5,000 in London join global demonstrations in support of Kobane
Reel News documents last weekends huge demonstration in central London in solidarity with the resistance of the people of Kobane. Speakers on the day included Stop the War Coalition’s John Rees, Peace in Kurdistan’s David Morgan and Memed Aksoy, member of the Kurdish People’s Assembly.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvpQUsrYm0A&w=560&h=315]
Rest in peace and power, Tony Benn (1925-2014)
Tony Benn, one of the UK’s foremost radical leftist politicians, president of Stop the War Coalition, long-time supporter of Kurdish rights, sadly passed on today. Here we recall his words on the Terrorism Act 2001, which criminalises the entire Kurdish community and many others as ‘terrorist’, when it was first introduced:
“Until we can get the act defeated we are all going to live under its shadow”
Tony BennOne of the last things I did before I left Parliament to devote more time to politics was to vote against the Terrorism Bill. It was introduced, after 24 hours, without any real discussion … I might add this was just after the Americans had bombed Sudan allegedly in an anti-terrorist act described as a humanitarian mission by the United States … What you have to recognise is that imperialism always dresses itself up in the language of humanitarianism, always. Any one who remembers as I do what Britain was like when the Empire was there, it was our mission to the world, the sun never set on the British Empire, it was the white man civilising the world.
Continue reading “Rest in peace and power, Tony Benn (1925-2014)”
Stop the War Coalition Motion takes a stand in support of the Kurds
By a near unanimous vote the Stop the War Coalition, the leading anti-war movement in the UK, has adopted a clear and unambiguous position in support of the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination.
At its annual general meeting held in central London on 3 March, delegates from STWC branches and affiliated groups from all over the country, including trade unions, overwhelmingly backed the detailed motion moved by Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) and the Kurdish Federation UK, which contains all the main demands of the Kurds for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Continue reading “Stop the War Coalition Motion takes a stand in support of the Kurds”