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SPRING PEACE CAMP AT BRIZE NORTON : 21st - 25th
APRIL
Margaret Jones
Peace camp at Brize Norton - with the emphasis on PEACE! - and efforts
at dialogue with the fed-up soldiery - Thur 21st April - Mon 25th April.
For those who've just heard about it, this is where the British troops
are flown to Basra from. Maps and directions will follow in a week or
two.
A SOLDIER SAYS:
"He thought they shouldn't be there, they should all just be back here
because it's a war which nobody knows why it was started or what it was
done for.... We are all absolutely devastated." Craig Lowe, a young
soldier said this, of his older brother Paul, killed last year while
with the Black Watch in Iraq.
Such thoughts, coming from soldiers' families - and even from soldiers
themselves - made some of us here in Bristol think that we and they
might have things to talk about - even, possibly, aims in common. With
this in mind, a group of us have decided to visit one of the main air
force bases for flying British troops to Iraq, and to set up a temporary
peace camp there.
Brize Norton in Oxfordshire is the largest Royal Air Force base in
Britain. UK troops are flown from there direct to Basra. And this is
where the coffins come back to. We would like a few campers to go to
Brize in April for four to five days - for two reasons:
WHY WE SHOULD DO THIS:
1) To reach out to the military personnel, and to people in the nearby
town of Carterton. We don't want to accuse and condemn - rather to try
and enter into some kind of dialogue with anyone willing to talk with
us. At Brize, we will mainly be dealing with RAF personnel - 60 per cent
of whom are said to have been opposed to the 2003 assault on Iraq, in
the first place. But we may also get the chance to talk directly with
soldiers bound for Basra. One member of our group has proposed a
newsletter, making the points about the non-existence of Weapons of Mass
Destruction, the anger among soldiers' families, and the terrible
destruction and death caused to innocent Iraqis. We would want to
discuss our opposition to Blair's collusion with the present régime in
the United States, and how British troops have been drawn into doing its
dirty work.
2) To focus a spotlight, so to speak, on where the planes take off from,
carrying soldiers to take part in the ongoing occupation of Iraq. We
intend to invite the media, to hold a peace march past the base, and to
organise a few non-violent "stunts" - large effigy of Tony Blair, etc.
Whatever people can come up with that is peaceful, non-confrontational
and creative. We need a group of really sorted people for this one - and
to discourage anyone from coming who just might not be able to handle
their drink. So please, no alcohol or other drugs (legal or otherwise),
on site. And no dogs. Nothing to be carried near the fences or around
the military that could be interpreted as a weapon. (Experience has
shown that this is far the best way to keep it a well-organised place,
full of dependable people.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
So far, we've had offers of support from Somerset, Swindon, East Anglia,
London, and from Oxfordshire itself. If you think this as worthwhile a
project as we do - please get in touch.
We're going to need: camping gear of all sorts, help with transport,
help with getting the word out, creative non-violent ideas for stunts
and outreach - artists, publicity people, banners, musicians ....... We
could use help with collecting the camping gear, with leafleting and
banner making, and with transport - both before and during the camp.
Also with construction of a giant statue of Tony Blair!
E-mail Margaret
Jones: Nabataat@yahoo.co.uk
Please
remember, this will be a "no drugs, no alcohol, no dogs - and of course
no weapons" - camp. (This is the best way we know of keeping things safe
and peaceful for everyone, and of deterring those who think protest
camps are the equivalent of a drunken weekend in Amsterdam!)
January 2005 |
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