The Movement for Peace Enters A New Phase        Duration: 15 minutes.
 

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April 6th 2008
By Patrick Henningsen
Event Correspondent

On March 15th 2008, Stop the War Coalition hosted a demonstration in London which saw some 30,000 people turn out to mark the 5th Anniversary of the US and UK invasion of Iraq. Five years on, a wider discussion about the effectiveness of these demonstrations is now underway.

This was the 20th large, anti-war event of its kind since 2002, prompting widespread acknowledgement that the peace/anti-war movement must enter a new, more creative phase if such demonstrations are to have a continued effect on US and UK foreign policies. 

The public’s frustration could not be any more obvious in 2008. As the destruction of Iraq continues, public frustration continues to grow; conservative estimates at a million or more dead, millions more driven from their homes, and a social and economic infrastructure all but shattered since the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation. In Afghanistan, the US military is spending $65,000 a minute and there are four times as many air strikes than in Iraq.

Once again, large demonstrations in major cities worldwide called for an end to the same western occupations and wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. Yet, concerns are surfacing about the effectiveness and the predictability of planned, catered-for demonstrations. New legislation in the UK and the US has also prohibited many small to medium sized events, effectively laying down new, draconian restrictions on traditional western free speech. This has sparked the question: Has the traditional march completely stalled in its ability to influence government policy?

There have been some notable successes to date. It is now widely accepted that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was unable to complete his promise of remaining in office until 2010 because of the public and media pressure surrounding his support of the invasion of Iraq and later support of Israel’s bombing campaign and invasion of Lebanon. John Reese, one of the founders of Stop the War Coalition adds to this, “Our message to Gordon Brown is: if you pursue the same policies, you will go the same way.”

Regarding the broader corporate agenda behind the invasion of Iraq, activists have also proved they can win the battle for pubic opinion. In Britain, the movement repeatedly pressed on the fact that some of the main beneficiaries of the privatization of the London subway system were also some of the corporate gainers of the invasion of Iraq, namely Bechtel. So hamfisted has the “rebuilding” effort been in Iraq, both Iraqis and US/UK taxpayers have been left wondering how far this financial black hole will actually go. The result is that any companies taking part in the rebuilding frenzy will certainly suffer in the public relations department. 

The rise of the independent media was highlighted as a significant development for public awareness worldwide. 

The discussion has already begun at the top. One of Britain’s long-serving MP’s and Chairman of Stop the War Coalition, Tony Benn, trumpeted the importance of independent media, while pointing out the mainstream media’s role in marginalizing coverage of large anti-war demonstrations worldwide. Benn explains, “I think the media try to ignore it… they never report on the TV a single speech that is made. Today, the BBC have been here, but I think they could do better. That’s why it’s so important to have the independent media… they are able to get the stuff across to people- who wouldn’t otherwise hear the news.”

Other guest speakers at this event reaffirmed a general consensus that the peace/anti-war movement must raise the bar by becoming more dynamic if it hopes to build on previous successes. 

George Galloway MP explains. “I think we are reaching the stage where this forum is no longer sufficient. There are going to be some very big events over the summer and the autumn- in the wars in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Palestine… as the US election draws nearer. We’re going to have to respond to it, and we are going have to discover new ways of protesting. Marches are necessary… but no longer sufficient.”

Illustrating the current dynamic between demonstrations and government, veteran campaigner and filmmaker Brian Viziondanz states, “I think there’s a realization now that we have to shift gears, that we’ve been doing this now for quite a while and it’s become routine. Just like shoplifting is taken into account with the price of goods, these demonstrations are taken into account by the authorities.” Viziondanz adds, “We have to be very imaginative now… we have to think and live outside of the box.”

Occupying his own encampment opposite the House of Commons since 2000, Parliament Square’s longest sitting activist-in-residence Brian Haw comments, “Stop the war? Stop which war? When are we going to put our efforts and our energy into making peace?”

With no policy change in sight and a looming pre-emptive attack on Iran, the discussion continues…

Links:
Video Link for embedding (Youtube):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4cSDimvFYVU
  
All 45 interviews from this day unedited (Youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7A380196F3021D8
 
Stop the War Coalition:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk 

Article Source (Gungho Media):
www.gunghomedia.co.uk 

Produced by:  
> James Light
> Paul Maple     
> Brian Viziondanz        
> Rachael Weston