. However, we did eventually manage to find a way to the top of some steps where we watched some of the speeches. The best speech by far was that of Mark Thomas.
Mark Thomas
George Galloway too made a rousing speech. The organisers had erected a large video screen so even at the distance we were at, we could see whoever was speaking. The sound was very clear too, so well done to the organisers for that.
When Yvonne Riddley started speaking we took that as our hint to call it a day and locate a nice cosy pub for some refreshment (after a bit of a search we settled on Le Garrick and very nice it was too). After that it was time to brave the tube again and it was even more crowded than before.
I didn't watch any news reports on television about the event but you can see the BBC report on-line here. You can also see more photos on my Flickr site. Hopefully the demonstration succeeded in showing the Government just how much opposition there is to the Iraq war and to the renewal of Trident. I hope it also sent a warning to Blair about involving himself in the coming war in Iran. The people are no longer buying the bullshit he's been peddling and they are sick of the continuous wars that will be his legacy.
Anyway it was a fun way to make the point, all the more so by having such good company.
More Bloggage and some nice pictures over at Lenin's Tomb. There are also good reports from The Disillusioned Kid, The Heathlander and Devises Melting Pot. If I find any more reports I'll post the links. Feel free to let me know in the comments of any more reports.
Tags: Stop The War, Protest, Iraq, Blair, Bush, 24 February 2007, London
16 Comments:
Splendid stuff Davide, thanks. Beats the BBC's coverage hands down. :)
It such a shame Galloway is corrupt.
He could have been a serious politician.
Anonymous,
What evidence do you have that George Galloway is corrupt? I ask because the UK authorities can't find any, nor can the US authorities and at least one national newspaper has been successfully sued for making unfounded allegations.
Galloway might have said and done some daft things in his time but the people calling him corrupt are Bush/Blair axis and their cohorts.
he may not be corrupt - at least, no more than any other politician - but his attendance record in the House is rather slight it seems. Didn't he recently miss some rather important vote which the government only won by the skin of its teeth? And please don't anyone say "ah but Parliament's impotent anyway so there's not much point turning up and attending" - if that argument was valid you could ask why George stood for election (good salary and expenses, mind you, and no clocking in!!)
It's certainly true that Galloway's attendance record at Parliament is abysmal which means that he's probably not representing his constituents as he should. I think he might be standing down as an MP at the next election but I'm not sure on that point.
Galloways corruption goes back to his days in Dundee.
And finishes with even the wife on the take from Baghdad.
For a blog covering the anti-war march, I'm surprised to see the type of anti-Galloway spin that is usually confined to the trashy tabloids and the equally trashy Harry's Place. To call an MP who spends his whole life speaking out against war and imperialism 'corrupt' is really quite low. He is the most vilified politician by the press and establishment, but one would expect that from them, for obvious reasons. No wonder the world is going to the dogs with the sheep-mentality on display in some of these comments. Although having said that, he received a rapturous welcome at the anti-war rally on Saturday and he has been elected as MP 5 times in a row, plus he has endless amounts of people ringing in his radio show to say how much they admire him, so comments here don't really reflect reality I guess.
Athena,
Well said! I don't always agree with Galloway and I think some of his actions in the past can be called questionable. But if there was any evidence of him being corrupt, I'm sure the US and British neo-cons would have found it by now... and they are desperate to. It's a bit rich for Blair's minions to call Galloway corrupt after Blair shut down the investigation into BAE corruption. The smear campaign against Galloway is blatantly apparent and this shows how much the Bush/Blair axis fear him.
When it comes to Galloway's stance on the war(s) and on the Israel/Palestine issue I'm with him 100% (and please, no "anti-Semitic" slurs as there's no evidence for that either). He's an extremely effective orator and he's been entirely consistent in his opposition to the war.
As you say, Galloway has been a respected MP for many years. His absences from Parliament since becoming a Respect MP are a matter of record however. I don't know what his constituents in Bethnal Green and Bow make of that. Many of them seem happy to have a genuine anti-war MP speaking for them, others may be more concerned with local issues. If the majority don't like him, they can vote him out at the next election (if he's not standing down anyway).
Galloway spent most of his life supporting war and imperialism.
Soviet imperialism,the invasion of Afghanistan,The Mullahs in Iran etc.
As for the Palestine Israel issue,does anyone know what his position is?
It seems to depend on the audience.
George used a Leukemia fund to launder Oil for Food money.
He spent the cash and then made the accounts disappear.
last in a long line of cash going missing when Galloway is around.
(His plugging of the single at the demo was bizarre - is he on a cut?)
Anonymous
Galloway spent most of his life supporting war and imperialism.
Soviet imperialism,the invasion of Afghanistan,The Mullahs in Iran etc.
Have you got any evidence to back up that assertion? The only references I can find come from New Labour warmongers, American neo-cons and discredited, right-wing convert, alcoholic nutcases like Christopher Hitchens who promotes his stupid pamphlets. Why not actually read or listen to Galloway and make a more reasoned criticism?
It is true that Galloway supported the Soviet Union, and feared that its collapse would lead to US imperialism and wars and invasions. Looks like he was right eh? There is no credible evidence that I can find that Galloway supported the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, just references from idiots. Give me a direct quote please? Galloway did say "they were better off with the enemy they knew" which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of the Soviet occupation is it? And don't forget that al Qaeda came into being from American backing of the anti-soviet fighters.
