50,000 march in London

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

(posted to alt.politics.socialism.trotsky by Alex Prianikoff)

London, 13th October

50,000 people marched here today, in a demonstration against the War.
The March, originally organised by the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament, but swelled by large numbers of Stop the War Coalition,
Muslim, Green and Union contingents, set off from Hyde Park in warm
Autumn sunshine for a rally in Trafalgar Square.

There were large numbers of young people present as well as trade
union banners from UNISON, CWU, NUT and NATFHE amongst others. In
Friday's "Guardian", Mick Rix of the RMT and 38 other leading trade
union officers issued an anti-war statement, which has prompted
several unions to issue statements of their own.

A significant number of Muslim demonstrators were on the
demonstration, with a mixture of slogans and banners. Most were quite
happy to pick up "Stop the War" coalition placards and mix freely
with leftist contingents. Some 600 had come down from Birmingham
alone, with over 200 left behind because coaches were full.

Speeches at Trafalgar Square, which was packed to overflowing,
reflected a broad range of political opinion, including Labour MP
Alan Simpson's call for an International Criminal court, pacifists,
Greens, socialists and anti-imperialists.

Considering the constant press barrage that has affected Britain
since the WTC attack, there was a remarkable lack of hostility to the
march from bystanders. Indeed , the only demonstrable reactions
seemed to be supportive ones, indicating that the gap between the
public perception of these events and their media treatment is
enormous.

Tonight's BBC News coverage of the march, gave a figure of 20,000 for
the attendance, which was undoubtedly a massive underestimate.

Meanwhile, the Stop the War Coalition has been able to organise
regular weekly meetings which bring together a wide range of
organisations and has initiated work in the unions to win them to
anti-war positions.

A.P.

--
Louis Proyect, lnp3@xxxxxxxxx on 10/13/2001

Marxism list: http://www.marxmail.org


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