[Guardian]

Thousands in UK demos over attacks
Press Association
Saturday July 22, 2006 2:28 PM


Thousands of people around the country demonstrated against the Israeli military action in Lebanon.

Rallies took place in London and other major cities organised by the main Muslim groups and the Stop The War Coalition.

In London police estimated that about 7,000 people began a march from Whitehall through the centre of the West End, past the United States Embassy and on to Hyde Park.

Figures at the front of the protest included leaders of organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain and anti-war campaigners like Respect MP George Galloway and writer Tariq Ali.

The vast majority of demonstrators, which included men, women and children, shouted slogans such as "Peace for Lebanon" while carrying banners and a Lebanese national flag.

However, a handful of more boisterous protestors chanted "Hezbollah" and "Down down with Israel".

Among the people marching was Alex Pereira, the cousin of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead by police officers at Stockwell tube station a year ago. He was joined by the two brothers arrested by police following a controversial raid on their house in Forest Gate, east London, earlier this year.

By the time the London protest moved past the US embassy the numbers of demonstrators appeared to have swelled.

At least 50 uniformed police officers stood in the line guarding the entrance to the embassy while metal barricades also prevented the march from accessing the main door.

At one point a group of around a dozen protestors burst from the side of the march and pulled down several of the metal barriers in an apparent attempt to get closer to the building. Some police officers immediately rushed over but did not appear to arrest anyone, despite several bottles also being thrown at the embassy.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved.

http://www.guardian....klatest/story/0,,-5967887,00.html

[Guardian]

LEBANON VS. THE BBC
Sarah Meyer, INDEX RESEARCH

23rd July 2006
INDEX RESEARCH


On 22 July, I joined two Iraqi friends for the peaceful London demonstration for "END ISRAEL'S BARBARISM NOW," organised by Stop the War.

The BBC said: "Police estimated that 7,000 people took part in the London rally but organisers said more than 20,000 people had attended the march from Whitehall to Hyde Park." Both BBC-given estimates are wrong.

The UK police consistently underestimate crowd size if a demonstration is against UK government policy. The BBC's quote of the organisers is wrong. Stop the War said 30,000 were present. Some said more.

The demonstration story is, in any case, buried underneath the headlined story: Rally offers support to Israelis. "A rally is being held to show solidarity with people in areas of northern Israel caught up in the crisis in the Middle East."

The BBC thus makes its support of UK (US / Israeli) Government policy, in which the bombing of Lebanon is accepted, abundantly clear. This is a disgrace. UK citizens should not have to pay exorbitant license fees to a biased organization. This bias has been evident since the beginning of the Iraq war. Everyone concerned should refuse to pay this fee.

Mainstream Media 'transparency’ is not evident in the disparate numbers of people killed, either. In the Gaza offensive following the missing Israeli soldier, which began on 5 July, at least 106 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have now been killed. And on 22 July, the AP wire said: At Least 372 Dead in Lebanon, 34 in Israel. Meanwhile, the US sends more bombs to Israel. These bombs appear to wreak the same human horrors as the phosphorus bombs used in Fallujah, Iraq. But As Safir Newspaper has asked: Do you know what kind of weapons causes this damage?

Protocol I, Article 85, Section 3 of the Geneva Convention: "An indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population or civilian objects and resulting in excessive loss of life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions."

The time has come for a war crimes tribunal on the US government and its 'War on Terror’. Lebanon is yet another step in America’s 'March Against Freedom and Democracy’ for the benefit of US corporate control of resources and vast profits from the arms trade and its subcontractors.


The url to Lebanon vs. The BBC Is: http://indexresearch...non-vs-bbc.html

Sarah Meyer is a researcher living in Sussex, UK.
Email: sarahmeyer@fastnet.co.uk

http://www.uruknet.i...&...size=1&hd=0

[Guardian]

George Galloway Speech at the London Rally

[Bilaal]

mashallah that was a good speech. so its illegal to say hizbullah is not a terrorist group? if galloway was taken to court for that he would do a great job making fools of the prosecution just like he did to the senate commision

[Jennah]

Good speech, good pictures, good to see so many rally..however, is any of it making a difference yet? This is what I would like to know?

[Servant of Mehdi]

bismillah

salaam

I agree, It is refreshing when you hear it from a western politician.

[Ali_Imran]

Pics that I took:

[Zuljenah]

^ Awesome. You went to the protest in London? That's so cool. I wish I were in London and could've gone!!