Bristol Stop the War

Afghanistan: Time To Go Demo: 20th November

2010-10-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

November

Afghanistan: Time To Go - Troops Home Now

Assemble 12 noon – Hyde Park Corner

Called by Stop the War, CND and British Muslim Initiative

Speakers will include Tony Benn, Eric Joyce MP, Guardian journalist Seumas Milne and Lowkey (more to be announced soon).

The war in Afghanistan has entered its tenth year, making it longer than World War I and World War II combined. Both prime minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband support continuing the war, at least till 2015. Thousands more Afghan civilians and NATO soldiers will be killed in a pointless and unwinnable war, when over 70 per cent of the British public want all British troops withdrawn now. Join this crucial demonstration which will give voice to the anti-war majority in the country and tell the politicians the time to go is now.

Coaches leaves Bristol 8.15am, Anchor Road. Tickets £15 waged, £8 unwaged.

Buy your coach tickets here!!

2009-09-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

Troops Out Of Afghanistan Now!

National Demonstration – London – Saturday October 24th

Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is growing. Opinion polls in Britain and the US show that people no longer believe the war serves any purpose. 60% of people want British troops brought home by the end of the year. Even the tabloid media is having to reflect the growing discontent.

Leading Democrats in the United States are trying to stop Obama sending more troops, while his Afghanistan commander General McChrystal rumoured to be asking for an increase of 45,000.

Last month's election in Afghanistan was obviously rigged even if the US and British governments are reluctant to say so. The idea that British soldiers have been dying in large numbers to enable there to be a 'free and fair' election is laughable. Politicians and military commanders are beginning to openly admit that they are not "winning" the war.

With a general election here in only a few months Stop the War's intensified campaign to bring the troops home is getting a tremendous response both in Bristol and across the country. Everywhere we leaflet and collect signatures on petitions the response to the anti-war message is overwhelmingly positive.

Help build this campaign. Join us on the 'Troops Out Of Afghanistan Now' national demonstration in London on Saturday 24th October . There will be coaches from Bristol leaving at 8.15am from Anchor Rd (opposite @Bristol).

For a map see: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=BS1+5DB&countryCode=GB

* Tickets for the coach from Bristol are nearly sold out. Please email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com asap if you want to buy one of the remaining tickets *

Remember Gaza. End the Siege now! Free Palestine!

2009-04-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

National Demonstration 16 May 2009

Gaza may be out of the news but the murderous Israeli blockade continues to hamper the humanitarian operation. Aid is literally rotting at the border crossings while tens of thousands go hungry. Reconstruction has barely begun. Meanwhile Britain and the US continue their support of Israel, with US aid flowing uninterrupted and Britain continuing to sell arms.

The REMEMBER GAZA NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION marks the anniversary of the Naqba, the catastrophe in 1948 when Israel was founded and Palestinians were driven from their land. After the Israeli onslaught in January, which killed 1400 Palestinians and destroyed 5000 homes, Gaza must not forgotten.

Assembling 12noon in Central London, Rally in Trafalgar Square

Free Palestine - End Israeli Occupation - End the Arms trade

Called by: Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Coaches from Bristol leave at 8.15am from Anchor Rd (opposite @Bristol).

For a map see: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=BS1+5DB&countryCode=GB

Tickets £14 waged, £7 unwaged.

PURCHASE COACH TICKETS, HERE, NOW!:
For further information email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com

Buy coach tickets for April 1st G20 demo here!

2009-03-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

Coach tickets update:

At this stage we can't guarantee you a ticket, but based on past experience it is extremely likely that there will be room for you.

If you want to chance it please be at Anchor Road (opposite @Bristol) at 9.30 tomorrow

For a map see: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB%7Cbs1%205db

'YES WE CAN' - DEMONSTRATE AT THE G20 IN LONDON WED APRIL 1ST

2009-03-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

The leaders of the world's big powers will meet at the G20 summit in London in April. It is Barack Obama's first visit to Britain. It is our chance to demand a change from Bush's war policies. The Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The British Muslim Initiative, and CND have called a demonstration in central London on the afternoon of April 1^st while Barack Obama is speaking to Parliament. We will be marching from the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square through Central London.

