LEWISHAM STOP THE WAR COALITION
Past Events
March for the Alternative 26 March 2011
Beach Party, Greenwich 6 January 2011
Banners for November 2010 Demo
Lewisham
Peace Justice Solidarity Event for Gaza, 18 September 2010
Budget Day Protest in Lewisham
Peace, Justice, Solidarity Gig at the Albany
Vigil for 100th British Soldier Killed in Afghanistan in 2009
National Demonstration 24 October 2009
Afghanistan: The Unwinnable War 8 September 2009
Vigil and Naming the Dead 22 August 2009
Peace, Justice, Solidarity at Lewisham People's Day
Public Meeting on Viva Palestina
Convoy
Songs for Gaza, Town Hall 18 February
Lewisham Centre Saturday 31 January
Lewisham Lloyds TSB Protest Saturday 31 January
Gaza Local Vigils 14 and 15 January 2009
President Bush Visits Lewisham
Lewisham Stop the War and Lewisham and Greenwich CND
Hands off
Libya and the
Middle East
Tuesday 5 April 2011
7.30–9.30pm at Social
Centre Plus
(the
occupied former Job Centre)
120–122 Deptford High
Street, SE8 4NP*
Join the debate
questioning the US and UK’s military
intervention in Libya and the
Middle East Revolution
Speakers
Chris Nineham
Stop the War National
Officer
Carol Turner
CND National Council
Sami Ramadani
Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation
*50 yards
from Deptford Station
How can we afford it?
The cost of one missile could keep
a library or children’s centre open for several years.
Why is the West continuing to
interfere in the Middle East?
For a century the West has
appointed governments in the Middle East as it has seen fit. Often the West has
supported dictatorial and oppressive
governments for two reasons: 1) they have given the West free access
to the oil, and 2) they have been
reliable allies in whatever wars the West chose to fight.
Where will our intervention end?
The No Fly Zone in Iraq lasted
twelve years, followed by a full invasion. What will be our role if there is a
partition of Libya?
The people reclaim their destiny
Recently there have been political
movements in the Middle East which show that the peoples of the Middle
East are
determined to reclaim their political destiny. This is a good thing for the
whole world, and the West
should not interfere. The West should
not be appointing governments in Libya or anywhere else.
Is depleted uranium being used?
British and US forces have
deployed such ‘dirty bombs’ in Iraq and the Balkans and are probably deploying
them as ‘bunker busters’ in Libya. How
will it help save lives if Libya is left radioactive for billions of years?
Letters to MPs and Councillors and Replies
We have written to all locally-elected representatives
about Afghanistan and encourage others to do the same, just as many of us wrote
to our MPs about Gaza earlier in 2009. We have a catalogue of them at the new MP and Councillor Letters page.
PAST EVENTS
March for the Alternative to Cuts 26 March 2011
Lewisham Stop the War took part in this enormous
demonstration. The obscene costs of even
more obscene wars, for which there is never-ending funding, make the
destruction of the welfare state even more despicable.
Beach Party
Greenwich, 6 January 2011
It was a great evening and definitely something that
we should do again.
Preparing for
20 November Demo
Greenwich and New Cross 18
November 2010
Here are some pictures of the successful activity at
Greenwich University (in front of rush hour traffic, and with a good response
from students and staff) and where we left the banners in New Cross.
Budget Day Protest Against Cuts
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Lewisham Stop the War took part in a protest against
the vicious cuts in jobs, services and pensions that are being made against a background
of billions being spent on wars and occupations. Photos by Owen Liddle.
At the Albany Theatre, Deptford, the Lewisham Young Mayor, with Lewisham
Peace, Justice and Solidarity, presents
Sunday 7 March 2010
Music
from 7.30 pm
|
Falling Embers |
band |
alternative/punk/rock |
|
Tony Lording |
singer songwriter |
country/blues/folk |
|
Shiikane |
band |
R & B/Gospel |
|
Paul Moody |
singer songwriter |
rock/soul |
|
Jim Radford |
singer songwriter |
folk |
|
Bruise |
duo |
folk |
|
Damusia |
singer songwriter |
blues/jazz |
|
Strawberry
Thieves |
socialist choir |
|
Food and Bar
from 6.30 pm Caribbean food, including vegetarian dishes, from the
Albany café
Discussion and
Films
from 4 pm
|
Seventy years
of struggle against racism in fascism in London |
The next steps with local anti-racist campaigner |
|
Greener Cities
and Saving the Planet |
by green activist Jim Jepps |
|
Pictures of
Afghanistan and Eyewitness Account |
by photo-journalist Guy Smallman |
|
Everyday Life
in Palestine and the Relief Convoy to Gaza |
Pauline Collins and Leah Levane
talk about their experiences |
There will also be stalls from the campaigning groups
participating in Peace, Justice, Solidarity.
