EDINBURGH PEACE & JUSTICE CENTRE

St John's Terrace

Princes Street

Edinburgh EH2 4BJ

Tel: 229 0993

Email: peace-justice [at] btconnect.com

Diary of Events:

SEPTEMBER 2002

P&J News

• We say many thanks to Moira-Colette Wilkie who has faithfully edited this newsletter for 10 years and now gracefully retired. Welcome to Judy Russell who has donned the green visor.

• The P&J Centre explores Scotland's welcome of asylum seekers and refugees this autumn, in a series of events with St George's West Church, Shandwick Place. All take place in the church Sanctuary from 7.30pm.

Thursday 3 October: “Scotland: a place of refuge?” Political responses at national and local level

Tuesday 5 November: “Scotland: a voice of welcome?” Public opinion and the role of the media

Tuesday 12 November: “Scotland: a land of opportunity?” The contribution of new Scots to Scottish life.

Details in later newsletters and on tel: 225 7001.

• We still have Electronic mailboxes available for any organisation that wants its own email address, without the expense of buying a computer. Please contact Marjorie at the Centre

• We have many briefing papers on the situation in Palestine and Israel, which you are welcome to browse. There is limited access to a xerox.

• Thank you again for book donations. Over the Festival we have raised over £1,000 from book sales alone

• Volunteers always needed at the centre

• News and dates for October Diary welcome by Tuesday 24th September.

September:

Tuesday 3rd Sept: The latest on GATS, get clued up on Trade Issues. Group Discussion: 8.30 pm. WDM, 14 Forth Street. Business meeting from 7.30. pm.

Saturday 7th Sept. Inauguration of Commemorative & Historic Site at Greenham Common.

Sunday 8th Sept: Racial Justice Sunday. One Race the Human Race; Churches Commission for Racial Justice. Tel. 020 7523 2121. www.ctbl.org.uk <http://www.ctbl.org.uk/>

Sunday 8th Sept. Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission Meeting at St. Catherine's Convent, Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh. Speaker: Dr. Altaf Syed, a leading Edinburgh Muslim, speaking on “Islam” All Welcome. Time: 3.00 pm.

Wednesday 11th Sept: Peace Rally, George Square Glasgow at 6 pm. “To remember the innocent victims of all conflict, in New York, Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq” Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War, c/o Scottish CND, 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow, G41 1QH. Tel. 0141 423 1222

Saturday 14th Sept: Sharing Faiths Seminar, Univ. Dundee Chaplaincy, 11 am - 4 pm. Fee £5 Contact: Fellowship of Reconciliation Scotland, 3 Mason Lodge, Skene, Westhill, Aberdeenshire, AB32 6XR, tel. 01241 853 783

Sunday 15th Sept: “Re-envisioning Interfaith post 11th Sept 2001” 2.00 pm Speakers: Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan, Mrs Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, and Sheikh Prof Zaki Bedawi. Annual Edinburgh Interfaith Association Conference, Edinburgh City Chambers. Further information from the secretary, Rev Andrew Hill, 0131 667 4360.

Tuesday 17th Sept: “Dealing Creatively with Conflict” Workshop at the Scottish Centre for Nonviolence, Dunblane. 10 am to 4 pm This course can also take place over two half days or evenings of 2.5 hours each. Tel: 01786 824 730 for information.

Wednesday 18th Sept. “Debt on our Doorstep” 12 noon - 2 pm. at Edinburgh City Chambers. Debt Hearing organised by Scottish Church Parliamentary Office, 14 Johnston Terrace, EH1 2PW. email gkblount@dial.pipex.com. There will be a panel including; Michael Moore, MP. Jackie Baillie, MSP. and Councillor Glennis Middleton.

Thursday 19th Sept. “Our Daily Bread” The first of a series of three public meetings organised by the Currie and Balerno Peace and Justice on the challenges of farming today and their impact on us as consumers. Speaker: Sandy Fleming. Venue: Balerno High School at 8.00 pm

Saturday 21st Sept. Trident Ploughshares Family Day at Faslane.

Saturday 21st Sept. Peace One Day. A UN Day without fighting anywhere. Event in Hyde Park, London.

Saturday 28th Sept. Jubilee Scotland Campaigners Day - at Salvation Army, 72 South Street, Perth. 1 pm - 4.30 pm Please register by 25th Sept. contact Doug or Kristin, tel. 0131 225 4321 or mail@jubileescotland.org.uk <mailto:mail@jubileescotland.org.uk>

Saturday 28th Sept. Don't Attack Iraq. Stop the War Coalition. London - The Biggest Anti-War Demonstration yet. Trains and buses organised from Scotland. Contact: 07740 866 938, or, EdinburghSTW@blueyonder.co.uk <mailto:EdinburghSTW@blueyonder.co.uk>

October:

Tuesday 1 October: “The G7 - the “Geneva Seven” from NW England”. Two campaigners describe their experiences at the WTO in Geneva. Talk at the WDM office, 14 Forth Street, Edinburgh. Business meeting from 7.30pm. For more information contact Mary Gillie on 667 1334 or Cameron Smith on 07980 240697

Wednesday 2nd October. “The Tree of Peace has its roots in Justice” The first talk in the autumn programme of the Morningside Justice and Peace Group, starting at 10.30am, is on Recycling with speakers: Joanna Muse, Lothian & Borders Waste Coordinator and Angus Murdoch, Edinburgh Recycling Officer. For full programme contact: Rev. V. Pogue (447 1103) or Mr Farquhar (441 2169)

