TAUNTON
DEANE STOP THE WAR COALITION - PRESS RELEASE
Sunday 23rd March 2003
Acting Joint Co-ordinator:
Cllr. Alan Debenham
49 Clifford Avenue
Taunton TA2 6DL
Tel. 01823 321304
or 07753 447 669
STOP-THE-WAR PROTEST CONTINUES IN STRENGTH
A coachload of TDSTWC supporters
enjoyed another day of active protest
against the Bush-Blair attack of Iraq last Saturday at the American B52s’
air-base in Fairford, Glos., together with thousands more peace campaigners
answering a national call to barricade it as soon as bombing operations
started. There was a march through Fairford, followed by a rally near
one
of the entrances to the base where demonstrators listened to national
speakers bringing the latest information regarding the war and encouraging
sustained protest actions, especially making Blair, his Labour party
followers, and Tory party warmongering assenters, targets for intensive
political opposition, very much including the coming national Council
elections on May 1st.
Caroline Lucas, Green Party
MEP, and George Monbiot, journalist and New
Economics Foundation activist, both pointed out how the purpose and legality
of attacking Iraq were surrounded by so much lying and propaganda that
nobody believed anything Bush or Blair said any more. They had wriggled
and
coerced for a year over the reasons for war, changing with the political
climate, from ‘disarming Saddam of weapons of mass destruction’,
‘eliminating Saddam’s support for terrorism’, or simply
‘regime change’.
Now, after Blair’s arrogant commitment of our troops and country
to full
participation in this internationally illegal Bush-led war, the truth
was at
last out of the bag : it was down to a small group of Bush’s hard-right
extremist backers who developed a US policy of world military and economic
domination way back in 2000, later, after September 11th, changing this
to
one of pre-emptive strike against the so-called ‘axis of evil’countries,
with Iraq being a leading contender.
This was all part of Bush’s
‘new war against terror’ and, where threats to
American interests and personnel were judged significant, regime replacement
with a US-friendly one would be paramount. The strategic importance of
Iraq’s oil and its central position in the crisis torn Middle East
made it
even more top of the pre-emptive strike list after Afghanistan. Thus,
the
real reasons for Bush’s war of death and destruction upon Iraq are
more in
US global domination and security, than they are in regime change, or
weapons of mass destruction. Blair’s obsession with support for
Bush and
this extremist right-wing republican foreign policy is a major disaster
for
Britain internationally - apart from being branded war criminals
- and must
be reversed at all costs if the UN and EU, and international rule of law,
are to continue to provide future stability for the world.
TDSTWC places itself on record
as being particularly thankful and pleased
with the ant-war protests of local students, especially those from the
Kingsmead and Castle Secondary schools who led the way in ‘walking
out’ on
the day war broke out and pledges its constant support in the continued
struggle of peace campaigning students to bring to account all those
politicians who supported, or now support, the illegal Bush-Blair attack
of
Iraq. The peace demonstration by the students in Taunton centre last
Thursday lunchtime was excellent in its liveliness, yet peaceful order,
and
many returned and stayed late into the evening to show their real resolve.
Councillor Alan Debenham, joint
TDSTWC coordinator, commented : “I’m a
veteran peace campaigner and I’ve never seen scenes like this before
where,
on the one hand, our arrogant prime minister leads us into an illegal,
immoral and illogical war on Iraq and, on the other hand, many of the
greatest peace-loving protesters and demonstrators are school children
and
FE students. I’m proud of, and enthused by, their leaders and self-organised
actions and hope they can keep it up until together we succeed in making
all
the politicians who led us into this illegal Bush-Blair war pay for their
disrespect for British democracy and public opinion. This obscene war
of
death and destruction blitzrieged down on the innocent people of Iraq,
by
‘shock-and-awe’ bully-boy bombing, rather than fair stand-to
fighting, is
going on in their names, certainly not ours, and, the sooner a ceasefire
is
called, the better for all and future global stability and peace. We are
the true respecters of the role of our service personnel and wish them
all
humane professionalism and safekeeping in everything they do in poor
suffering Iraq. ”
TDSTWC plans to step-up its
local non-violent direct action by urging all
supporters to attend a 'picket and occupation' of the Esso Filling Station,
East Reach, Taunton, next Friday 28th March, from 4.30 pm to 6.30pm, in
protest at the big backing given by Esso to Bush's election and hard-right
political programme. Remember: "No Blood for Oil" and "No
to Esso, Says No
to Bush" etc.
TDSTWC continues with its weekly
activists’ meeting at the Perkin Warbeck
pub, East Street, Taunton, from 7pm - all welcome - and also
with its main
peace gathering each Saturday in Taunton centre (front of the Market House)
from 11am to 3pm. If enough volunteers can be organised, peace vigils
are
planned for Taunton centre at every weekday lunchtime and early evening
until the end of the war. Further information : Alan Debenham 01823 321304,
or Steve Bush 07976 641304.