Peace message travels from Littleborough to Lisbon

Pat Sanchez and Rae Street set off from a cold Littleborough railway station on the evening of Wednesday 17 November 2010 and travelled to Lisbon by rail through the following night via France and Spain.

They arrived in the relative warmth and sunshine of the Portuguese capital at about the same time as NATO leaders laid out their plans to continue the war in Afghanistan until at least 2015.

In Lisbon, they joined other international delegates and protesters, including Jeremy Corbyn MP and CND national chair, Dave Webb in condemning NATO's decision to continue with its military occupation of Afghanistan, its policy of 'first use' of nuclear weapons and plans to spend tens of £billions on developing a so-called 'missile defence system'. They called for an immediate end to NATO's war in Afghanistan, an end to NATO expansion and for British withdrawal from the military alliance.

Pat Sanchez said: "We attended an inspiring conference that offered us a vision of the peaceful future we are all working for. People from many nations are working together against NATO's policies and were horrified by the latest the communiqué about that organisation's New Strategic Concept. Its contents made us more aware than ever that NATO's policies are no way to peace, but will bring greater dangers to the world.

“We are outraged that NATO is doing nothing further Obama's claimed vision of a nuclear free world, while their announcements lead us to suspect that the real plan is to develop new nuclear weapons and to share these amongst the previously nuclear-free states that have joined NATO in recent years.

“The US are now trying to include even Russia in their 'Star Wars' plans. Through NATO, they are trying to disguise attempts to gain even greater military dominance over the world, but we are confident that the peoples of the world will see through this subterfuge. We know that a 'Star Wars' missile system will not bring peace. We know that nuclear weapons will not bring peace. And we shall continue to resist the immoral squandering of tens of £billions on preparations for war.

“This is money that needs instead to be invested in education, in health and in alleviating poverty in Rochdale, in Britain and across the world.”

Afghanistan: Time to Go. Cut War Not Welfare. No to NATO

Rochdale peace campaigners joined national and international protests in London and Lisbon on Saturday (20 November 2010) calling for an immediate end to NATO's war in Afghanistan. The distinctive Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group banner was prominent in the crowds on the national 'Afghanistan: Time to Go' march from Hyde Park, while Pat Sanchez and Rae Street took their 'No to NATO' message all the way to the NATO summit in Portugal.

Philip Gilligan held a placard with the message 'Rochdale says Support our troops. BRING THEM HOME!!' in Trafalgar Square, while listening to speeches from former soldier Joe Glenton imprisoned earlier this year for refusing to return to fight in Afghanistan; other members of Military Families Against the War, whose sons, daughters and partners have been killed or are still serving there and from speakers highlighting the fact that the war in Afghanistan costs the country £5billion per year.

Philip Gilligan said,

"NATO's disastrous war is destroying lives and costing money. During the last few days, we have heard of the death of the 100th British soldier to die during 2010 and have, again, heard military experts tell us that this war is unwinnable. The governments of Blair, Brown, Cameron and Clegg have been sending our young men and women to be killed and to kill in Afghanistan for nine years, but nothing has been achieved beyond propping-up a notoriously corrupt regime in Kabul.

At a time when health services are being withdrawn from our town, when our council is planning to cut £50million from services and put 900 people at risk of losing their jobs and when many young people are to be priced-out of a university education because of increased tuition fees, it seems that the government can still find £5billion a year to spend on a futile war they know cannot be won and know is opposed by the overwhelming majority of the British public.

David Cameron meeting with other NATO leaders in Lisbon, now, tells us that the plan is for British troops to continue to be sent to Afghanistan to kill and be killed, there, at least until 2015. He is expecting us to accept another four years of pointless deaths, destruction and injuries, simply to save him and others from needing to admit that it was a mistake to invade Afghanistan in the first place. This disaster has already gone on for far too long. It needs to be stopped now. Our troops need to be brought home in 2010; not at some date in the distant future, by which time many more Afghan civilians and many more NATO troops will have died needlessly, just so the politicians responsible can save face."

Peace Group says 'Bring Them Home!'

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group called for British troops to be brought home from Afghanistan and for an end to NATO's war when they leafleted in Rochdale town centre on Saturday, 13 November 2010. They urged people to join them on the forthcoming 'Afghanistan: Time to Go' demonstration called by the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the British Muslim Initiative to demand an end to NATO's occupation.

They collected signatures on a petition which notes the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and the destabilisation of Pakistan resulting from NATO's military intervention in the region and states that only the Afghan people can generate a political solution to their country's problems

Philip Gilligan on behalf of the group said,

"NATO's disastrous war costs lives and money, but achieves nothing. More British troops have already died in 2010 than in any previous year, while tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and more than two thousand NATO troops have been killed since 2001. While Rochdale is losing its hospital services and the Council is sacking essential staff, this war is costing the country £5billion every year. This is enough to offset the full cost of the government's cuts to Child and Housing Benefits and to still leave more than £2billion to spend on essential services.

Almost every day we hear of the deaths of British troops. 1,499 have been wounded. We need to bring our troops home. The killing in Afghanistan must stop."

‘Scrap Trident, not services. We want nurses not nukes.’

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group were in Middleton on Saturday (16 October 2010) collecting signatures for the latest Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)'s petition calling on the government to scrap the Trident nuclear weapons system and cancel all plans to replace it. With placards declaring 'Nurses Not Nukes' and 'Treatment Not Trident', they urged people to join them in telling the government and MPs that they want an end to all spending on nuclear weapons and want the money saved spent instead on protecting education, health and social services.

