One Year On From Britain's Continued Bombing of Syria
and Iraq
After the US Election – A More Dangerous World
On
Thursday December 1st 2016, Newcastle
Stop the war is held a meeting to discuss the continued bombing of
Syria and Iraq and the more dangerous world following the US
election. The main speaker was Daniel Jakopovich - Guest lecturer in
Political Economy at the University of Cambridge and other Universities
and a Stop the War national organiser.
Daniel
started by talking about the
never ending war started by Bush and Blair and its consequences, which
has led to more than a million dead in Iraq alone and the continued war
under Obama that had left 10,000 dead in Libya and a country
destroyed and descended into mayhem by the intervention. He pointed out
that in 2015 alone the US had
dropped 23,000 bombs on 6 Muslim countries Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan,
Syria, Libya and Afghanistan. He said this never ending war
was about to get even more dangerous with the election of Donald
Trump. Hilary Clinton had also supported to the hilt every
war
as well.
Daniel contrasted Donald Trump's US isolationist
rhetoric with the reality and his willingness to send 30,000 more
troops to the Middle East. He also pointed out Donald Trumps' stance in
favour of nuclear weapons and the arming of Japan and South Korea with
nuclear weapons.
Daniel
concluded his talk with stressing the importance of an organised
anti-war movement that had been a constant challenge to the
war-mongering governments and spoke about the
importance of this work in Britain. Daniel's talk was well
received and was followed by formal questions and answers and
announcements before people engaged in informal discussion with some
food and drink to end the programme of meetings for this year.
Report of Newcastle Stop War Meeting
Crisis in the Middle East - no more military intervention!
Chris
Nineham Vice Chair Stop the War was the speaker at this months well
attended meeting on November 2. He started by expressing the concern
of Stop the War around the Western NATO powers and their attempt to
blame Russia for their own military expansion in the Middle East and
into Eastern European countries and their activities in being behind
regime change in 12 countries surrounding Russia. With Russia's
involvement in Syria any attempt of Britain, and the other western
powers to try and enforce a "no fly zone" to bring about
the regime change they were really aiming for would lead to a war
with the Syrian government and Russia.
Chris
Nineham condemned the
warmongering statements of the government that Britain will be able
to fight a war with Russia within two years. He called on the stop
the war movement to prepare and escalate their work to oppose this
dangerous shift to war and highlighted the importance of its work to
block hands of the warmongering interventionists in Britain which
would contribute to ending big power interventions world wide. His
contribution was really appreciated and the meeting discussed the
organisation of and working towards larger events to
involve people in the discussion and activities of anti-war movement.
Meeting - 15 years on: Time to stop the war
On Wednesday, October 12, Newcastle Stop the War Coalition held a meeting to mark the 15th year of the Anglo-US "war on terror". Around 15 people took part with some students and staff from Newcastle University and Durham University.
Mo Abuzahra, was the guest speaker, the new chair of Unison northern region International Committee. Mo started by informing the meeting of the work of the unison international committee in the region and its joint work with stop the war and the Palestine solidarity campaign i.e UNISON's long held position of opposing the replacement of Trident and their call for the decommissioning of the existing Trident weapons system, Stop Trident March locally and nationally and their partnership working with Martin Luther King Peace Committee to produce the First World War Centenary Christmas Card.
Mo having been involved personally in the movement and having originated from West Asia (Middle East) and having family in the region spoke about the war on terror revealing the terrible atrocities of the "war on terror" after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. For example, he exposed the more than a million dead in Iraq as a result of the invasion and occupation and the 6 million refugees, 5 million orphans and he exposed how the war had created the complete opposite to what the big powers had claimed. Instead of defeating terrorism it had spread terrorism all over the region. Instead of bringing communities together the war had torn people apart on racist and religious grounds. Instead of stabilising countries the war had created extreme instability across the whole region. And then lastly instead of bringing world peace he said we can see clearly how the "war on terror" has brought us closer to a third world war as there is a high risk of clash between the U.S and its allies with China and Russia.
Mo concluded by saying; "life gives every person a second chance, this chance is called tomorrow. Lets all join in in unity and solidarity to write something that makes all proud"
Mo's contribution was very well received and it gave the participants important insight into the international solidarity work that Unison carries out and the vital importance of Newcastle stop the war developing this work with Unison and the wider trade union movement.
