At least 100,000 protesters marched through Central London Saturday to demand British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush halt Israel’s deadly onslaught against Lebanon.
The demonstration, led by prominent figures of trade unions and peace organizations, started from Hyde Park, passing the US embassy and Blair’s office where protesters - shouting “Hands off Lebanon”, “Ceasefire now”, “Bush the terrorist” and “We want justice we want peace”- stopped for few minutes to express their anger at the government’s stance in Lebanon conflict by piling children’s shoes to Blair’s residence to protest the killings of children in Lebanon.
Marchers handed in a petition bearing 40,000 signatures, urging Blair to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
Protestor Damian Anderson, an advertising manager who lives in London, said “how can Blair and Bush not call for a ceasefire when hundreds of civilians are being killed in Lebanon? They have got to stop this genocide. I feel really disappointed by our leader who doesn’t listen to his people anymore.”
Demonstrations gathered in Parliament Square to listen to voices of prominent figures such as British MP George Galloway and anti-war activist Bianca Jagger who blasted both US and British “biased” stance towards Israeli aggression against Lebanon and demanded immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Lebanon.
Stop the War spokesman John Rees said that the protest was to hammer home a message to Blair.
"It's about telling the British and US governments that we want an unconditional ceasefire. We're the people who have the power to stop the Israelis in Lebanon," he insisted.
"Their silence is permitting mass murder in Lebanon by the Israeli forces. Look at the casualties: it's eight to one," he added.
Salma Yaqoob, chairwoman of Stop the War in Britain's second city of Birmingham, said: "We're here to protest because of Israel's attack in Lebanon and the fact that Britain, America and Israel are on one side and 160 countries are on the other side."
In an exclusive interview with Middle East Online, Sabah Al-Mukhtar, board member of the Arab Anglo Organization (AAO) who was supporting the demonstration, said “our organization wrote a letter to Blair, G8 leaders and the United Nations explaining our stance in the Lebanese conflict.”
“This is the first in history that a war is going on while G8 leaders are trying to find an excuse to sort out the details of a ceasefire,” Mukhtar noted.
“There is a deliberate policy, supported by Britain, which allows Israel to impose facts on the ground by occupying Lebanon’s territories. AAO has taken a stand on many issues including the humanitarian one that is affecting the Arab land.
“Britain must be up to its ethical foreign policy, calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon. Britain has a moral role to play in the Middle East, and should stop hiding behind technical issues like agreeing details before a ceasefire. Blair must act to prevent the slaughter of innocent people in both Lebanon and Gaza Strip, the destruction of Lebanese infrastructure,” he added.
AAO was established early 2003 with an interest in promoting Anglo-Arab relations in various economic, social and cultural aspects.
Stop the War Coalition, the British Muslim Initiative, CND, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Lebanese community associations, the British Muslim Council and the Islamic Human Rights Commission organized the demonstration.
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