Anti war forum plus BBC picket

Upcoming anti war events in Glasgow.

BBC picket

Anti war forum

Troops Out (Glasgow) calls for Balanced Coverage

of the War in Iraq

Picket the BBC!

Queen Margaret Drive, Monday 29 November, 12.30 pm

The BBC is not reporting the humanitarian disaster being inflicted on Falluja

Falluja is being flattened by 500lb bombs. BBC reports present Falluja as a military target and ignore hundreds or thousands of civilian casualties.

The BBC is ignoring war crimes committed by the US military in Falluja

The US military deliberately cut off water and electricity in Falluja, but the BBC reports this as something that just happened.

Where is the shocked outrage about the bombing of hospitals, the denying of access to aid workers and the use of force to prevent civilians leaving war zones?

These are all war crimes, but you wouldn’t know this from the BBC.

The BBC war reporting is blatantly unbalanced and misleading

The BBC is supposed to be independent not a government or military mouthpiece. So why is the BBC saying that the attack on Falluja was ordered by the interim PM Ayed Allawi, when ITN dismissed this is fiction?

The BBC does not report antiwar opinion

Only 2% of BBC coverage on the war featured antiwar views, hardly balanced and even lower than the 7% of the US channel ABC!

It is also not representative of public opinion, as in a recent Times poll57% of people opposed the war on Iraq, 4 points up on last month.

Troops Out (Glasgow) demands from the BBC

objective and unbiased reporting

the facts, not government propaganda

using multiple sources and always citing sources in war reporting

representation of the antiwar majority

==

Strengthening networks of resistance to war: an anti-war forum

11th & 12th December, Kinning Park Complex, Glasgow

Two days of workshops and discussion aimed at strengthening

networks of

resistance to war in Scotland.

contact: resistwar (at) hotmail.co.uk (not .com!) or 07751477628

Background:

The re-election of Bush makes it almost inevitable that the US

will

launch more attacks on other countries some time in the next

four years.

With the recent resurgence of protests over the attack on

Falluja, now

is an appropriate time to look at how we can strengthen

grassroots

action, not only in support of the campaign to bring the troops

home

from Iraq but also in preparation for resistance to future US

war-plans.

One stark lesson learnt from recent campaigns is that the

British

government won’t listen to a campaign of only marching from A to

B and

set-piece rallies. More creative forms of protest, direct action

and

civil disobedience have to become prominent features of

campaigns if we

are to succeed in stopping future wars.

This two day event is to help develop the networks of resistance

to war

in Scotland by sharing information and ideas and to come up with

joint

ideas for future actions.

How can we increase grass-roots action against war? How can we

improve

communication and solidarity between the different strands of

the

anti-war movement? What can we learn from each other’s

experiences?

Over this weekend, we hope this anti-war forum will help to

start to

answer these questions and more.

Venue: Kinning Park Complex, Glasgow

Proposed TIMETABLE

Suggested donation: £2.00 / £3.00

Saturday 11th December:

11.00-12.00 Opening Session: Building Networks of Resistance

Proposed Speakers:

· Mil Rai (Justice Not Vengeance and author of ‘WarPlan Iraq’

and

‘Regime Unchanged’);

· Rose Gentle (Justice for Gordon Gentle Campaign);

· Josh Garman (Fairford and Northwood protest actions);

· Ewa Jasiewicz & Jenny Gaiawyn (Iraq eye-witnesses);

· Colin Buchanan (Co-ordinator Glasgow Troops Out Network)

· Byrony Macleod (Edinburgh School Student Strikes)

12.00 – 1.00pm Workshops:

1. An introduction to nonviolent direct action

2. Ongoing campaigns: Troops Out Network, Women in Black vigils,

Justice

for Gordon Gentle, Faslane Peace Camp & Trident Ploughshares

3. Justice Not Vengeance network

1.00—2.00pm Lunch (Vegan & vegetarian)

