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STOP THE WAR COALITION www.stopwar.org.uk Tel 020 7278 6694 BULLETIN FOR LOCAL GROUPS AND AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS 1 February 2007 IN THIS BULLETIN: 1) BUSH ESCALATES IRAQ WAR AND IRAN THREATS 2) FEB 24: LEAFLETS, POSTERS, STICKERS 3) FEB 24: COACHES 4) FEB 24: MEETINGS AND RALLIES 5) FEB 15: LONDON TROOPS OUT RALLY 6) MUSLIM NETWORK 7) SCOTTISH STW CONFERENCE ********************************* 1) BUILDING SUPPORT FOR FEB 24 STW/CND DEMO The Iraq nightmare worsens. Bush faces a political crisis for his plans to escalate the war, with the US anti-war movement holding its biggest demonstrations since 2003. The clock seems to be ticking for an attack on Iran, as a desperate attempt by Bush to use more war to deflect attention away from the catastrophic Bush-Blair wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a pivotal moment for maximising the pressure to make Blair break his slavish support for US warmongering. Even hitherto pro-war Labour ministers like Harriet Harman and Margaret Hodge are breaking ranks with the Blair war agenda. The Liberal Democrats have become the first of the main parties in parliament to call for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. The coming weeks are crucial for our response to the crisis facing both Bush and Blair. The signs are the Troops Out Now / No to Trident demonstration on 24 February will be very big, with coaches already booked around the country. There are so many meetings and rallies being held to build support for the demonstration that our national speakers are travelling the length and breadth of the country to meet the demand. As always, we don't want anyone saying after the demonstration that they weren't on it because they didn't know about it. See below for details of the resources we now have available to enable the widest possible publicity. NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION SAT 24 FEBRUARY 12 NOON NO TRIDENT - TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ ASSEMBLE HYDE PARK MARCH TO TRAFALGAR SQUARE Details: http://tinyurl.com/y9c7z5 ********************************* 2) FEB 24: LEAFLETS, POSTERS, STICKERS *POSTERS: David Gentleman has designed two of his trademark bloodspot posters for publicising the 25 February, with the slogans Troops Out and Stop Trident. These are now available from the national office in two sizes: The usual A2 format and the smaller A3 size, which can be used for shops, notice boards etc. The price is £10 for 100 A2 size and £5 for 100 A3. We need to get these displayed everywhere we can so the details of the demonstration are as visible as possible. Place your order now. Phone 020 7278 6694 *LEAFLETS: A quarter of a million leaflets have already been distributed by the national office. Tube leafleting in London is already being organised systematically by some London groups. Mosques and colleges in some areas are being leafleted regularly. We need to extend this activity to every town we can. There is an enormous anti-war constituency which will respond to the two main themes of the demonstration, if they get the information. Order your leaflets now and the office will get them to you quickly, usually sending them on the day of the order. London groups should collect from the office. PRICE £10 per 1000 LEAFLETS. Phone 020 7278 6694 *STICKERS: We have ordered twice as many stickers as usual because they have been so popular in the past. These also have David Gentleman's bloodspot designs and will be very effective. PRICE £3 PER 100. Phone 020 7278 6694 ********************************* 3) FEB 24: COACHES The level of coach bookings for 24 February is very encouraging, with every area of England and Wales now covered (Scotland has its own demonstration on that day). If your group hasn't yet booked a coach, organise one now and send the details to the Stop the War office for publicising on our website. IF YOU HAVE BOOKED A COACH AND IT ISN'T LISTED BELOW, SEND US THE DETAILS NOW. THE CURRENT LIST IS: Bangor, Barrow, Bath, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol,Burnley, Calderdale, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cardiff (Penarth), Chester, Chesterfield, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Dudley, Exeter, Greenodd, Halifax, Hereford, Huddersfield, Kent, Lancaster, Leeds, Leeds University, Leicester, Ley, Liverpool, Manchester, Manchester Met Uni, Newport (S Wales), Norwich, Nottingham, Pendle, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Redditch, Sheffield, Southend, Swansea, Tyneside, Ulverston, Walsall, Warwick Uni, Worcester, Yeovil & Sherbourne, York. TO KEEP INFORMED OF COACHES BOOKED, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/3ytfyv ********************************* 4) FEB 24: MEETINGS AND RALLIES Another encouraging sign for 24 February is the number of meetings and rallies taking place round the country and already we're getting reports of high attendances. There's still time to organise a public meeting in your area, The national office will do all it can to help you get national speakers for your event. Past experience tells us that the local public meetings and rallies are crucial for building support for demonstrations and for helping local groups to draw people into regular activity. If you have organised a meeting which is not publicised on the website EVENTS page, send the details to the office. ********************************* 5) FEB 15: ALL-LONDON TROOPS OUT RALLY There is an all-London rally organised for Thursday 15 February, with speakers including Tony Benn, George Galloway MP and John McDonnell MP, who will be a candidate in the Labour Party election for Blair's successor. The national office has leaflets and posters available for this event. All London STW groups should arrange to collect these for distribution in their area. THURSDAY 15 FEB: RALLY 7PM TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ SPEAKERS: Tony Benn, George Galloway Respect MP, John McDonnell Labour MP. Sophie Bolt Vice-chair CND, Lindsey German StWC, BMI Speaker FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, EUSTON ROAD, WC1 ********************************* 6) MUSLIM NETWORK As politicians and some sections of the media intensify Islamaphobic attacks, a new Muslim network has been initiated by Stop the War to help strengthen anti-war organisation in Muslim communities and co-ordination between Muslims and non-Muslims in the movement. Please spread the word about the launch in your group. The launch document and sign up sheet are available on the Stop the War website: http://tinyurl.com/2bvlc3 There are two launch meetings organised: NORTH WEST LAUNCH MEETING SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY, 2PM AT FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, 6, MOUNT STREET, MANCHESTER M2. LONDON LAUNCH MEETING SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY 3PM TOYNBEE HALL, COMMERCIAL STREET EC1, ALDGATE EAST TUBE For more information contact Aisha Ali on 07957 653 469 or Nahella Ashraf on 07976 616 091 or email: muslimnetwork@stopwar.org.uk. ********************************* 7) SCOTTISH STW CONFERENCE On Saturday 10 February, Scottish Stop the War Coalition is organising a national conference, which has attracted very broad support and an impressive list of speakers. Full details and how to get tickets are on the Stop the War website, here: http://tinyurl.com/y76w6w |
