News

16 January 2001
The 10th anniversary of the Gulf "War"

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In August 1990, following an alleged dispute over the world's second largest oil field, Saddam Hussein, having been lured in to false sense of security by the US, ordered his battle weary troops to invade Kuwait. Several months later, in January 1991, US-led allied forces under the banner 'Desert Storm' launched a massive air campaign on Iraq that resulted in the massacre of 200,000 of its civilians.

This 'war' (it was no war in the real sense, as there was no credible enemy, simply a slaughter) and the continued (almost daily) campaign of bombs and propaganda has been the focus for rage from people across the planet.

January 16: London

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It is largely seen among dissidents and activists that the Gulf 'war' had little to do with the official line of retaliation for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, or toppling Hussein as the invasion was instigated by the US: its ambassador to Iraq told Hussein that the Bush administration supported him as it was the 'best possible solution' to the oil dispute (when this was discovered and reported the ambassador was sacked, obviously for propaganda purposes).

No, the Gulf 'war' was part of a wider picture involving the military industrial complex and, more significantly at that point in history, the US re-asserting itself as the global superpower it once was (smaller incidents in Granada and Libya had begun to do this though the scale of them was not enough to show the world that the US had, as George Bush said at the time of the Gulf, kicked the 'Vietnam syndrome once and for all').

Since 1991 it is estimated that one million Iraqi people have died as a result of Western sanctions; there are daily bombing campaigns involving both US and British pilots at huge cost to life and tax-payers' money; there has, and continues to be, a massive cover-up by the British secret state to hide the effects of depleted uranium-tipped shells used by allied aircraft which has been linked to the deaths of at least 300 ex-servicemen, not to mention the thousands of Iraqi people affected. All the while the lies keep coming through the press about alleged chemical weapons plants in Iraq in order to justify the persecution of the Iraqi people and the use of Hussein (as demented he may be) as Western whipping-boy number one.

TUESDAY JANUARY 16TH: on the 10th anniversary of the Gulf 'war' the WOMBLES are on the streets of London in solidarity with the people of Iraq. We wear white overalls to symbolise the invisibility of those whose voices are not heard, those powerless to halt the destruction of their families, homes and communities by the irresponsible acts of Western powers. The British state is guilty of murder and today we take this charge to the highest court in the land, the Houses of Parliament.

At around noon people began to gather at the designated meeting spot of Westminster Hall. Made up of groups including Gulf veterans, the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, the Campaign Against Arms Trade, CND, a Samba band, the WOMBLES and lots of others including some Welsh comrades who had travelled to London for the day, the numbers rose to around 300 by the time events, including speeches and an auction, began.

The cops had made a nice pen for us to march into, presumably after the speeches (bless 'em), though, following some communication between groups it was decided that, at around 2pm, the WOMBLES would form a line in front of the Samba band and march people onto the road. This took place and once there, about 20/30 people behind the band staged a sit-down, linking arms to strengthen their position. There was then a stand-off between the WOMBLES and cops for some 15 minutes as we provided a shield for the lock-down and for a time were successful in halting police violence. However, the ratio of 12 (Wombles) to 100 (cops) was eventually to prove too much and the cops began laying-in to us, boot first. At this point police re-enforcements began pouring into the area and with the use of vans they surrounded us in Parliament Square where we remained for an hour before being released two-by-two.

The demonstration made BBC Newsnight and the Daily Mirror newspaper (virtually unheard of these days), thus giving publicity to the plight of the Iraqi people; allowed for groups to air opinions in public on the day; and gave the WOMBLES some insight in how, next time, we can be stronger in our resistance to police attacks on demonstrators.

The higher police presence and media attention than normal for this type of action can be largely put down to the fact that the WOMBLES were there (it is almost certain the cops had prior knowledge as they were referring to us as WOMBLES via radios, on our first action!). This shows that it is important to be visible on the streets, which the white overalls provide with little props or planning. While some would say that a higher police presence is a negative thing, it provides more visibility for the invisibles as the cops turn-up in luminous green jackets, or with riot shields! What could be more eye-catching than that? And the more cops the more disruption and, again, attention. For as long as there have been wars and persecution there has been resistance to them, and the WOMBLES welcome all who help us keep these struggles against oppression visible on the streets and in the faces of the politicians.

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