Creative-i

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1) COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU
2) RESISTANCE ON THE ROAD: G20/NATO/CAIRO CONFERENCE
3) CALLING ALL LONDON STUDENTS
4) DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

1) COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA-END THE WAR ON TERROR
The Stop the War Coalition is going on the road. We are organising meetings in towns and cities up and down the country, with speakers including Palestinians, activists, representatives of the Muslim community and well known figures such as Tony Benn, Bruce Kent and Jeremy Corbyn. The title of the meetings is ‘Solidarity with Gaza, end the war on terror’ and they are aimed to sustain the momentum of the mass movement round Palestine while mobilising for the week of protests around the G20 and NATO in early April. Below is a list of meetings already booked. More are being organised. If you would like a meeting in your area, please let us know. We will provide speakers and help you to organise and publicise it.

RALLIES: SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA – END THE WAR ON TERROR

Blackburn: 13th March. More information: 0207 278 6694

Brighton: 13th March with Tony Benn & Andrew Murray + others tbc 7.30pm, The Metropole Hotel, Sea Front. More information: 07962 940 355

Bristol: 6th March with Tony Benn, Dr Mohammed Odeh, Farooq Siddique, Hiba Ayyad, Rawan Abu Amriyeh & Chris Nineham. 7.30 pm, The City Academy, Russell Town Avenue, Bristol, BS5 9JH. More information: bristolstopwar@hotmail.com

Doncaster: 3rd March with Lindsey German & Andrew Murray. More information: 0207 278 6694.

Ealing: 6th March with Lindsey German, Maryam Abu Dayya (activist from Gaza) 19.30, Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway W5. More information: ealingstopwar@gmail.com

Hackney: 2nd March: No to Nato Get out of Afghanistan with Tony Benn; Gan Majicek – No to Bases Initiative, Czech Republic; Lindsey German; Haci Ozdemir – Refugee Workers Quarter Association. Abney Hall, 73a Stoke Newington Church St, N16. Entry: £2. More information: 07932 714 833

Haringey: 19th March with Lindsey German & more tbc. More information: 020 72786694.

Kings Lynn: 18th March with Lindsey German 7.30, Friends Meeting House, 38 Bridge St, Kings Lynn More information: 01366 500 799

Ladbroke Grove: March 26th with Andrew Murray, Tony Benn and others. Notting Hill Arts Centre. More information Julie 07738 455632

Lambeth: 21st March, An afternoon on Palestine

Middlesbrough: 10th March with John Rees & Andrew Murray. St Mary’s Centre, Corporation Road, Middlesborough. More information: 0207 278 6694

Newcastle: 9th March with Jeremy Corbyn MP & John Rees More information: 0207 278 6694

Rotherham: 23rd February with Kate Hudson & Andrew Murray

Sheffield: 11th March with Bruce Kent CND, Muhammed Ali – Islam Channel, Lindsey German. More information: 0207 278 6694.

Yeovil & Sherborne: 5th March with Chris Nineham Unity Hall, Central Road, Yeovil (opposite the bus station) More information: John on 01935 873 028

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2) RESISTANCE ON THE ROAD MARCH 27TH – APRIL 5TH

– PROTEST AT THE G20 IN LONDON.
Demonstrate Wednesday April 1st Central London. Protest at the summit Thursday April 2nd.

The leaders of the world’s big powers will meet at the G20 summit in London on April 2. It is Barack Obama’s first visit to Britain. It is our chance to demand a change from Bush’s war policies. The Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The British Muslim Initiative, and CND have called two protests at the G20; a march and rally in central London on the afternoon of April 1st, and a protest to the conference itself on April 2nd. In the afternoon of April 1st we will be marching through Central London while Barack Obama speaks to Parliament. On Thursday morning we will be protesting to the summit itself at the Excel Centre in East London.

Our message will be ‘Yes We Can’. Yes we can end the siege of Gaza and free Palestine, get the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, make jobs not bombs, abolish nukes, stop arming Israel.