On behalf of the group, Philip Gilligan said,

“At a time of economic crisis, when essential services for vulnerable people are being drastically cut, it is simply not acceptable to be spending £2,000,000,000 (£2billion) per year on nuclear weapons of mass destruction. When disabled people are being threatened with reductions in their benefits and care homes are being closed in our borough, because of a lack of funds, it is scandalous that £billions are being squandered on new facilities at AWE Aldermaston developing ever more deadly nuclear weapons. When young people are being told that it will cost them £7,000 per year in tuition fees at university, it is crazy that the government is still planning to spend tens of £billions on a new nuclear weapons system we do not need. It is already clear that most people in Britain are opposed to spending any more money on Trident. We want our taxes spent on decent public services, not on nuclear weapons. Trident is an immoral, illegal and hideous misuse of public funds. This is money that needs to be spent on essential services."

CND National Conference supports Rochdale campaigners call for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has unanimously supported a resolution from Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group at its annual conference on Sunday, 10 October 2010. The resolution reaffirmed opposition to NATO’s war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and called for the immediate withdrawal of British, US and other troops and support for a peace agreement negotiated by and between Afghan civil society.

Philip Gilligan who spoke in favour of the motion said,

“The numbers of civilian and military deaths and injuries in Afghanistan and Pakistan have all increased dramatically during 2010. The United Nations reports, for example, that the number of Afghan children killed during the first six months of 2010 was 55% higher than the number killed during the same period in 2009, while the total number of troops killed this year, is already greater than for any year since NATO started its disastrous war in 2001. Meanwhile, as the US military diverts more of its pilot-less drones for CIA attacks on targets in Pakistan, increasing numbers of Pakistani civilians, including large numbers of children are being killed, there. Between January 2006 and April 2009, such attacks killed at least 701 people in Pakistan, including 687 civilians. It is time for the killing to stop.”

He urged people in Rochdale to support the national ‘Afghanistan: Time to Go’ demonstration called by CND, Stop the War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative in London on Saturday 20 November 2010.

CND conference also endorsed the membership of three people from Rochdale on its national council. Pat Sanchez and Rae Street were endorsed as directly elected delegates, while Philip Gilligan remains as the representative from Greater Manchester and District CND.

Peace group welcomes government climb down over Trident

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group has welcomed the news that the National Security Council will consider whether the country can afford the cost of Trident replacement at its next meeting.

Rae Street on behalf of the group said,

"Although the government has previously said that the future of Britain's nuclear weapons system would not be included in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the need to stop squandering money on Trident has clearly dominated the public's suggestions about ways to cut public expenditure and the government has, now, been forced to concede that this issue needs to be discussed. Senior military chiefs also argue that Trident is an outmoded Cold war weapon which has no role to play against current and foreseeable threats. It was always extraordinary for Liam Fox to refuse to include the Trident nuclear weapons system in the review while other massive cuts are being made in the Defence budget and in public spending more generally. Common sense seems to have prevailed for the moment and I trust that the coalition government will now begin to listen to public opinion. We need to scrap plans for upgrading these nuclear weapons of mass destruction and to begin decommissioning the whole costly and dangerous Trident system. We need our taxes to be spent on public services, not on the means for threatening death and destruction in the world."

Rochdale campaigners call for boycott of Israeli dates

Campaigners from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group gathered in Yorkshire Street on Saturday, 4 September 2010 to promote the boycott of Israeli goods. A week before Eid, they highlighted the particular issues of dates grown by Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and of attempts by Israeli companies to package their products in ways which make their true origins difficult to detect. They urged shoppers to boycott dates that come from ‘Israel’, ‘West Bank’, ‘Jordan Valley’ or ‘Jordan River’ and to buy fair trade Medjoul dates from the Zaytoun organisation.

They decided to do this, after hearing that so-called ‘Kalahari Dates’ had briefly been on sale at Haji Cash and Carry who they knew, in fact, to be very strong supporters of Palestinian cause and of the boycott campaign.

Imra Shoaib said,

“I was shocked, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, to discover that traders in Rochdale could be tricked into buying dates grown in the Occupied Territories, even when they fully support the boycott campaign and are proudly displaying MPACUK certificates reassuring customers that their stock is ‘Israel Free’. In this case the medjoul dates claimed to be from South Africa.

I was delighted to learn that Haji had withdrawn these dates from sale as soon as they learned of their connection with Israel, but I fear that other traders in Rochdale may not be so careful. Wholesalers and shopkeepers have a particular responsibility, but, as customers, we must all be careful to check the true origins of what we buy. We do not want our shopping to pay for Israel’s illegal occupation, it's continuing expansion of illegal settlements, the expulsion of Palestinians from their own land or Israel's brutal and inhumane siege of Gaza. No one who supports the cause of Palestinian freedom will want to be celebrating Eid or Christmas eating dates grown on land illegally seized from Palestinians.”

“I am sure most of us don't want to be eating dates tainted with the blood of Palestinians when such sales are a source of their continued oppression.” she added.

Sajid Maqbool, General Manager of Haji Cash and Carry said,

“Our suppliers have been under strict orders not to supply any Israeli dates or their products and, if there are any such products, I will withdraw them from sale and take the relevant action against the suppliers. Palestine is very close to my heart and I am pleased to say that we had a random check by two members of MPAC around 2 weeks ago. They went round the store and inspected all the dates and also issued a poster stating that we are an Israel free zone. We will fully support the Palestine cause.”

For more information about the Muslim Public Affairs Committee Boycott Zionist Blood Dates Campaign!, please see http://www.mpacuk.org/story/120810/mpacuk-launches-boycott-zionist-blood-dates-campaign.html

For more information on the PSC's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, please see http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=3&l2_id=19