The Albany is in Douglas Way, off Deptford High
Street, walking distance from Deptford and New Cross railway stations, Deptford
Bridge DLR and buses 47, 53, 177, 188, 199, 225 and
453.
See www.thealbany.org.uk/infopoint/12/Your-Visit
for map and more details.
Vigil for 100th British Soldier Killed in Afghanistan in 2009
1700 - 1900 Wednesday 9 December 2009
National
Demonstration 24 October 2009
Pictures by Owen Liddle
|
Joe and Clare Glenton at the front of the march (see
local Afghanistan meeting) |
|
|
|
|
|
The Lewisham banner on the road |
|
|
|
Lewisham Stop the War and CND banners in Trafalgar
Square |
Afghanistan: The Unwinnable War
Tuesday 8 September 2009,
1930, Lewisham Methodist Church Hall, Albion Way.
Speakers were
|
Lindsey German |
National Convenor, Stop
the War Coalition |
|
Clare Glenton |
Wife of Joe Glenton, facing court martial for refusing to return to Afhanistan |
Lindsey German (left) Stewart Halforty and
Clare Glenton
For more information, see the link to the Stop the War
site at http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/1400/1/
Also, a South London Press report at http://www.southlondonpress.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=36069&searchword=afghanistan
Vigil and Naming the Dead 22 August 2009
Following the announcement of 200th British soldier
being killed in Afghanistan, on the following Saturday we held a vigil near
Lewisham Clocktower.
Names of British soldiers and Afghan civilians were read out.
|
Owen Liddle |
Owen Liddle |
|
Bruce Levy |
Bruce Levy |
|
Bruce Levy |
Owen Liddle |
|
Owen Liddle |
Owen Liddle |
Report taken from the New Worker Newspaper.
"Stop
the War campaigners gathered around Lewisham
Clock Tower in South London last Saturday to mark the death toll
of British troops serving in the futile and illegal war in
Afghanistan passing 200.
Those
present - individuals and representatives of a wide spectrum of
progressive organisations - took turns to read out the
names of the 206 dead British troops and a similar number of dead Afghan
civilians.
The
casualty rate among Afghan civilians is far higher than among the invading
troops but it seems that no one is keeping records and the numbers and names of
the dead are hard to find. Most British reporters in the country are embedded
with British troops and rarely get to interview the victims of British and
American bombing raids..
A
lot of information has been supplied by a London reporter, Guy Smallman, who has travelled to Afghanistan to make his own
independent investigation. Even so, information about many of the dead is
patchy; some are known only as "Amin's
mother" or "Khan's baby son".
The
ceremony attracted a number of passers by and shoppers who stopped to
listen to the list of names being read."
Peace, Justice, Solidarity at Lewisham People's Day 2009
Lewisham Stop the War was one of many organisations
involved in a special marquee at People's Day with theatre, music, videos and
discussion. We hope to do the same in
future years.
For more details of the programme and the
organisations involved and pictures from the day, see www.lewishampeacejusticesolidarity.org.uk.
7.30 pm St Andrews Centre, Brockley
SE4 2SA, corner of Brockley Road and Wickham Road
·
Solidarity with Gaza
·
End the War on Terror
·
Build the G20 Demonstrations
Speakers
Stewart Halforty
Lewisham Stop the War convenor, recently returned from Gaza http://www.theroadtogaza.org/
Kevin Ovenden
from the Viva Palestina convoy, just returned from
delivering a lifeline to Gaza
Souheir Turkmani from south London, also on the
Viva Palestina convoy
Nearest stations Brockley,
Crofton Park; buses 171, 172 (484 very near). See map
below, but note that the embedded map gives the correct area but may put the
arrow in the wrong place. If you click on "View larger map" it seems
to be correct.
Songs for Gaza, Wednesday 18 February
Fundraising
Event for Palestine Overwhelmed by Support
Rajai Ayyad (oud), Fadi Rumman (orgue) and Dr Abdullah
Abu Hilal (singer) receive applause from the audience
Some videos
are now available. See the Videos Page.
"Songs for Gaza" was a fundraising event for
Medical Aid for Palestinians
which was held in the foyer of Lewisham Town Hall in Catford.
There was so much local support for the people of
Palestine that much of the potential audience would have had to be turned away
on health and safety grounds.
Thanks to the support of Lewisham's directly-elected
Mayor, Sir Steve Bullock, who also introduced the event, the town hall staff
pitched in to make sure that the event could be moved to the main Council
Chamber before the main performances.
As well as the lively musical acts, which were greatly
enjoyed by the audience, local members also put on a moving performance of Caryl Churchill's ten-minute play "Seven Jewish
Children" with less than a day's preparation.
In the light of the situation in Gaza, about forty
local people had been involved in an organising meeting on 20 January
2009. One of the suggestions that came out of it was to try to contact
the Palestinian musicians and organise a musical event. To go from that
suggestion to putting on such a successful event by 18 February is an amazing
example of local teamwork and cooperation.
