The new Peacestrike banner
Friday, July 03 2009 @ 01:17 PM BST
A strike for peace does not always involve downing tools and walking out of work. A strike for peace is also about making a statement, that you are aware of the suffering and injustice in the world and you are willing to give up your time to show that you care and that you want things to change. Find out more about striking for peace here.
Maria creates Sri Lankan concentration camp protest on Churchill's statue
Wednesday, July 01 2009 @ 10:42 AM BST
In the early hours of this morning, Maria occupied the Churchill statue in Parliament Square. Surrounded by barbed wire as a symbol of the concentration camps in the Tamil area of Sri Lanka, she is highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tamil civilians who are being held in atrocious conditions in military camps.
The camps break many international conventions, and there are many reports of disappearances,rapes and torture. Also, medical personnel are denied access, and international NGOs and medical organisations cannot get into the area with any aid. The Sri Lankan Government has imposed draconian restrictions on journalism, so the only news and monitoring is at grassroots level.
The action at Parliament Square is a striking image, with Churchill surrounded by barbed wire and placards about the Tamil Plight.
For more images and a report, see here.
Mass protest march: Lets March To Save Our People
Thursday, June 18 2009 @ 08:49 AM BST
Saturday, 20 June 2009, central London
Starts at 1pm from Hyde Park Corner - Park Lane (Nearest Stations: Hyde Park Corner / Marble Arch) Ends at Temple - Embankment
We feel very strongly about the on-going Tamil protest, now entering its 11th week of occupation at Parliament Square.
It is the most extraordinary campaign we have ever witnessed, and the protesters have behaved in a truly exemplary manner. Against all the odds, they have become a powerful movement. Of all the groups to enter the square and challenge the Government directly, these people would have been very easy to dismiss as too quiet, too nice and therefore ineffective. How wrong that would have been! All who have been involved in their campaign can only marvel at these truly amazing people.
They originally came last summer as a small unnoticeable group, who wanted to highlight the impending genocide. They wanted support from our Government and to raise awareness. They got very little if no attention.
Just before the Genocide they exploded into this huge movement of 200,000 plus! On the 11th of April 2009, they marched through central London in a peaceful manner with no arrests. There was very little mainstream media coverage. They flew their national flag without incident.
On the 6th April they filled up the whole of Parliament Square to bursting point, over-spilled, and blocked the road overnight, sealing off Westminster Bridge. This was the start of their remarkable 24hr on-going occupation of Parliament Square that was to break the mould in modern day protesting.
They chanted
"We want ceasefire!
We want ceasefire!
When do we want it...NOW!”
The battle of the flags
Thursday, June 04 2009 @ 12:00 AM BST
Police have been arresting Tamils waving their national flag in Parliament Square. Maria from Peacestrike has been testing the legality of this by standing outside New Scotland Yard and arguing it out on film when confronted by officers. Maria has now been arrested twice for holding the flag. See more on this unfolding story
ON STRIKE AGAINST GENOCIDE: Wednesday 29 April 2009
Monday, April 27 2009 @ 11:54 AM BST
STRIKE DAY ANNOUCEMENT
Make your stand, take a day off work, nursery, school, college, university, and gather in Westminster.
Wednesday 29th April from early... all day
"On Strike Against Genocide"
Westminster, London SW1
To support the Tamil community in Britain whose relatives are under seige in Sri Lanka. So many of the people who have been protesting in Parliament Square over the last 4 weeks have relatives and friends among the many thousands of civilians who have been killed.
Doctors have warned that the Tamil student, Prarameswaren Subramaniam, who has been on hunger strike in Parliament Square for 21 days in protest at the Sri Lankan governments military assualt, may have only a week to live.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/tamil-protest-hunger-strike-sri-lanka
Enough is enough.......
Afganistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Sri Lanka......when will the voice of the people be heard! We are opposed to the senseless, endless killing that Governments around the World seem to promote. We have no arguments with civilians we have never met, from any nation. We are tired of all these labels that are associated with the latest "enemy".
The political world needs an "enemy" and seems to promote war. Centuries of conflict show that it is the ordinary person that becomes the victim of war, regardless of which side they are on. We also makes the biggest sacrifice with life and limb. We allow ourselves to become "killing machines" supplying armies with soldiers that kill people because they are "ordered to". We lose our humanity and often our sanity.
The business of war is madness. The Arms Trade is the trade of evil. Let's not be part of the whole nasty business. We want our Government to administer with responsibility and care. We want a Government to plan for the greater good, all equal and free.
Let us all support the - "Strike Against Genocide".
No matter to whom, "Genocide is Genocide".
We have never been given a vote to go to war as they know good people would say "NO!"
Let's vote with our feet and say "NO TO GENOCIDE" loud and clear to our Government.
Walk around and see the sights...Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, Whitehall, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square.
Dress ordinary. This is not a march or protest. We are individuals "On Strike" and are free people to visit where we like.
Be prepared for long day and bring food and drink and warm clothes for later during the day.
Check weather forecast for rain, you may need umbrella or waterproofs!
The message of our strike is to say "Listen To The People".
Genocide is an emergency and the Governments, United Nations and International Community fail in their duty of care, to act in time to save life.
Take this opportunity to make a stand and redress the issue. The time is right, the time is NOW!
Sri Lanka genocide....Gaza genocide ......war with Iran?.........
ON STRIKE FOR PEACE
Peace strike projects
Supporting the Tamil protests: Since the beginning of April 2009, there have been largescale demonstrations in Parliament Square by the Tamil community in the UK against the atrocities that the Sri Lankan Government has committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka. For more click here.
Arrest Tony Blair: At 11:15 on 16th May 2007 Peace Strike members made their first attempt to conduct a citizens arrest of Tony Blair. They were accompanied outside Downing Street by a small group of supporters and a film crew. The police were informed of their intentions and relevant documentation was handed over. For more details please click here.
Daily Downing Street Petitions: Every working day a petition is handed into No. 10 Downing street. Signatures are collected in Parliament Square and delivered the following day. The petitions normally requests that Iran should not be attacked, however, other petitions have been handed in relating to urgent current issues, for example, the repeal of SOCPA and the crisis in Gaza. For more details click here.
Monthly peace processions: The first peace procession took place on Sunday 5 October 2008 in London and there will be a procession every month (usually the first Sunday) from Westminster Cathedral, vis Parliament Square and Downing Street, to Edith Cavell Statue on St Martin's Lane. Everyone is welcome to take part - it is for all faiths and none, for everyone who cares about humanity and peace and wishes to demand an end to the destruction and suffering caused by our own country's actions. See the report of the first procession here.
Peace strike events
Peace Strike hold regular events in Parliament Square. These events normally include an open mic and music. The square provides a friendly and inclusive environment and creates a great opportunity to find new friends and get involved in discussions while at the same time raising public awareness of the increasing threat to Iran.
For details of forthcoming Peace Strike events please check out our recent postings.