Our message will be 'Yes We Can'. Yes we can END THE SIEGE OF GAZA and FREE PALESTINE, yes we can GET THE TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, yes we can MAKE JOBS NOT BOMBS, yes we can ABOLISH NUKES, yes we can STOP ARMING ISRAEL.

The G20 will meet at a time of world slump but they are spending more and more on war. Despite the disaster in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US and Britain are sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan. They are spending more and more in Iraq. The total cost of the war will be around 6 trillion dollars.

Most G20 leaders support Israel and refused to condemn Israel's attack on Gaza or the continuing blockade. The US, Britain and others are still selling arms to Israel. Israel receives more aid from the US than any other country in world. The US spends $54 Bn and Britain nearly £2Bn every year on nuclear weapons.

There will be coaches from Bristol on April 1^st leaving at 9.45am from Anchor Rd (opposite @Bristol)

For a map see: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB%7Cbs1%205db

Tickets £14 waged, £7 unwaged. To reserve a ticket please email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com as soon as possible, giving your name, address & phone number. Or phone 07810 000083

If you aren’t able to come on 1^st April but want to show your support by making a donation towards the cost of the coaches please make out a cheque to ‘Bristol Stop The War Coalition’ and post it to BSTWC, 23 Monmouth Road, Bristol, BS7 8LF.

If you would like leaflets to distribute with details of the demo & coaches from Bristol please email us at bristolstopwar@hotmail.com.

If you are in London on April 2^nd, on that morning there will be a protest outside the summit itself at the Excel Centre in East London. For further information email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com.

Former Bristol MP Tony Benn makes Gaza appeal

2009-03-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

Evening Post / Fri March 6th

Nearly 400 people turned out in Bristol to hear veteran left-winger and former city MP Tony Benn speak at a public meeting on the conflict in Gaza.

Mr Benn, who was Bristol South-East MP for more than 30 years until 1983, told the audience at the City Academy, in Lawrence Hill, he was thrilled to be back in the city.

But he said he particularly welcomed the large number of younger people who attended Friday's meeting, which was organised by the Bristol Stop the War Coalition to show solidarity with Palestinians killed and injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Mr Benn, 83, said: "My generation made a complete mess of the world.

"But your generation have the technology to solve the problems of the human race."

The former Labour minister said what happened in Gaza in December – when neighbouring Israel launched a military assault aimed at militant organisation Hamas, which controls the territory – was "an outrage".

He said the death of 1,300 people out of a total population of a million in Gaza was on a huge scale compared to the London Blitz of 1940 or the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001.

Mr Benn, who is president of the Stop the War Coalition, said it was a warning of what would happen "if we do not resolve the situation in the Middle East".

He condemned the British Government for not doing enough about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

And he said Israel was the fifth most powerful nuclear armed state in the world, funded by the US, and it was trying "to wipe Palestine off the map".

The meeting was also addressed by Palestinian speakers from the West Bank, including Hiba Ayyad, a 20-year-old student, who said her mother had been killed when Israeli forces shelled her home last September.

Another student, Rawan Amria, 21, from Bethlehem, told the meeting about the effects of Israeli occupation.

She said movement of people was so restricted it had made it difficult for her to reach Palestinian capital Ramalla, where she was eventually able to get a visa to visit Britain.

Earlier, a party of Palestinians met councillors and officials at Bristol City Council, on College Green, to discuss the possibility of a twinning arrangement between the city and a town or project in Gaza to highlight its plight.

Easton councillor Abdul Malik said he hoped to see cross-party support on the council for this idea.

He told the Post: "It's very urgent. It would be good for the non-Muslim community in Bristol to realise that there are humanitarian problems out there that override any religious position."