Party Vibe

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 2006/40
17 October 2006
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Telephone 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

N THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) DEMONISING MUSLIMS: AN OPEN LETTER
2) ISLAMOPHOBIA AND THE ‘WAR ON TERROR’
3) WHERE HAVE ALL THE DOCTORS GONE?
THE COLLAPSE OF IRAQ’S HEALTH SERVICES
4) DID THE GENERAL SPEAK FOR US ALL?
5) STAYING UNTIL “THE JOB IS DONE”
6) A POSTER COMMEMORATING A REMARKABLE DAY
7) CRUCIAL VOTE ON UK-US EXTRADITION TREATY
8) JOIN THE FASLANE BLOCKADE
9) BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION

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1) DEMONISING MUSLIMS: AN OPEN LETTER
There is an attempt to plunge this country into a racist hysteria of a kind we have not seen for a generation or more — directed against Muslims.

Recent weeks have seen a series of speeches by leading politicians designed to isolate and demonise British Muslims. These have been reflected in spurious news stories and, still more seriously, violence directed against Muslim people and places of worship.

In particular, we deplore the recent remarks by Jack Straw concerning the veil worn in public by some Muslim women. His intervention undoubtedly created the climate in which the racist attack on a Muslim woman in Liverpool took place. Likewise, the bullying attacks of John Reid have served only to spread fear amongst Muslims.

We further condemn the attempted fire-bombing of a mosque in Windsor — the latest in a number of such episodes nationwide — and note the failure of many commentators and politicians to condemn this outrage.

We express our solidarity with all British people of the Muslim faith and affirm their right to worship and dress as they please and to live their lives in peace and security.

The current wave of Muslim-baiting is rooted above all in the disastrous ‘war on terror’, of which this government has been such a prominent supporter. This war has made Britain more vulnerable, not less, to terrorist attack — an uncomfortable fact from which ministers try to distract by attacks on the Muslim community.

If the government is concerned about improving the cohesion of our communities, let it first of all abandon its support for the foreign policy of the US administration, including the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We call on all people of good-will to reject the anti-Muslim hatred being whipped up and to support the values of tolerance now under attack.

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THIS OPEN LETTER CAN BE DOWNLOADED FOR PRINTING HERE: http://tinyurl.com/y2ctso
Collect signatures, including from local political, community, religious, trade union leaders etc. and return the letter to Stop the War Coalition.

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2) ISLAMOPHOBIA AND THE ‘WAR ON TERROR’
Stop the War Coalition has called a People’s Assembly in London on Saturday 18 November to discuss Islamophobia and the ‘War on Terror’. The assembly will be open to all and will aim to bring together the broadest possible representation from all sections of society. We will discuss how the attacks on Muslims are intrinsically linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the anti-war movement can counter those attacks in its continuing campaign to end those wars.

PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY
TOPIC: Islamophobia and the ‘War on Terror’
DATE: Saturday 18 November
TIME: 10am – 5.30pm
VENUE: Camden Centre, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE

Full details of the People’s Assembly will be available soon on the Stop the War Coalition website: http://www.stopwar.org.uk. For a leaflet or more information, contact 020 7278 6694; email office@stopwar.org.uk

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3) WHERE HAVE ALL THE DOCTORS GONE?
THE COLLAPSE OF IRAQ’S HEALTH SERVICES
“An end to occupation is vital for the life-chances and health of the Iraqi people. Until this takes place, Iraq will remain a country of the dead, the dying and the despairing.”

This is the conclusion of a report written by David Wilson for Stop the War Coalition, which shows how Iraq’s health services, once by far the most advanced in the Middle East, have effectively collapsed under the US/British occupation. It is packed with essential information for everyone actively involved in the anti-war movement and for anyone who wants to understand the scale of death and destruction which the war crimes of George Bush and Tony Blair have inflicted on Iraq.
TO READ THE REPORT, NOW PUBLISHED BY COUNTERPUNCH, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y7e4t9

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4) DID THE GENERAL SPEAK FOR US ALL?
Last week, in an unprecedented statement, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British armed forces seemed to speak for us all, when he said of the Iraq war: “We should get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems. We are in a Muslim country and Muslims’ views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren’t invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time. The military campaign we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in.”

Tony Blair claimed he agreed with every word of this, confirming his status as a serial liar, able to state the opposite of the truth without a hint of a blush.

But while the anti-war movement welcomes Dannatt’s admission that the presence of foreign troops is the problem rather than the solution and that the British army should get out soon, his main purpose is to transfer the troops now in Iraq to Afghanistan, to fight another unwinnable war.