The meeting concluded with a number of proposals for further work which will be further planned out at the next meeting. The meeting also agreed to support Unison's meeting on October 20 on the Colombian people's struggle for peace to be held in Newcastle University.
Newcastle
People For Corbyn Demonstration & Rally
On Saturday July 30 2016
Newcastle, Sunderland and South Tyneside Stop the War took part in
a demonstration and rally to support the anti-war, anti-austerity and
anti-racist stand of Jeremy Corbyn and wish every success to the
campaign of Labour party members to retain him as the leader of the
opposition in Parliament and open up the question of building a social
movement to empower the people.
Short You Tube film of demonstration and rally
Meeting - The Peoples'
Chilcot Report – A Response to Chilcot and what next
On
Wednesday July 13th Newcastle Stop the War Coalition held an
important meeting in response to the Chilcot report. About
20
people took part and were addressed by Stop the War Vice Chair Chris
Nineham, Green Party representative Rachel Featherstone and Rebecca
Moosavian Northumbria University legal equalities expert. The
outcome of the discussion was for the anti-war movement to go all out
to take advantage of the favourable conditons created by the report in
not only demanding that Blair is brought to account but that the
present warmongering interventions of NATO countries and Britain
towards
Syria, Iraq, Libya is ended and the warmongering stand against Russia
is opposed. The meeting was chaired by
Roger Nettleship Convener of NSWC.
Summary from the contribution
of Rebecca Moosavian, Senior
Lecturer Northumbria
University School of
Law: Summary
Newcastle Vigil
to Mark the
Release of the Chilcot Report
On Wednesday July 6 around 70
people gathered at Newcastle Monument to mark the release of the
Chilcot report. Speakers from Newcastle Stop the War,
Sunderland Stop the War, Newcastle Trades union council and Veterans
for Peace said that the Chilcot report is a damning indictment of Tony
Blair and those around him who took us to war in Iraq. The report
highlights most of what we have been campaigning for over the years.
Some of the main points are:
Military action was “not a last resort,” the Chilcot Inquiry
has found. The report says there was no imminent threat from Iraq’s
Saddam Hussein in 2003. The report says the threat was "deliberately
exaggerated".
Decided before to
go to war before weapons inspections were concluded. In July 2002
before, well over six months before the invasion of Iraq, Blair wrote
to then-US President George Bush promising him that the UK would be
there with him “whatever,”Chilcot
says. Weapons of Mass
Destruction presented ‘with a certainty that was not justified’. Tony
Blair to George
Bush, 28 July, 2002. "I would be
happy to try to put all this together... But it needs a huge
commitment in time and energy. So it's only really worth doing if we
are all on the same page. On timing, we could start up after the
(summer) break. A strike date could be Jan/Feb next year (2003). But
the crucial issue is not when, but how."
Chilcot
says it is now clear that policy on Iraq was made “on the basis
of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and
they should have been.”
Chilcot
says the inquiry has not expressed a view on whether military action
was legal, as that must be resolved by a properly constituted and
internationally recognized court. “We have, however, concluded that the circumstances in which
it
was decided there was a legal basis for UK military action were far
from satisfactory.”
Following the release of the report speakers called for Tony Blair and
others involved in the Anglo-US criminal invasion to be brought to
account. The rally also called for an anti-war government that
ends the cycle of wars and violence by Britain’s interference in other
countries throughout the world.
Report of Joint NPSC and NSWC Meeting on
Palestine, BDS and Anti-Semitism Mick
Bowman speaking at the Meeting
On Tuesday, May 17 a meeting
of 30 people was held in Newcastle on Palestine, the Boycott,
Divestment, Sanctions
against Israel movement (BDS) and the attempt of some in the ruling
circles and media to present opposition to the Israeli state and its
apartheid politics as "anti-Semitic". The speakers were Maddy
Nettleship, Mick Bowman and Ann Schofield all activists in the
movements of the working class and people in the north east area.
