Stop the War Coalition
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The Stop the War Coalition (StWC) (informally just Stop the War) is a UK anti-war group set up on 21 September 2001.
The "war" in the Coalition's title refers to the various wars that are claimed to be part of the war on terrorism. The Coalition has been the most prominent group in Britain campaigning against the war in Afghanistan which deposed the Taliban government, and the invasion of Iraq which deposed Saddam Hussein. The demonstration against the latter on 15 February 2003, which it organised in association with CND and the Muslim Association of Britain, is generally accepted as the largest public demonstration in British history. The StWC has been subject to controversy over the level of control of the Socialist Workers Party and its relationship with Muslim organisations.
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[edit] Formation
The impetus to form the Stop the War Coalition came following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks in the USA. The Coalition was launched at a public meeting of over 2,000 people in the Friend's Meeting House in London [1] , which was chaired by Lindsey German, then editor of the Socialist Workers Party's magazine Socialist Review. German argued that the action in Afghanistan, then under contemplation unless the Taliban government gave up Usama bin Laden, would lead to that country's "destruction", and "possibly a wider conflagration in the Indian subcontinent, Iran and the Middle East." Other speakers at the meeting included Jeremy Corbyn (Labour MP for Islington North), Bruce Kent (of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), and John Rees (of the Socialist Workers Party).
Lindsey German became Convenor of the Coalition and a meeting on October 28 settled the Coalition's official aims. This meeting also elected a Steering Committee which consisted of a spectrum of left-wingers including representatives of Labour Left Briefing and the Communist Party of Britain. The Communist Party of Great Britain and Alliance for Workers Liberty [2] failed to get elected, although both became members of the Coalition and participated in its activities.
[edit] Key messages
The Coalition's title 'Stop The War' identifies it as part of the peace movement and has led to its supporters being nicknamed 'Stoppers' by those who disagree with its aims [3] . Once plans for the invasion of Iraq were underway, the slogan 'Not in my name' was widely used.
At their initial meeting the Coalition also adopted the slogan 'Against the racist backlash', asserting that a war against Afghanistan would be perceived as an attack on Islam and that Muslims, or those perceived as Muslim, would face racist attacks in Britain if the government joined the war. The Coalition worked closely with the Muslim Association of Britain in organising its demonstrations.
It also has the slogan 'Defend civil liberties' and has campaigned against the restrictions, such as detention without trial, which has been brought in by the present New Labour government.
[edit] Demonstrations
The largest demonstration organised by the Coalition was against the imminent invasion of Iraq on 15 February, 2003. This was the largest demonstration [citation needed] ever seen in Britain with between 750,000 and 2,000,000 people. Speakers included Tony Benn, Jesse Jackson, Charles Kennedy, Ken Livingstone, and Harold Pinter.
Following a call made by Tony Benn in March 2003, StWC urged its local groups and supporters to organise actions on the day the invasion of Iraq became. As this date was - for obvious reasons - unknown in advance, it was dubbed "Day X". This would eventually fall on 20 March, 2003. Despite having very little time to put plans into action, events took place up and down the country: In London there was a large protest in Parliament Square; in Nottingham traffic outside an army recruitment centre was blocked for a while; and thousands of school students walked out of lessons.
Following the beginning of the war and the events of Day X, the Coalition organised another national demonstration on the next Saturday, 22 March. While the turnout for this march did not match the demonstration of 15 February - between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people turned up - it was noted that this was the largest anti-war demonstration held during wartime and had been organised with but a week's notice.
[edit] Action after the war
The Coalition held a series of protests during November 2003 climaxing in a march on the 20th protesting against the aggressive foreign policy of George W. Bush and the continued detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, which protesters claim is an illegal infringement of human rights and the Geneva conventions. A march past parliament was organised climaxing in a rally in Trafalgar Square. A papier-mâché statue of George Bush was toppled in an action reminiscent of the much televised pulling down of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad by American soldiers. Speakers included maverick MP George Galloway(then member of Labour Party now expelled and joined Respect), SNP leader Alex Salmond and Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic.
The coalition estimates that 300,000 people were present at the demonstration, but this figure is disputed by the police estimate which put it as low as 100,000 people.
On 19 March, 2005, StWC organised a large demonstration in Westminster with supporters marching from Hyde Park to Parliament Square via the US embassy. The supporters were calling for the invading troops to move out of Iraq, for the US to not attack Iran and Syria, for the UK government to halt reductions in the civil liberties of UK citizens including the right to protest and a free trial (which they allege would result from the recent Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 and Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), and for a reduction in racism in the UK.
The date was chosen as the it was the international day of anti-war demonstrations, as called by the Assembly of the Social Movements at the 2004 European Social Forum. Estimates of the number of marchers vary from 45,000 by the police to over 100,000 by StWC to 200,000 by some observers. The protest was significant as it was the first time that a march had passed the US embassy in London since the protests over the Vietnam war.