And Dannatt, a Christian fundamentalist, also holds hardline views on the “war on terror” views, as seen in his statement, “We can’t wish the Islamist challenge to our society away and I believe that the Army, both in Iraq and Afghanistan and probably wherever we go next, is fighting the foreign dimension of the challenge to our accepted way of life.” The hint of an attack on Iran being next on the agenda won’t go unnoticed by the anti-war movement.
FOR MORE OF THE GENERAL’S COMMENTS, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/ss4r9

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5) STAYING UNTIL “THE JOB IS DONE”
When General Dannatt’s said, “We should get ourselves out sometime soon”, Tony Blair’s response was all too predictable: “We will not walk away until the job is done.”

A report published by The Lancet last week showed what “the job” has “done” so far. It estimated that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the Iraq war and occupation, over one third of them killed by the bombs and bullets of the invading armies.

It’s also worth noting how the Iraqi people experience “the job” today:
* The United Nations says that every day over 1000 Iraqis flee their homes and another 100 die a violent death;
* Eight million Iraqis live on less than one dollar per day, and 96 per cent of Iraq’s 28 million people receive monthly basic food rations of rice, flour and cooking oil.
* More than 500,000 residents of Baghdad can only get water for a few hours a day;
* Iraq’s power generation and supply grid is in a state of collapse, with households in Baghdad receiving on average only two to six hours of electricity per day;
* Law and order does not exist and Iraqis live in fear of death squads and kidnappers, which many suspect are the work of the police and government militias.

FOR THE FULL REPORT ON 655,000 DEATHS CAUSED BY WAR AND OCCUPATION, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/ueev7
FOR THE WASHINGTON POST SUMMARY OF THE REPORT, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/lu4jl
FOR LANCET EDITOR ROBERT HORTON’S COMMENTS, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y6to22

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6) A POSTER COMMEMORATING A REMARKABLE DAY
If you were there, you’ll know that it was a remarkable day which brought protestors from every corner of Britain to Manchester on the eve of the Labour Party conference. If you weren’t there you can catch the flavour of the day from the reports, pictures and videos available on the Stop the War website: http://tinyurl.com/ycmcop.

A poster commemorating the demonstration has now been produced in a limited edition, using a picture taken by photographer Ray Smith, which makes a mockery of the initial police figure of 10,000 for the attendance. (They updated their estimate later in the day to 30,000.)
TO SEE THE PHOTO, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/y4vyk7.

THE POSTER IS AVAILABLE PRICED £2 FROM THE STOP THE WAR OFFICE (020 7278 6694) OR ONLINE FROM GREATER MANCHESTER STOP THE WAR COALITION (http://tinyurl.com/y4k3hj).

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7) CRUCIAL VOTE ON UK-US EXTRADITION TREATY
As reported in our last newsletter, Babar Ahmad is a victim of Tony Blair’s slavish support for George Bush’s “war on terror”. He faces extradition to the US on trumped up terrorism charges under New Labour’s disgraceful treaty with the United States, which allows British citizens to be extradited to the US without the right to challenge the evidence against them in court.

The House of Commons will be voting on crucial amendments to the UK-US Extradition Treaty 2003 on Tuesday 24 October 2006. If the vote is won, this will directly affect cases of several British Citizens facing extradition to the United States, including that of Babar Ahmad.

The Free Barbar Ahmad Campaign is asking all its supporters to contact their MP by 4pm on Friday 20 October 2006 to make sure they clear their diaries to attend the vote. MPs from all parties need to be contacted, especially Labour MPs. For directions on how best to contact your MP by email and phone call, send an email to: freebabarahmad@yahoo.co.uk

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE:
http://www.freebabarahmad.com
http://www.notoextradition.co.uk

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8) JOIN THE FASLANE BLOCKADE
Stop the War supporters around the country are planning to join our blockade of the Faslane nuclear base on 6-7 November. Our mobilisation is part of the Faslane 365 campaign, which aims to blockade the base for a whole year. If you would like to be part of the Stop the War protest in Faslane on those days, email office@stopwar.org.uk with your contact details or contact Daniela on 020 7278 6694 for further information.

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9) BRIZE NORTON DEMONSTRATION
A new leaflet is available giving full details of the national demonstration on 2 December at Brize Norton, Britain’s biggest military base,which is the main transport base for sending troops and supplies in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. In August this year it was used by US planes taking munitions to the Israeli Defense Force to bomb Lebanon.
TO DOWNLOAD THE LEAFLET, GO HERE: http://tinyurl.com/kp2u2

The demonstration is called by Bristol Stop the War Coalition; Oxford Stop the War Coalition; Oxford CND, Swindon Stop the War Coalition and CND; and Faringdon Peace Group. It is supported by the national Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Green Party.