The meeting was chaired by Alex Snowdon Chair of Newcastle Palestine
Solidarity Campaign. Recordings of the speeches: Chair's openingMaddy_NettleshipMick BowmanAnn SchofieldConcluding Remarks
Tyne & Wear
May Day
Photo: Chronicle Live
On Saturday, 30 April,
more than
300 people representing Trade Unions, political parties and campaign
groups took part in the Tyne & Wear May Day march from Princes
Square, Newcastle to Exhitition Park. At the park the May Day rally was
held with speakers and music. Newcastle Stop the War was represented
with activists carrying the banner on the march and the convener Roger
Nettleship speaking at the rally.
On Tuesday, March 22, at
Broadacre House, Newcastle Stop the War Coalition (NSWC) hosted a
meeting with the support of Unison Northern Region on why we should
scrap Trident. Around 20 people took part.
Clare Williams, Unison Northern Region Convener spoke about Unison's
policy and concern in the unstable world conditions created by the big
powers and their added concern against Trident. She said we need to
organise
to have a different type of world that brings peace and not war and
brings people together. She said that from a union
perspective it made no sense to say that Trident would "protect" jobs
and outlined how the whole austerity programme, which was linked to
this policy of nuclear weapons was destroying both manufacturing
and public services. She explained Unison's strategy for an alternative
to austerity. She concluded by saying there needs an atmosphere of
ongoing discussion in Unison and other unions on these issues and a
working together with Stop the war,
CND, and other organisations and utilising information and facts
from all these organisations in the future.
Alex Snowdon, Newcastle Stop the War concurred with the previous
speaker and the chair around "project fear" that was increasingly being
used to stop serious discussion of these vital issues of Trident as
well as other issues in society. There was a need to take these
issues up in the movement and he spoke about the recent mass
demonstration in London, the first for many years, which showed the
increasing opposition to the renewal of Trident. He said
especially when, you have leaders of SNP, Greens and the leader of the
opposition, Jeremy Corbyn speaking there and in Parliament against
Trident. He pointed out how Trident was totally dependent
on the US. That for the government, Trident was about
prestige and global standing. It was ludicrously expensive, dangerous
and useless in addressing the 21st century security issues. He
concluded by saying that what needed to be done was firstly to put the
arguments across, support Corbyn and campaign and lobby MPs for the
vote in Parliament and secondly to create a broader vision in the
movements of the people for peace and justice and work for a world
without endless war.
Dave Webb, Chair of CND complemented the other speakers giving some
detailed accounts of the nuclear weapons systems, the costs and the
legal frameworks. He pointed out that one submarine which was on duty
all the time could hit 40 targets with nuclear weapons and that 3
million people could be killed with one strike. He pointed that to
target civilians in war was illegal in international law and then gave
facts on how Britain was in breach of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty
it had signed by its actions to renew Trident. Talking about the costs
he said the latest figures that been worked out by a Conservative MP
and put the figure at £180 billion over 30 years, £6 billion a
year. He concluded by also calling for CND working together with
other organisations and it was agreed by all that there needed to be a
new branch of CND set up in Newcastle.
Contributions and discussion were very much focused on developing
discussion in the trade unions and in Labour Party circles and amongst
MPs as well as broadly in society. The meeting was chaired by Roger
Nettleship Convener of NSWC.
Newcastle Stop the War Annual General Meeting 2016
One of the vital future events discussed
at the AGM
Newcastle
Stop the War Coalition held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday
February 2nd.
The context of the AGM is the continuing
dangerous situation coming from the Anglo-US warmongers stepping up
their covert and overt military intervention in Syria, Iraq, Libya,
Ukraine and elsewhere using the pretext of a "war on terrorism".
Equally
dangerous is the attempt to criminalise the Muslim community and
to attack the rights of all the people in Britain under the guise of
opposing terrorism. Present at the AGM were members of Stop the
War and one guest. A new steering committee was elected and the
officers were re-elected. A report was produced on the activities
over the last year and the convener gave a report on the work of
Newcastle Stop the War Coalition over the last year which generated
some important discussion. There were no motions. The AGM then
discussed and agreed future activities for this year including
national events of Stop the War.
Join Stop the War
Newcastle demonstration
against the invasion of Afghanistan, October 2001
You can join
and/ or donate to the Stop the War
Coalition: Here
(National Website)
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Click the tab for the Mailing List and register
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On Wednesday, October 12, Newcastle Stop the War Coalition held a meeting to mark the 15th year of the Anglo-US "war on terror". Around 15 people took part with some students and staff from Newcastle University and Durham University. 