Thursday 3 October. “Scotland: a Place of Refuge?” A panel including Sir Bernard Crick, Jackie Baillie MSP for Dunbartonshire, Christine May, leader of Fife City Council; Ann Dawson, UNHCR representative in the UK, discuss the political response to refugees and asylum seekers at national and local level. Organised by the Peace & Justice Centre and St George's West Church. All welcome. 7.30 pm in the Sanctuary of St George's West Church, Shandwick Place

Saturday 5th. Justice & Peace Scotland Annual Gathering. Renfield St Stephen's Church Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JP 10 am - 4 pm Spirituality and Justice. Speakers Chris Boles and Mary Cullen. For Booking form contact: Justice & Peace Scotland, 65 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 2BX tel. 0141 333 0238 email. justice.peace@virgin.net <mailto:justice.peace@virgin.net>

Saturday 19th. Small World - Big Challenge. Free public event organised by WDM. At Methodist Hall, Tollcross, Edinburgh. 12.45 pm - 5.00 pm. Online booking and information: www.smallworldbigchallenge.info <http://www.smallworldbigchallenge.info/>

Sunday 20- Sunday 27 October: One World Week - www.oneworldweek.org <http://www.oneworldweek.org/> email: enquires@oneworldweek.org <mailto:enquires@oneworldweek.org>

NEWS & VIEWS

Busy Summer For Trident Ploughshares

The fourth annual International Disarmament Camp at Coulport from 4th to 19th August attracted activists from all over the UK, from Ireland, Italy, France, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Columbia, the USA and Japan. During the Camp disarmers swam on to and painted a Trident submarine moored within the “high security” dock, cut their way into the Coulport base, blockaded the gates of both the Coulport and Faslane bases and took part in events commemorating the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were 55 arrests.

As well as the ongoing disarmament actions much training and planning was done for future events, in particular the next “Really Big Blockade” of Faslane which has been fixed for Tuesday 22nd April (Easter Tuesday) 2003. The next Trident Ploughshare Camp this year will be held near Plymouth from 14th to 19th November when disarmers will focus on HMS Vanguard undergoing refit in Devonport Dock.

In the Courts the stream of “breach of the peace” trials has continued unabated with a modest increase in the number of protestors acquitted, “no case to answer”. In preparation for a major campaign against British support for “Star Wars”, a new TP peace camp has been established at Fylingdales in Yorkshire. All this activity despite a number of the most experienced Trident Ploughshares “Pledgers” currently being absent working with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine!

Alan Wilkie.

“Peace One Day” is campaigning for a 24-hour global ceasefire on September 21st. Its founder, Jeremy Gilley, has been actively seeking support for this event world wide for the last three years; since September 1999. Since then he has had over 2,000 meetings all over the world and gained the support of the UN through meetings with Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, and Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Support has also come from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Shimon Peres and Dr Oscar Aries, the Nobel Peace laureates.

They have commitments from 40 countries to mark September 21st - so maybe 500 million people will know about it. Amre Moussa, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, sees it as a chance to pull the Arab world together. The inter-faith World Peace Prayer, which has been created to be recited in all places of worship and meditation, will be followed by a big event. The UK will celebrate with an event in Hyde Park, and Stella McCartney has designed a Peace One Day t-shirt.

Trade Justice: Over 12,000 people besieged Westminster on 19th June, and 37 Scottish MP's were lobbied on the day. The GATS Campaign continues in all urgency.

Privatisation of Water: We have had our own troubles with polluted water supplies this summer in Edinburgh and Glasgow; here are some snippets of the world situation: Wealthy residents in Nairobi are consuming water without charge while slum dwellers must pay for their supply. (East African Standard; Kenya) As Johannesburg prepares for the Earth Summit; 'Protests started earlier this month at the trial of 87 township residents arrested for storming the home of Johannesburg's mayor after the city cut off water and electricity to those who could not pay'. (Guardian Aug 21st) In Nelspruit, South Africa, the water supply has been bought by British company, Biwater. The water is turned off daily, but when Biwater turns the supply on again, water does not come out of the taps. Instead there is only air pressure, yet the meter runs very fast while this air is coming out, and residents are paying for air not water. (WDM Summer Issue)

Earth Summit: Too much to consider here, but special report on the summit at: www.guardian.co.uk/worldsummit2002. And daily coverage from: www.christian-aid.org.uk/wssd/index <http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/wssd/index>.

Arms Controls Relax: Monday 8th July was a significant date in UK arms export history. The Labour government confirmed that there was no such thing as an independent UK arms industry and abdicated to overseas governments, usually the US, decisions on the end-use of UK provided components. It also allowed the export of components for F-16 fighters made by the US company Lockheed Martin and sold to Israel. Jack Straw says: The Government has condemned the disproportionate use of force, including F-16s, against civilian Palestinian targets……. While we do all we can to ease tensions in the region, it is for the US to follow up on sales of F-16s.

Genoa 2001: 'Italian police planted petrol bombs on G8 summit protesters' (Independent 30th July 2002) A policeman has confessed that he planted a bomb in the school where anti-globalisation protesters were sleeping to justify the brutal crackdown during last year's G8 summit. His superior is also under investigation for giving false information to justify the raids. Ninety-three demonstrators were arrested during the raids on the school; sixty three reported serious injuries. Many incidents were caught on camera and were “undeniable” and about 200 protesters were tortured.

About 80 police officers are being investigated, but no one has lost their job. Amnesty International has condemned the lack of action by the Government. Protesters have alleged that the police action was sanctioned by politicians and they have called upon Deputy Prime Minister, Gianfranco Fini, of the National Alliance Party, to resign.