Iraq 2002 - news archive

"PEACE campaigners in Swindon have enlisted the help of a rebel Labour MP to drum up support for their campaign against a possible war on Iraq. Swindon's Stop the War Coalition has invited anti-war campaigner George Galloway to address a public meeting in the town, after the UN voted unanimously to adopt a resolution approving tough new conditions for weapons inspections in Iraq."

"ANTI-WAR protesters from Swindon packed two coaches to join the Don't Attack Iraq demonstration in London's Hyde Park. More than 100 people, including parents with children, religious leaders, members of socialist political groups and teenagers, waited outside Swindon College with placards in hand for their transport."

"Those trying to organise against the might of western government, with its spin culture, face a difficult challenge; Tony Blair and George Bush have the budgets and determination to wage a propaganda war of phenomenal proportions. The Pentagon was recently forced to backtrack on plans to leak misinformation to the foreign press, but is nonetheless working in collusion with Hollywood and news broadcasters to promote its war on terror. Demonstrations, on the other hand, receive no build-up in the press and little or no coverage after the event. The scale of protest is a fantastic achievement for a movement in its infancy faced with a media blackout. Historically, as war breaks out, anti-war opposition increases. When the conflict comes to an end, the movement dies. Bush has declared that this war is "only just beginning", and the peace movement is similarly preparing for a long haul."