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PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday 17 May 2006

BRIAN HAW REFUSES TO REMOVE PICTURES OF EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM

On Tuesday 16 May, 2 plain clothes police officers visited Brian Haw 'requesting' that placards depicting deformed babies in Afghanistan be removed from public view. The police had received a complaint by an adult and a child that the picutres were offensive. [A]

The pictures, which show extreme deformities, are part of a set taken by a Mohammed Daud Miraki, Director of the Afghan DU & Recovery Fund - a non-profit organisation. The Fund's purpose is to “ameliorative efforts aimed at reducing the effetcs of DU (depleted Uranium) and NDU (non-depleted uranium) caused by the US bombing of Afghanistan.” [B]

Acknowledging that the images are indeed very distressing, Mr Haw made the following statement: “I was about to read today's Times Law supplement. My face is on the front page, which was entitled "Curbing the Right to Protest". The inside story says "Time To Cry Freedom". I'm stood beside a placard stating "Face Of The Enemy In Kabul", a graphic colour photograph of a triplet born in Afghanistan, affected by our war material, depleted uranium munition. It's a tragic picture.

“A person claiming to be a CID sergeant, D.S. Robin Gaskill from Charing Cross police station asked me to remove this sign, claiming he had a complaint from a member of the public and a child, saying they found it offensive. I was very upset, outraged. I told him "Yes it's offensive. Who is the offender? Which is the crime: doing this awful thing to babies, or displaying and crying out against it? Mr. Blair is responsible for this crime. Go arrest him."

“We are not criminals for witnessing against this abomination. We will see you in court. We boomerang this complaint to the offenders, the government across the road. We are offended so much by police persecuting us as we try to stop the greatest crimes of all.”

Mr Haw remains in Parliament Square despite the Home Office winning its appeal last week making the ban on unauthorised protest around Parliament Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) apply to Mr Haw. Mr Haw was given permission by the police to continue his protest and they issued him with a list of conditions with which he must comply. The very comprehensive conditions include a limit of 3 metres on the size of Mr Haw’s display and that no article can conceal or contain other items, and they must be arranged in such a way that it is possible to tell at a glance that there are no suspicious items. As Mr Haw has not as yet complied with these conditions he has been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service and they will decide what action to take. [C]

INFORMATION AND CONTACTS
Contact 07791 486484 for more information.
www.parliament-square.org.uk

NOTES:
A. The images can be seen at:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/340346.html

B. For further information about the Afghan DU & Recovery Fund see:
http://www.afghandufund.org

C. Brian Haw started his continuous vigil opposite Parliament on 2nd June 2001 to protest against the economic sanctions that were having such a disastrous effect of people's lives in Iraq. He has continued to protest against invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. His display shows the injustice and horrors that have been suffered as a result of our government's foreign policy. Brian's message has gone out globally and people visit him from all over the world. Many have left messages of peace that now form part of his display. See www.parliament-square.org.uk for more details.