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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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-2-719427,00.html
June 20,
2003
Protesters drown out work in the Commons
By Greg Hurst, Parliamentary Correspondent
PARLIAMENT, the protector of liberty and free speech, has lost
patience with a vocal band of protesters that has set up camp
outside its gates.
MPs from across the political spectrum have joined forces to
demand police action against a handful of demonstrators armed
with megaphones who are making their working lives a misery.
Politicians, their staff and officials who open office windows
on hot summer days are harangued through loudhailers for hours
on end by campaigners opposed to the war on Iraq who have decked
Parliament Square in ragged peace banners.
The Labour MP Frank Field said: “It
is one thing to have one-off demonstrations, but I cannot see
what they are achieving.
They have got to start seriously engaging with their own MPs
and they will not do that just by shouting at us through a megaphone.”
Sir Patrick Cormack, a Conservative MP whose
office overlooks the square, said: “Their amplification is making the lives
of everyone within earshot a misery.” A Commons spokesman
said: “The House has been subjected to an incessant barrage
of noise for weeks and weeks. Everyone from Members to the police
at the gates are suffering.”
The demonstrators’ leader is Brian Haw, 54, a cabinetmaker
from Redditch in Worcestershire, who left his wife and seven
children 2½ years ago for Parliament Square, where he
sleeps under plastic sheeting. For the first few months he bore “silent
witness”, surrounded by his banners. Now he uses a megaphone
to chant and sing slogans, such as “45 minutes, Mr Blair!” and “Murder,
mass murder!” “I am trying to look after your kids,
my kids, everybody’s kids, my brothers and sisters in every
country in the world,” Mr Haw told The Times yesterday. “I
am speaking out against genocide. They are trying to use the
law to stop me speaking up for justice.” Since the Iraq
war he has been joined by a group of women protesters, who chant
through a loudhailer.
Westminster City Council sought an injunction
in the autumn to limit Mr Haw’s protests on the ground
that he was obstructing the highway. The judge refused. The
Commons authorities now want
the police to do more to curb the noise.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We
have sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service within the
past two weeks
to ask for their advice as to what we can do.”
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