- NO TO NATO, STRASBOURG 1-5 April
The international anti war movement has called a series of protests at the NATO summit in Strasbourg in France. There will be a massive international demonstration on Saturday 4th. Among other things the demo will be demanding all foreign troops out of Afghanistan.

There will be blockades of the conference on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th and a counter summit that ends on Sunday 5th. Noam Chomsky and Tariq Ali will be among the speakers.

Stop the War is organising a British contingent leaving on the morning of Friday 3rd April. To book your seat on a Stop the War coach go to http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=823&Itemid=216 For more information go to http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=812&Itemid=1

Stop Press: NATO tries to halt Strasbourg demonstration

NATO and the French authorities are threatening to ban the international ‘No to NATO, No to War’ demonstration in Strasbourg on Saturday 4 April. NATO’s 60th anniversary meeting will be held inside a Red Zone that encompasses the whole of the city centre. Even Strasbourg residents will need a special pass to come and go in their own city. Now the authorities are threatening to exclude the international peace demonstration from the city. The international coalition calling the demonstration are organising a wave of protest at this attack on the right to demonstrate. Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/nato/petition.html
Write to the President of France at http://www.elysee.fr/ecrire/

- CAIRO CONFERENCE March 27/28/29, Cairo

For seven years the Cairo Conference has been a vital meeting place for those fighting against war and occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and beyond. It brings together activists from the Middle East and the international anti war movements. Participants include trade unionists, activists from the national liberation movements, and representatives from all the radical parties.

Direct flights are available with BA for under £300 & there is a wide range of inexpensive accommodation in Cairo.

For more information please phone Stop the War or e-mail cairoconference@stopwar.org.uk

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3) CALLING ALL LONDON STUDENTS

London Student Activist Meeting Tuesday 24 February, 5pm, Kings SU, Guys Campus, Nearest tube London Bridge

The incredible wave of ocupations continues. UEL, St. Andrews and University of West England have all occupied in the last week. The occupation of New York University was directly inspired by actions taken by British students. Most of the occupations so far have been victorious, with demands met including scholarships for Palestinian students, aid to Gaza and statements from Universities condemning Israel’s barbaric attack.

There will be a student activist meeting, open to all students who want to take action over Gaza, on Tuesday 24 February, 5pm, at the Students Union at Guys Campus of Kings College. Nearest tube London Bridge.

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4) DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

-’Benefit Gaza’ – Unity For The Innocent Victims of War – will take place on Saturday 28th at The Cockpit Theatre, NW8

‘Benefit Gaza’ will feature Comedy Store performers such David Whitney, author John Rose, music from Aruba Red, Robb Johnson and Clare Mooney, readings from leading actors such as Neil D’Souza (National Theatre), Angus Lindsay (Complicite) Doug Rao (DS Turner in the The Bill) and many more including up and coming stand up Nathan Caton ( Little Miss Jocelyn)

Tickets cost £15 or £12 concessions. All proceeds will go to MAP and the Rachel Corrie Foundation. There are limited tickets so we strongly urge booking online or reserving via email.

- A Stop the War benefit – The premiere of a new play A reading of THE TRAINER with Tim Pigott-Smith, Corin Redgrave and others to be announced. By David Wilson and Anne Aylor (Advisor, Keith Burstein) Friday 6 March, 7.30 pm @ Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 6HG nearest tube: Bethnal Green.

The Trainer is a rehearsed reading of a play with two strands. One concerning the composer Keith Burstein who sued the Evening Standard after being accused of ‘glorifying’ terror in his opera, ‘Manifest Destiny’. The other strand concerns Leila, the young Palestinian gym-trainer of the judges in Burstein’s court of appeal. This is a black surreal comedy about the terror laws that have descended into farce.

Tickets £5 available on the web (www.stopwar.org.uk) or pay by credit card (020 7278 6694) If paying by cheque send to Stop the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP and mark ‘trainer’. Please enclose a return address for your tickets.

- Stop the War Annual Conference Saturday April 25th, Camden Community School, Euston, London. An opportunity to discuss the nature of the War on Terror after Bush and how the movement should respond.

Email office@stopwar.org.uk

Tel: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk