19 February 2005 Dear Stop the War Coalition, Andrew Murray (Chair) & Lindsey German (Convener), As you know, on 7 February there was a vital demonstration to defend the right to protest in Parliament Square and the area around it, from Trafalgar Square to Waterloo station to Buckingham Palace. The demonstration was called by a wide range of organisations and prominent individuals, and attended by about 200 + people in the course of 9 hours, many of whom stayed the whole time, including Corin Redgrave, the African Liberation Support Campaign, Jaffer Clarke of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, four MPs, and many others. All spoke eloquently & with great passion about how essential is the right to demonstrate where MPs can see and hear us, and how losing it would be a further significant step towards a police state. The presence of the picket outside clearly influenced the debate inside the House of Commons, where a number of MPs raised serious concerns and 86 voted against the Bill. The protest got good publicity, which will help the next stages of the fight against the Bill in the House of Lords, and there was a general feeling, including among those MPs who oppose this clause of the Bill, that it can be defeated. But where was Stop the War? The Coalition signed the call for the protest – by telling Emma Sangster of Voices in the Wilderness that she could add STW’s name “if you like” – and the event was listed on your website. But there seems to have been no effort to get people in STW out to the demo. A few members of local STW groups came but none of its main spokespeople. And shockingly STW didn’t even mention this legislation on your 15 Feb “Die in” publicity even though the event was right there on Parliament Square! Perhaps STW does not realise the enormous power the police are being given, and what a historic legal precedent this is in stopping people’s right to demonstrate in front of Parliament. Surely the right to demonstrate there is important to you. Was it a problem for you that this anti-war initiative so vital to the anti-war movement was called by grassroots people which are not part of STW’s sphere of influence? Certainly this is what many people on the demonstration who noticed your absence put it down to. Wasn’t it worth turning out to defend Brian Haw, whose day and night commitment through rain, sleet and snow, and the commitment of those women who support him with food, clothes and respite, making it possible for him to continue, has presented a constant challenge to the warmongers for the past three and a half years? Did you not think that the weekly community picket which has given a voice to so many people over the past two years was worthy of support? Both Brian and the Picket have asked for support from STW before but it has not been forthcoming. The clause to stop protest in Parliament Square is a sign of the effectiveness of these grassroots campaigns despite the lack of support from bigger organisations. Imagine what could have been and can still be achieved if you supported us! We have a right to ask why STW has not signed the petition for the Right to Protest. Andrew Burgin signed it at the press conference launching Military Families Against the War on 10 November 2004, but when asked, said this was “in a personal capacity” even though “STW does support it”. Please consider the shocking thought that there would have been no protest against this ban if we had not called it. This is not the first time that STW hasn’t called people out at a crucial time. The most serious was on the day Parliament voted for war. A few days after 2 million people marched through London, many of us expected thousands to surround Parliament. To everyone’s dismay there were only a few hundred people demonstrating, many of them called by us, and the vote, which many agree could have been won, was lost, with the most tragic, deadly consequences. A number of people are very disturbed that this may happen again, and would like to know if STW intends to do any mobilising to support our attempts to stop this ban on protest when it reaches the Lords on 7 March. We look forward to hearing from you. Against war and for the right to protest in Parliament Square, Kay Chapman, Parliament Square Anti-war Community Speakout Maria Gallastegui, Parliament Sq Church Brian Haw, Parliament Square Peace Campaign cc Action Against War, African Liberation Support Campaign, All African Women’s Group, Barnet Green Party, Camden Green Party, Campaign Against Criminalizing Communities (CAMPACC), Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, the Global Women's Strike, Greater London Pensioners Association, the Green Party, Legal Action for Women, Military Families Against War, Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, Network for Economic and Political Democracy, Orpington CND, Parliament Square Church, Payday, Peace and Human Rights Trust, Peace & Progress, South Somerset Peace Group, SOS : Save Our Speech: Parliament Square - supporters of Brian Haw, Stop the War Coalition, Voices in the Wilderness UK, Wimbledon Disarmament Coalition/CND, Women in Black UK, Rev. Francis Ackroyd, Michael Culver, Trisha Goddard, Brian Haw, David Heath MP, Simon Hughes MP, Rev. Ken Leech, John McDonnell MP, Lembit Opik MP, Corin Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Nabil Shaban, Tahrir Swift, Amanda Ward. home