As long as it takes
"I want to go back to my own kids and look them in the face again knowing that I've done all I can to try and save the children of Iraq and other countries who are dying because of my government's unjust, amoral, fear - and money - driven policies. These children and people of other countries are every bit as valuable and worthy of love as my precious wife and children."
How many must die?
Brian started his 24/7 vigil in 2001 to protest about the suffering of Iraqis during the 1990s because of economic sanctions. He continues because of all those who have, and continue, to suffer as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. In Oct 2004 The Lancet estimated that 100,000 Iraqis have died. In Oct 2006 it was estimated that 655,000 people have died in Iraq as a result of the 2003 invasion (see more here). And how many millions of other lives have been blighted for ever?
Send Brian a postcard of support c/o Parliament Square, London SW1A
This photo was taken by Gemma Day in Dec 04 for an Independent on Sunday article. See all media articles
Mark Thomas, comedian and campaigner, 2004
" ...Now they wish to evict Brian from his place of protest. Maybe because he is an embarrassment to such a war mongering government. Whatever their reason it is wrong. A democracy that can not stand one man and some placards outside its front doors doesn't seem to have much faith in itself. That is why I support Brian for Parliament."
The heroic Brian Haw
Letter in The Independent, 2 Aug 05
Sir: Brian Haw has struck a major blow for international peace in his passive defiance of government aggression in the face of his peace protest (report, 30 July). I cannot think of anyone who has sacrificed as much as he has on a personal level in the cause of peace in this country and I would like to see him being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Andrew Stephenson, Newhaven, East Sussex
Jenny Jones, GLA Green Party Gp, 23 May 06
"In my view, Brian is doing us all an amazing service. He is the visible presence of widespread opposition to the aggression on Iraq and a constant reminder to both the Blairs (PM and Met Commissioner) that this government is out of touch with the people it wants to govern. If Brian is moved, it means a loss of civil liberties that will diminish the whole of society."
Brian shortlisted for Human Rights Award
"For outstanding commitment to justice by maintaining constant vigil outside parliament demanding respect for the human rights of those in other countries. For tireless and passionate defence of freedom of speech."
The 2005 award is organised by the human rights campaigning organisation Liberty and Justice and The Law Society and is sponsored by the Bar Council. See here.
John McDonnell MP
'The Government will be passing power to one part of the state to control demonstrations in a way that we have never known before in the history of this country. Tonight, we are seeing a small but significant part of our democratic tradition being chiselled away. Why? Because one person out there has the moral authority, the guts, the tenacity and the courage to stand in Parliament square for several years telling us what we did wrong in this House by authorising a war. Part of the motivation behind this legislation is that some people cannot come to terms with the illegality and immorality of their actions in this place. We should be supporting that democratic voice out there, and the right of that individual to voice his concerns in this way—near to us.
Commons debate in Feb 05 on the passing of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) which banned unauthorised protest near Parliament. See more
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return to articles
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1376677,00.html
from The good and the bad
The Observer, 19 December 2004
Brian Haw
A new law aims to end his one-man protest in parliament square.
By
Tom Templeton
Brian Haw, 55, is facing his fourth Christmas on the pavement
opposite the Houses of Parliament, surrounded by placards showing
a fraction of the toll that two wars and 13 years of sanctions
have taken on the children of Iraq. Bodies mangled by hunger, depleted
uranium cancers, and live ammunition: bunker busters, daisycutters,
cruise missiles, snipers, machine guns and pistols.
During his 1,309 days of protest, Haw has been assaulted three
times by members of the public, had his display ripped down by
the police and survived an attempt by Westminster council to evict
him. The verbal insults come every day.
He's been sleeping under a green tarp since he left his wife and
children behind in Worcestershire over 'a genocide too far' in
the summer of 2001. At first, it was the sanctions that caused
more than a million deaths in Iraq, then the invasion that The
Lancet reported has probably killed 100,000 civilians. As a Christian,
he cannot understand the Prime Minister's brand of faith. 'Blair,
murderer: repent and you will be saved,' he tells him through his
loudspeaker.
Passers-by, tourists, students and schoolchildren end up conversing
with Haw, whose evangelical poetry is smattered with Descartes,
Churchill, Donovan and the Bible.
Haw's dad was a sniper in the Second World War who liberated Belsen,
then gassed himself 20 years later. And Haw himself was in Northern
Ireland as the Troubles started, in Cambodia protesting against
the killing fields, and in Berlin when the wall fell.
Now David Blunkett is tacking a law on to the new Serious Organised
Crime Bill just to get rid of him - 'a sledgehammer to crack a
nut,' he jokes. 'We could feed and water everyone hungry in the
world for a 15th of what we spend on arms each year. That's kind
of consistent with sanity, isn't it?' the 'nut' asks.
Some teenagers wander over to express doubt about the UK helping
defend nuclear behemoth America against a Third World country.
'Aren't they wonderful? Makes me want to cry,' says Haw.
Asked why he has put himself on the street, risking hatred, violence
and a devastating separation from his family, Haw quotes Martin
Luther, 'I can do no other.'
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