DIARY OF EVENTS:
FEBRUARY 2003
We are having another Book Sale on 29th March: All donations greatly appreciated, they keep us going all year!
Subscriptions are now due for the year: £10/£5. Please fill in and return the form, thank you.
Saturday 1st: Voices of Hope: We can stop the war. A Conference to look at the background to the crisis; the search for a just peace in Israel and Palestine; religious belief with regard to war. Speakers include: John Chalcraft, Duncan Forrester and Kathy Galloway. At St Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.
1 pm – 5 pm
Tuesday 4th: The Role of the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre in the present crisis. Geoffrey Carnall, (Convenor PJ Education Centre) At World Development Movement, 14 Forth Street. 7.30 pm.
Wednesday 5th: Monitoring Democratic Participation: Ben Young, Researcher, Scottish Civic Forum, Morningside Justice and Peace Group (MJPG), Open Door, 420 Morningside Road, at 10.30 am.
Wednesday 5th: Centre of African Studies. “Post-conflict reconstruction of the health service in Puntland and Somaliland.” David Hume Tower, George Square, Edinburgh, at 4 pm. 0131 650 3878. African.Studies at ed.ac.uk
Thursday 6th: Gunning Poetry Performance: “The Gossamer Wall: reflections on contemporary life” by Michael O’Siadhail, one of Ireland’s leading living poets. Centre for Theology and Public Issues (CTPI) at Martin Hall, New College, Mound Place. 5 pm.
Thursday 6th Peebles Candle light vigils, every Thursday at St Peter’s Church (next to P.O.) 5 – 5.30 pm
Friday 7th From Conservation to Human Ecosystem Management; talk by Drennan Watson (Landwise Scotland) at: Centre for Human Ecology (CHE) 12 Roseneath Place. 6.30 pm
Friday 7th and every Friday.
Mass at Old St Paul’s 12.30 pm will be offered with intention for justice and peace in Iraq and the Middle East, and the church will remain open to all for the remainder of the day and evening.
Friday 7th and every Friday.
Anti-War protest at the East End of Princes Street, Register House. 5 pm.
Monday 10th: “I Feel Your Pain: Simone Weil as a political thinker” Professor Zenon Bankowski, School of Law. At Seminar Room, Thomas
Chalmers House, New College (Annex) Time: 4 pm.
Tuesday 11th: “Nationalism and Religion in the Middle East” Dr Youssef Choueiri (Exeter), Rex Smith Lecture Room 3rd floor, 8 Buccleuch Place. (Edinburgh Institute for the Advanced Study of Islam and the Middle East.)
Wednesday 12th: Reflections on the First Term of the Scottish Parliament.
Eberhard Bort, Government of Scotland Forum. (MJPG) as the 5th, at 10.30 am
Wednesday 12th: Centre of African Studies. “Youth and Politics in Eritrea.” Sara Rich Dorman. As 5th , at 4 pm.
Thursday 13th: A Multicultural Exchange Project for Scottish, minority ethnic, and refugee communities. Ongoing every Thursday from 12.00-3.00 pm. Dalry House, Orwell Place. Creche provided. Contact: ALP at 0131 337 5442
Friday 14th: Labour CND and Scottish CND will be hosting a 'No War on Iraq' fringe meeting in Glasgow at 7.15pm at Adelaides, 209 Bath Street.
Saturday 15th: Glasgow. Stop the War.
Monday 17th: Enlargement of the European Community, David Martin, MEP. Humanist Society of Scotland. At Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace. 7.30 pm.
Tuesday 18th: On having faith in Faith: Some reflections on Interfaith Dialogue, with Rawdon Goodier at St Mark’s Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace. 7.15 pm – 9 pm.
