ENGLAND - Six Arrested Marking & Blockading 10 Downing St. on 10th. Anniversary of the War on Afgha

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Saturday October 08, 2011 20:02

by LCW

Mourn the Dead! Heal the Wounded! End the Wars!

VIDEO (3 mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwd0KfBD7I

PHOTOGRAPHS
https://london.indymedia.org/articles/10350

Six anti-war activists, associated with the pacifist Catholic Worker movement, were arrested Friday morning October 7th. after a nonviolent resistance action in Downing Street/ London to mark the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. A dozen other anti-war activists gathered in support of the action and against the war, reading the names of Afghan and British war dead around a banner,
"Mourn the Dead!
Heal the Wounded!
End the Wars!"

Red paint was poured on the pavement outside the gates to symbolise the blood of the 25,000 civilians and 2,500 soldiers who have been killed or wounded in the last decade. They then blockaded the entrance to Downing Street for an hour before they were arrested. The six are: John Lynes, Ciaron O’Reilly, Maya Evans, Ben Griffins, Chris Cole and Martin Newell.

In a jointly prepared statement the six declared: "Today, 7 October 2011, marks ten years of non-stop war. For a decade British, US, Australian and NATO forces have been engaged in an on-going war in Afghanistan which has caused the deaths of thousands , wounded countless numbers, destroyed local communities and uprooted families.

"The war has been going on so long we have forgotten the reason it started. Was it to capture Bin Laden? To remove the Taliban? To bring peace and human rights to the people of Afghanistan? To make the world a safer place? All these reasons - and more – have been used to try to justify the death and destruction.

"The reality of course is that war cannot bring peace, nor armed violence solve political problems. Just the opposite in fact. Ten years is much more than enough time to learn this lesson. Let us bury the dead, heal the wounded and end the war.

"By coincidence today also marks the 500th day of US Army Specialist Bradley Manning's imprisonment. Bradley has been accused of releasing footage of a US helicopter gunship massacre of civilians in Iraq (see the footage at www.collateralmurder.com). We call for the immediate release of Bradley Manning and also for the release of British military refusenik Michael Lyons.”

The six were arrested, handcuffed, transported to West End police station, held for 11 hours under suspicion of "causing criminal damage".

Those awaiting an initial court appearance on November 1st. are presently bailed away from Westminister. The defendants include;
Fr. Martin Newell and Ciaron O'Reilly who are live in community members at Giuseppe Conlon Catholic Worker House http://londoncatholicworker.org/ in Harringay/ London. Veterans for Peace http://veteransforpeaceuk.wordpress.com/ Ben Griffin who is a British veteran of wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, John Lyons is an 82 year old Quaker from Hastings who has been active in CPT teams in Palestine, Maya Evans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Evans from Hastings and Peace News and Chris Cole http://dronewarsuk.wordpress.com/ an Oxford based Catholic anti-war activst, father of 3.

CNN
http://tinyurl.com/3wsnnjn

UK Indymedia
http://tinyurl.com/3kbfzmu

Indymedia London
http://tinyurl.com/3b2hx7f

Independent Catholic News
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=19051

Ekklesia
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15515

London Catholic Worker
http://londoncatholicworker.org/