Later in 2005 StWC sought to join the Make Poverty History coalition of groups campaigning around the 31st G8 summit, held in July of that year, for an end to poverty, but was prevented from doing so, by the MPH Coordinating Team, on the grounds that the issues of economic justice and development are separate from that of war. Nevertheless they independently organised for the MPH demo in Edinburgh on 2 July and in some areas campaigners from MPH and StWC worked together on a local level. They also managed to negotiate a stage in the park at the end of the march. It has been speculated that they were prevented from joining the MPH coalition because organisers wanted to avoid radical criticism of the Labour government[1]. Intriguingly fellow anti-war group and StWC member organisation CND were allowed to join.
Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, StWC in association with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain held a Vigil for the Victims [4] at the Peace Garden in Euston, London on Saturday, 9 July, 2005 and a further solidarity gathering at Russell Square, close to one of the Underground stations targeted, on Sunday, 17 July, 2005. At the latter StWC national convenor Lindsey German condemned the bombings but added that “The only way to end the bombings is to withdraw from Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. When we have justice around the world we will have peace as well.” [5] . The StWC also supported vigils across the country.
In Autumn 2005 the StWC organised a demonstration on the 24th of September with the slogans Stop the Bombings, Stop the War, Bring the Troops Home, Defend Civil Liberties and Defend the Muslim Community. The protest was timed so as to coincide with the protests in Washington and to occur just before the start of the Labour Party Conference.
On 10 December, 2005 the StWC held an 'International Peace Conference' attended by around 1,500 people. Speakers from across the world included Cindy Sheehan, the American mother whose son died in Iraq; and Hassan Juma, president of the Iraqi Southern Oil Workers Union. At this conference a call was launched for an international demonstration on 18 March, 2006.
Almost all the major British trade unions are affiliated to the Coalition and they are also mostly affiliated to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
On 23 September, 2006 a demonstration was held outside the venue for the Labour Party Conference in Manchester which George Galloway, on his TalkSport radio show predicted would have a million protesters. Estimates of attendance varied from "around 20,000" by the police, "up to 50,000" from [2], to "more than 50,000" by the Socialist Workers Party[3] .
[edit] Criticisms
Critics of the Coalition have declared that the Socialist Workers Party has too much control over the organisation.[6][7] The Coalition has been criticised for its lack of condemnation of Saddam Hussein's regime, and the inclusion of George Galloway[8][9][10] and Tony Benn[11] in its ranks. It has also been criticised for its refusal to condemn terrorist attacks within Iraq, and refusal to condemn foreign insurgent fighters who have entered parts of the country.[12][13] The commentator Nick Cohen has also criticised the relationship of the StWC with Muslim organisations such as MAB. He accuses the coalition of involving itself with "Islamofascist" organisations and ignoring the requests of secular trade unions in Iraq. He also claims that there is a contradiction between the StWC's call for respect for human rights and its close links with organisations that he claims call for the death penalty for homosexuality and apostasy.[14][15][16]
[edit] Notable Members
- Tony Benn, StWC President, left-wing Labour party member
- George Galloway, StWC Vice-President, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.
- Tariq Ali, StWC Vice-President, anti-imperialist writer
- Andrew Murray, StWC chair, full-time ASLEF official, leading Communist Party of Britain member
- Lindsey German, StWC convenor, SWP Central Committee member, Respect candidate in the elections for London Mayor
- Chris Nineham, StWC officer, SWP Central Committee member
- John Rees, StWC officer, SWP Central Committee member, Respect National Secretary
- Jeremy Corbyn, StWC officer, Labour Party MP for Islington North
- Salma Yaqoob, Birmingham City Councilor, Respect founding member
- Walter Wolfgang, StWC member, Vice-chair Labour CND, Vice-president CND
[edit] References
- ^ "Arguments against the warmongers", Socialist Worker, 13 September, 2001
- ^ "Building for November 18", Tina Becker, Weekly Worker, 1 November, 2001
- ^ Harry's Place entries for 'Stoppers'
- ^ "Vigil for the Victims of the London Bombings", MAB online
- ^ "Vigil sees Londoners standing together against war and racism", Socialist Worker, 16 July, 2005
- ^ "Mark Thomas has had enough of the SWP", Mark Thomas, New Statesman, 19 May, 2003
- ^ "Hammer and Crescent", Amanda Day, New Humanist, 5 January, 2004
- ^ "Crisis demands end to fudge", Cameron Richards, Weekly Worker #550, 28 October, 2004
- ^ "Galloway can no longer count on the indulgence of polite society", Nick Cohen, The Observer, 15 January, 2006
- ^ "George Galloway doesn't speak for us", letters to the editor, The Observer, 22 January, 2006
- ^ "Anti-war movement stumbles forward", Helen Burnes, Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! #164, December, 2001
- ^ "Saddam's very own party", Nick Cohen, New Statesman, 7 June, 2004
- ^ "Don't stop the war", Andrew Mueller, OpenDemocracy, 18 March, 2005
- ^ "The Left isn't listening", Nick Cohen, The Observer, 16 February, 2003
- ^ "The Left's unholy alliance with religious bigotry", Nick Cohen, The Observer, 23 February, 2003
- ^ "The great liberal betrayal", Nick Cohen, New Statesman, 1 November, 2004