As for the Palestine Israel issue,does anyone know what his position is?
It seems to depend on the audience.
Are you suggesting here that with certain audiences Galloway supports Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing? As far as I'm aware Galloway has always supported Palestinian freedom and self-determination. If you know any different, you've got yourself a scoop.
George used a Leukemia fund to launder Oil for Food money.
He spent the cash and then made the accounts disappear.
last in a long line of cash going missing when Galloway is around.
If that was true Galloway would have been prosecuted for it right? But he wasn't so how do explain that? The whole might of the US government couldn't prove it or even fake it effectively. That's not to say that there aren't other unscrupulous people who profited from the Oil for Food program. Check out some US corporations!!
(His plugging of the single at the demo was bizarre - is he on a cut?)
Er, no not really. The point of promoting the single is to get it into the charts and make a point in a way that the government can't subvert (like lying about the number of people at the demo for example). I thought that would be obvious.
Finally, This post is about the protest over the Iraq war not about George Galloway who was just one of many speakers who spoke at the rally. I've already said that I don't always agree with Galloway but I will defend him against the very transparent New Labour and Neo-con smear campaign (until credible evidence against him is presented) because that is a blatant attempt to discredit the entire anti-war movement. So would those who just want to attack Galloway please take their so-called arguments elsewhere because I can't be bothered with them. It's off topic and verging on trolling or spam and I'm considering deleting further comments from ill-informed, gullible Galloway-haters who are too chicken shit to identify themselves.
why do you think he made the accounts of the Mariam Appeal disappear?
By allying with a corrupt politician the STWC opens itself up to all this stuff.
I said before, if Galloway had been found to have been corrupt he would have been prosecuted. Seeing as he hasn't, all you are doing is making assertions. I thought the accounts were held by his ex-wife but I'm not sure of all the details. If you have proof of corruption then you should show it to British and American authorities who are desperate for it and are looking for someone who has more information than they do. In other words put up or shut up. The STWC are smart enough to know what is a smear campaign and what isn't.
Now will you please stop trolling? As I said before, you are off topic and my finger is hovering over the delete button. It's like dealing with the conspiraloons again!!
On topic.
You do know Galloway is on a slice for the downloads dont you?
Er, so what? I don't think there is anything illegal or corrupt about that. Is that the sound of barrel scraping I can hear?
Actually I didn't know, and if it was down to me I'd rather as much as the money as possible went to the families of the people murdered and maimed by Bush and Blair's illegal war. As I've said at least three times now (but we keep having to do this with trolls), I don't always agree with Galloway.
I don't know when you say "Galloway is on a slice" whether you mean him personally or the STWC. Hopefully it's the latter as the organisation needs funds to keep fighting and putting on such good demos. Perhaps you could show me the source. But if Galloway had a small cut to cover the expenses of putting it together and promoting it I'm not going to lose any sleep. As I said before (this is getting repetitive), the whole point is to get the song into the charts, ideally at number one so an unequivocal message is sent to the war criminal in Downing Street. Okay? Do keep digging, maybe you'll find out that he hasn't returned a library book and that would really discredit the movement.
"I thought the accounts were held by his ex-wife but I'm not sure of all the details."
$120,000 for the wife.
£375,000 for George to spend from the Mariam Appeal.
$15,666 for Ron McKay
3 bungs from Oil for Food for UK citizens.
On the subject of galloways Stalinism.
He did think the people of Eastern Europe should remain enslaved to save them from US imperialism.
A position the SWP long rejected.
All related to Galloway.
And yet not found guilty of any crime... how strange! I wonder why that would be, considering the power of his enemies with their willing acolytes. George was nearly bankrupted when he sued the Telegraph for the false stories it published about him and was only saved when the liars were forced to pay up. The mighty US Senate was humiliated by him, and when they threatened to try again George begged them to charge him so he could do it again. And guess what, the cowards backed down. What does that tell you? They have nothing on him, and if they don't, neither do you.
He did think the people of Eastern Europe should remain enslaved to save them from US imperialism.
I've lost count how many times I've said that I don't always agree with Galloway. That simple fact seems beyond your comprehension. However it shouldn't surprise you to learn that I think US imperialism as one of the greatest dangers facing all of us. Take Eastern Europe, now hosting American gulags so kidnapped people can be tortured; also hosting US military bases to threaten Russia and Iran; and soon to host missile batteries to threaten Russia even more; also it seems ready to install the ludicrous "son of Star War Wars" to defend America only and make the host countries potential targets. I wasn't a great fan of the Soviet Union but I'd say George had a point. Look at the chaos that has ensued from an unrestrained USA, look at what a pathetic, star struck sycophant Blair has become. And it's getting worse, which brings me back to the topic (remember that word?) I don't know why you mentioned the SWP. When it comes to them I'm in agreement with Mark Thomas. Finally (I hope), I see Galloway as a bit of a curates egg. But when it comes to Iraq and Iran and Palestine and his opinion of the Bush/Blair axis and the mayhem it has created (and the mayhem its still trying to create), I agree with him. He's a powerful orator and that makes him a target which is why there is such a campaign against him. At the end of the day, the disaster in Iraq is far more important than any scandal real or imagined which is why your argument is so ineffective (not to mention off topic).
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