Wednesday 19th Friends of Historic Scotland. Karl Moore. (MJPG) 10.30 am
Wednesday 19th: Centre of African Studies: “Conflict Resolution in the Great Lakes Region”. Hassan Omar Kibelloh (Tanzanian High Commissioner) 4 pm
Friday 21st: Self and Society, details to be confirmed. At CHE as 7th February
Wednesday 26th Judgement by Journalism. John McTerrnan, (MJPG)
Wednesday 26th: Centre of African Studies. “To be or not to be: Nigeria goes to the polls in February 2003.” Abdul Raufu Mustapha. 4 pm
Wednesday 26th: “Carlyle, Technology and the Irish, 1830-1930” Professor Christopher Harvie, University of Tubingen. (CTPI) Martin Hall, New College, 4 pm.
Prime Minister, Tony Blair is due to address the Labour Party Conference at 2pm on Saturday 15th February.
The agreed order of the march: Families
with children, Trade Unions, Palestinian support groups, peace groups,
political parties.
Cards with doves, peace symbols and 'Not in My Name, Mr Blair!' printed
on them are available for people to sign and tie onto the barriers,
fences and signposts around the SECC to leave a clear message against the
war after the rally finishes. These can be used on street stalls and meetings
so please make sure you order some from the Scottish CND office.
For details of venues close to you please visit www.grscotland.net www.scottishpsc.org.uk
Overnight accommodation
on the Friday and Saturday may be available.
Many more stewards are needed to help with this event – please volunteer
by phoning the CND office on 0141 423 1222.
At 5.00pm every Friday, there will be a Stop the War protest at the East End of Princes St. Please support.
Public Stop the War meetings are being organised in various areas.
A3/A4 window posters available. Edinburghstw at blueyonder.co.uk
0131
538 0257
A
major focus for direct action against war will be RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire.
This is the only airbase in Europe that United States B2 stealth bombers
will take off from to bomb Iraqi civilians. It is a crucial military facility
for the planned bombing and invasion of Iraq.
Ark Royal on the Clyde
The
Ark Royal sailed from Portsmouth to lead the Task Force deployed to the
Gulf for a war on Iraq. It docked at Glen Mallan on Loch Long on the Clyde
for five days to collect munitions and supplies. Part of that cargo is thought
to include munitions that had to be delivered by lorry to Glen Douglas after
two Scottish train drivers refused to take them by rail. The massive armaments
store at Glen Douglas is carved into the side of the mountain range that
separates Loch Lomond and Loch Long.
A photo of the protest can be seen
www.orange-today.co.uk/news/story/sm_739305.html
IN THE EVENT OF THE START OF A WAR ON IRAQ
On the day a war starts: Support Tony Benn's call for everyone to organise
taking an hour off work in protest. Add an extra hour to your lunch-break
with work-mates, organise town centre, campus or workplace meetings. Attend
town centre protests and vigils that evening. Please make sure to let your local media know
and write to your MP and MSP's .
Details: Scottish Coalition for Justice
Not War c/o Scottish CND, 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow, G41 1QH. Tel: 0141
423 1222
On the following Saturday support the mass sit-down protest against the war
from midday in George Square.
Here is an opportunity to say NO to 'STAR WARS'
passed on to us by a member of Fylingdales Action Network. The Whitby Gazette
(local paper) is conducting a poll on whether people are for or against
Fylingdales being used for the American Missile Defense system. Just click
onto www.whitbytoday.co.uk
Campaign For The Accountability Of American Bases. (CAAB)
8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1HQ, England, U.K.
no: 01943 466405 0R 01482 702033
email: anniandlindis@caab.org.uk or caab@btclick.com http://www.caab.org.uk
NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE.
In minus 20 celsius degree weather, the metros
and streets of downtown Montreal were jam packed with people of all ages
from small children to the elderly The metro (subway) system was not prepared
for such a large number of people and so the platforms were jam packed and
we had to let metro after metro go by before advancing enough to get on
the next one.
The media estimated 25,000 people attended our Montreal march but perhaps
we were even more than that.
