Bring The Troops Home - Demonstration - 20/9/2008

bristol | peace | press release Monday September 01, 2008 12:28 by info@bristolstopwar

The Labour Party Conference takes place in Manchester at the end of September. Gordon Brown and his government are increasingly unpopular not least because of their refusal to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and stop supporting the policies of the US government. Stop The War and CND are organising a demonstration in Manchester on Saturday 20th September to call for the troops to be brought home – we want a change of policy irrespective of who is prime minister.

There will be coaches from Bristol leaving at 8.15am from Anchor Rd (opposite @Bristol)

For a map see: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|bs1%205db

Tickets £14 waged, £7 unwaged. To reserve a ticket please email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com giving your name, address & phone number.

For further information email bristolstopwar@hotmail.com.

The events in Georgia in the last few weeks and the breathtakingly hypocritical response of the USA and British governments increase the importance of this demonstration.

Nationally, Stop The War have issued a statement on Georgia - http://tinyurl.com/6jxtww

Tony Benn (President of Stop the War) says:

“War in the Caucasus has highlighted the growing danger of war spreading. Seven years after the start of the war on terror, occupation continues to bring misery to Iraq and Afghanistan, but the consequences of the war are spreading. US policy of expanding NATO eastwards has been an important feature of the conflict between Russia and Georgia, as has the West's desire to control the oil and other natural resources of the region.

The British government continues its uncritical support for George Bush, with foreign minister David Miliband echoing Bush's claim that invading other people's countries is not acceptable in the 21st century. Their hypocrisy is staggering.

The war on terror has been a failure and the majority of people in Britain want the British troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their view is matched by the majority of citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan, where high levels of violence, death, refugees and lack of basic facilities are all part of everyday life for millions. Despite all this, the US is stepping up its threats against Iran.

When he came to office, Gordon Brown promised to plan troop withdrawal from Iraq. He has reneged on that promise. We are demonstrating in Manchester to make clear we want to stop
war spreading and we want all the troops home now. We urge you to join us.”