2.00 – 3.00pm Workshops First Session

1. Bases in Scotland and their roles in war and future wars

2. Events next year: Bush’s Visit to Britain; Justice Not

Vengeance

actions; G8

3. Strengthening the network – practical use of emails, texting,

websites, newsletters, leaflets, phone trees, media, support

work, etc

3.00 – 3.30pm Break

3.30 - 4.30pm Workshops Second session

4. Bases in Scotland and their roles in war and future wars

5. Events next year: Bush’s Visit to Britain; Justice Not

Vengeance

actions; G8

6. Strengthening the network – practical use of emails, texting,

websites, newsletters, leaflets, phone trees, media, support

work, etc

4.30 – 5.30pm Workshop Report Back and Discussion

6.00pm Evening Meal (Vegan & vegetarian)

7pm Film Show Fundraiser – showing of ‘The Corporation’ in

Kinning Park

£2.00 Followed by discussion on issues raised by the film.

Fundraiser

for The G42 Social Centre Collective.

9.00pm Social with live music

Accommodation can be provided overnight in the Kinning Park

complex

Sunday 12th December

10.00 Breakfast (Self service)

11.00 – 12.00 Opening Session – Future Plans

Discussion about future joint actions.

12.00– 1.00pm Lunch (Vegan & vegetarian)

1.00– 3.00pm Planning workshops to prepare future joint actions

3.00 – 4.00pm Closing session Feedback from planning workshops,

announcements, contact exchange

To book a place please email: resistwar (at) hotmail.co.uk (not

.com!) or

phone 07751477628

There’s floor space at Kinning Park for overnight accommodation

on

Saturday night only. Some limited bed spaces may be available in

local

supporters homes. Please contact above for more details.

DIRECTIONS:

Kinning Park Community Centre, Cornwall Street, Kinning Park

By Public Transport: Take underground to Kinning Park. The

Community

complex is the large redbrick school on the other side of the

road.

(Please note: The Underground runs from 11am to 6pm on Sundays.)

By Road: Leave M8 at junction 20 (exit is straight after you

cross the

River Clyde). At the bottom of the flyover ramp follow the road

round to

the left. Go straight ahead then take a left turn back under the

Motorway. Take the eighth left turn, Cornwall Street is the turn

after

Sussex St. Kinning Park Community Centre is the large redbrick

building

on the left at the bottom of the road.

Contributors:

· Milan Rai is author of ‘WarPlan Iraq’ and ‘Regime Unchanged’

and

active in the ‘Justice Not Vengeance’ campaign

· Rose Gentle’s son, Gordon, was killed by a roadside bomb in

Iraq where

he had been posted with the Royal Highland Fusiliers after only

six

months basic training. Rose has started a campaign, ‘Justice for

Gordon

Gentle’, for British troops to be brought home from Iraq

· Ewa Jasiewicz is a freelance journalist and activist who spent

several

months in Iraq earlier this year and was also detained for over

a week

in Israel in the summer of 2004 after being barred from entering

the country

· Jenny Gaiawyn Trident Ploughshares activist who was in Iraq in

April

2004 when she tried to get ambulances into Fallujah, she was

taken

hostage with Jo Wilding but released, unharmed, after 24 hours

· Josh Gorman has been charged with criminal damage, aggravated

trespass

and going equipped to cause criminal damage after trying to stop

USAF

Stealth Bombers flying from Fairford airbase in England

· Colin Buchanan is co-ordinator Glasgow Troops Out Network

which have

been holding daily vigils in Glasgow and lunchtime pickets of

the

Scottish Labour Party headquarters since the start of the attack

on

Fallujah as well as regular weekly vigils in Glasgow since the

summer.

· Byrony Macleod was one of the Edinburgh High School students

who

organised school student strikes at the start of the war on Iraq

NB This forum has not been organised by troops out glasgow, we just think it is an excellent initiative and so want to support it by publicising.