A night-long protest under tarpaulin in Parliament Square

Voices in the Wilderness UK

INTRODUCTION
According to figures compiled by the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) more than 200,000 refugees from Fallujah have yet to return and ‘many are in desperate need of aid, with temperatures in Iraq heading towards freezing’ (Reuters, 2 Dec). If and when they do return to their devastated city they will have their finger prints taken, their retinas scanned, be forced to wear special ID badges, and possibly be dragooned into ‘work battalions’ to clear the rubble created by the US assault.

We in the anti-war movement must try to highlight the plight of the Fallujah refugees: protesting against the Orwellian plans to turn Fallujah into a “model city” and demanding housing and compensation for the homeless and bereaved and war crimes prosecutions for Bush and Blair.

The press has reported that the first refugees are likely to be returned to Fallujah on Christmas Eve (24 Dec).

By Steve Clemens, Alliant Action
December 10, 2004

A jury of six women returned a verdict of “not guilty” in the trial of 4 Christian peacemakers in Minneapolis today. John and Marie Braun, Carol Masters, and Steve Clemens were charged with criminal trespass on July 21, 2004 when they attempted to enter the corporate headquarters of Alliant TechSystems in Edina, MN. The four were attempting to deliver a letter and documents to corporate officers concerning “Employee Liabilities of Weapons Manufacturers Under International Law.” After requesting to meet with one of four corporate officers, the four were arrested after they refused to leave the premises without at least an appointment to meet with them at a future date.

If convicted, the defendants could have faced up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. They chose to request a jury trial instead of accepting an offer to plead guilty in exchange for “community service”. Speaking to a jury, they felt, can help spread the word about International Law and the realities of these weapons.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune
ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 6, 2004

SAN DIEGO – A Navy petty officer opposed to the war in Iraq refused to board his ship Monday as sailors and Marines deployed for the Persian Gulf.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes, 23, said he has opposed the war since its inception. Until recently, the weapons-control technician said he did not feel he had a direct role in the war. Two weeks ago, however, he said he was involuntarily transferred to the amphibious transport USS Bonhomme Richard, which ferries Marines to Iraq.

“I don’t want to be a part of a ship that’s taking 3,000 Marines over there, knowing a hundred or more of them won’t come back,” he said. “I can’t sleep at night knowing that’s what I do for a living.”

By Peter John Meiklem
(c) The Sunday Herald, December 12, 2004

Anti-war campaigners will be urged this weekend to target Scottish military bases with a new wave of “civil disobedience” protests that could see fences cut, runways invaded and aeroplanes vandalised.

Leading figures in the Scottish anti-war movement will call for more “proactive” tactics at a meeting in Glasgow over the weekend.

Activists believe an increase in “direct action” such as blocking roads and breaking into bases will discourage politicians from supporting future military campaigns.

“The Palestinian female detainees in Telmond, among whom there are at least five aged under-18, have embarked on a hunger strike to protest against the maltreatment they have suffered at the hands of the prison administration and the appalling conditions in which they are held.”

From Defense Children International - Palestine Section
2 December 2004

(Please Note: According to a DCI/PS press release, the hunger strike was suspended on December 1. Please visit DCI/PS website or the Al-Awda website for more information).

On 30 November 2004, a DCI/PS lawyer visited the women’s section of Telmond prison where he was able to talk to one Palestinian detainee, Samah Abdallah. Samah informed him that on Sunday 28 November, the female Palestinian prisoners in Telmond went out to the exercise yard as normal. However, before the end of their allotted time outdoors, the prison administration ordered the Palestinian women and girls to return to their cells. The representative of the Palestinian female detainees, Amna Mouna, complained to the guards that it was too soon for the women to go back inside. As she did so, she was severely beaten by a group of prison guards after which she was taken to the punishment cells, which are cold bare rooms with no bedding, no heating and no natural light.