A total of £1175.34 was raised from ticket sales,
raffle and bucket collection. Funds and donations were also raised
through stalls and refreshments.
The main
musical acts were
The Camden Band
from Abu Dis, Palestine
Featuring Ahmed
Eriquat (oud)
Rajai Ayyad (shebatech)
Dr
Abdullah Abu Hilal (voice)
Fadi Rumman (orgue)
Velvet Fist
women's a cappella singing group Listen to Velvetfist
Organised
by Lewisham Stop the War
Coalition
Lewisham and Greenwich Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament
Sydenham and
Forest Hill Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
South East London
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Britain-Palestine
Twinning Network
Sound
Equipment provided by the Lewisham Young Mayor's office.
Lewisham Centre Saturday 31 January
Following the Lewisham Centre's refusal to allow a
collection on behalf of a charity working to alleviate humanitarian suffering
in Palestine, despite allowing collections for similar charities working
elsewhere, it was decided that Lewisham Stop the War, Lewisham and Greenwich
CND and South East London PSC would hold a collection
in the Centre, without permission, on behalf of behalf of the Disasters Emergency
Committee Appeal for Gaza (please follow the link if you want to
contribute).
About ten people went into the Lewisham Centre, with
nothing other than leaflets promoting the DEC appeal and collection buckets; no
banners or placards. We were asked to leave almost immediately. We explained to
the staff, who were generally quite reasonable, that
we had no choice in the light of the management's decision to bring politics
into the issue of charity collections by specifically refusing a collection for
a charity working in Palestine.
Unfortunately, the duty manager became threatening and
abusive and we had no choice but to retire to the stall outside. Nevertheless,
while we explained the situation, members of the public continued to donate,
and we made a total of £186.22 for the DEC Gaza Appeal.
Pictures
Below.
Collecting inside the Lewisham Centre
The stall outside
Lewisham Lloyds TSB Protest Saturday 31 January
Straight after the collection in the Lewisham Centre
we went to Lloyds TSB to protest at the closure of Interpal's
bank account. Interpal is a respected UK charity which helps
alleviate the agony of Gaza. It has been thoroughly investigated by the
Charities Commission and given the all-clear. For full details of the protest
in Bristol that inspired our action, see the Bristol
Protest Page.
Although the main purpose was to protest at the
unethical decision by Lloyds, a bank which is now 43% owned by the taxpayer, we
also had a collection bucket and made £31.28 for Interpal.
Pictures
below.
Dolls were used to represent babies murdered in Gaza
Gaza Local Vigils 14 and 15 January 2009
The vigils in Greenwich and Lewisham were very
successful; David Leal's excellent lanterns were very effective, as were the
flags and banners. We got hoots of support from car drivers and a lot of
interest from staff and students at the college in Greenwich, as well as free
food from the sausage man in Lewisham. Some pictures below from Lewisham.
Naming the Dead: Thursday 20 November 2008
With over 300 British soldiers now killed in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the calls are getting stronger for the troops to be brought home.
In line with events around the country, there was a naming the dead ceremony at
the war memorial in Lewisham Way on Thursday 20 November.
Ex-serviceman Jim Radford give a moving speech
referring to way that troops are having to risk their lives, not to protect
this country, but to attack countries which have never threatened the UK. He
mentioned how, far from it bringing freedom and democracy to Afghanistan,
conditions are worse than before the occupation, including the treatment of
women.
Ex-serviceman Jim Radford and ex-councillor Gurbash
Garcha
Names of British servicemen were read out, along with
the names of innocent Afghan people, including many elderly people and
children, killed at wedding parties or indiscriminately by other bombings.
Activists' Meeting in Lewisham with Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray, national Chair of the Stop the War
Coalition, came to our organising meeting on Tuesday 11 November at Ladywell Leisure Centre. This was a very successful meeting
which discussed a number of ideas, the most urgent of which is the Naming the
Dead Ceremony on 20 November.
We organised a coach to get the
demonstration in Manchester on Saturday 20 September 2008.
See the Manchester
demonstration page for pictures.
President George W Bush Visits Lewisham
President George W Bush visited Lewisham on Saturday
13 September 2008 and met several local people. They were pleased to hear that
a lack of oil in the area means that they are unlikely to be bombed in the
immediate future.
The president tries to recruit some local people for the military
Lewisham Stop the War Coalition provided security and
used the visit to promote a message that we are sure the President would
approve of.
The President in Lewisham High Street
George W Bush has never been shy
of talking to the camera, although he did not appear to know what he was saying
or who he was talking to.
The President's security team
struggle to keep him on course as he rushes to greet more potential recruits.
President George W Bush stops off for a drink at the Goldsmith's Tavern.