Washington and San Francisco
Half a million people marched through the streets
of Washington and 200,000 demonstrated in San Francisco in the largest U.S.
demonstrations yet against the war. The morning of the demonstration train
and subway stations in D.C. were jammed and hundreds of buses arrived in
the city - including 20 from New York's 1199/SEIU Health and Hospital Workers
Union, 20 from Winston-Salem South Carolina, eight from Rochester and six
from the Chicago Teachers Union.
Sponsored by the International
(Paulette Lachance. MONTREAL)
“Taking part in a weekly peace rally hosted by the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, the author Ursula Le Guin led a group of fifty protesters from Portland’s Pioneer Square to the office of congressman David Wu. There Ms Le Guin expressed her gratitude for Wu’s principled vote against the war and urged that the congressman continue to do all that he could to stop what would be a senseless and bloody invasion.”
Week of anti-war resistance in USA February 13th – 21st, 2003
There will be Teach-ins, Forums, Rallies and student actions
all week. These will include connecting the struggle against war on Iraq
with the fight for social and economic justice and civil rights at home,
and on linking the struggle against corporate globalisation, war, and racism.
The 13th February is the 12th anniversary
of the deliberate destruction of the Amariyah Bomb Shelter. On this day in
1991, the U.S. unleashed a massive
assault, a pinpoint attack by two precision missiles launched from a stealth
bomber against an air raid shelter. Hundreds and hundreds of young people,
mainly children, and some of their mothers, were incinerated in this
calculated effort to terrorise the
Iraqi people in the Gulf War. 15th February: The European movement has sent requests to U.S. peace groups, including
A.N.S.W.E.R., to call for actions in the United States. United for Peace
has initiated a mass mobilisation
in New York City, and regional and local actions in solidarity with actions
that day in Europe and around the world.
21st February: The anniversary
of the assassination of Malcolm X. Co-ordinated Day of Resistance, including
student anti-war walk-outs from hundreds of high schools and colleges,
and other acts of non-compliance.
Youth and students have marked this important anniversary with militant protests
on a range of issues for the last thirty-five years. Malcolm X embodies the spirit
of struggle against militarism and the racist establishment.
A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
Veterans from the United States armed forces have called to conscience Active Duty Troops and Reservists. “We call upon you, the active duty and reservists, to follow your conscience and do the right thing. In the last Gulf War, as troops, we were ordered to murder from a safe distance. We destroyed much of Iraq from the air, killing hundreds of thousands, including civilians. We remember the road to Basra – the Highway of Death – where we were ordered to kill fleeing Iraqis. We bulldozed trenches, burying people alive. The use of depleted uranium weapons left the battlefields radioactive. Massive use of pesticide, experimental drugs, burning chemical weapons depots and oil fires combined to create a toxic cocktail affecting both the Iraqi people and Gulf War veterans today. One in four Gulf War veterans is disabled. During the Vietnam War we were ordered to destroy Vietnam from the air and on the ground…. We know what Post Traumatic Stess Disorder looks, feels and tastes like because the ghosts of over two million men, women and children still haunt our dreams. More of us took our own lives after returning home than died in battle.”
http://www.calltoconscience.net/
“Washington, D.C. – Why is nothing said about the strong connection of the Bush administration with the weapons industry? Bush has appointed to his administration more executives and stockholders from the weapons industry than from any other industry – 32 according to studies. Is the media afraid to consider the “weapons” influence on the war and the potential policy impact that the ‘weapons industry’ components of the Bush administration may be having? The weapons industry is the biggest business in the world – $800 billion a year.” (The Modern Tribune)
Middle East.
UN agency report:
Natural resources in the Palestinian Occupied Territories are under constant pressure from water pollution, climate change, desertification and land degradation, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) says in a new study. A team of eight environmental experts visited the region between 1st and 11th October 2002.
The Desk Study will be one of the top items for environmental ministers at the upcoming 22nd meeting of UNEP’s Governing Council, set to run from 3rd to 7th February in Nairobi.
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer states that the recommendations should be seen as an effort to improve environmental conditions in the entire region and that environmental cooperation could be a tool in the peace process.