Cindy Sheehan meets Christian protestor Brian Haw
-12/12/05
Two familiar faces of the
Cindy Sheehan meets Christian protestor Brian Haw
-12/12/05
Two familiar faces of the anti-war movement in the UK and the US met for the first time yesterday – Cindy Sheehan, the Californian mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, and Brian Haw, who has held a four-year anti-war vigil outside Parliament.
Both campaigners have been calling for the withdrawal of Western troops from Iraq. The encounter happened on Sunday afternoon, outside the House of Commons
Mr Haw, an evangelical Christian, wrote sheehan a letter of support during her protest at President George W. Bushís Texas ranch. She was demanding a meeting with Mr Bush in order to hear his first-hand explanation for her sonís death and his policy in Iraq.
ëCamp Caseyí, as it became known around the world, is in hibernation for the winter. But Mrs sheehan and her supporters have not given up the hope of resurrecting it.
Just as her protest has proved an enduring thorn in the side to the Republican administration in the USA, so Mr Hawís vigil outside Parliament has caused embarrassment and animosity among Britainís legislators.
Indeed their recent decision to pass a law banning demonstrations without permission for a mile around the parliament buildings is reputed largely to have been occasioned by the eyesore (and ear ache) caused by the -year-old father of sevenís Iraq protest.
Cindy Sheehan has been on a short visit to the UK to meet with campaigners here. She says she plans to return to Crawford, Texas, to continue to press her request for a meeting with President Bush. She has also co-founded Gold Star Families for Peace.
In the High Court, Mr Haw successfully fought off the attempt to evict him from his perch outside Parliament. He successfully argued that his protest pre-dated the legislation.
Mr Haw has been protesting against UK and US government policy towards Iraq since 2 June 2001 – from economic sanctions and the continued bombing of Iraq to the ‘war on terror’ and invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq – all policies in which the civilians population has suffered enormously, he says.
Last week he survived an apparently arbitrary arrest for ëbreach of the peaceí, a charge which his supporters describe as ìdeeply ironic in the circumstancesî.
[Also on Ekklesia: London protest ban demo sparked by Christian campaigner; Christian anti-war protester wins in High Court; Peace camp to be set up opposite Parliament]
Cindy Sheehan meets Christian protestor Brian Haw
-12/12/05
Two familiar faces of the anti-war movement in the UK and the US met for the first time yesterday – Cindy Sheehan, the Californian mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, and Brian Haw, who has held a four-year anti-war vigil outside Parliament.
Both campaigners have been calling for the withdrawal of Western troops from Iraq. The encounter happened on Sunday afternoon, outside the House of Commons
Mr Haw, an evangelical Christian, wrote sheehan a letter of support during her protest at President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch. She was demanding a meeting with Mr Bush in order to hear his first-hand explanation for her son’s death and his policy in Iraq.
ëCamp Casey’, as it became known around the world, is in hibernation for the winter. But Mrs sheehan and her supporters have not given up the hope of resurrecting it.
Just as her protest has proved an enduring thorn in the side to the Republican administration in the USA, so Mr Haw’s vigil outside Parliament has caused embarrassment and animosity among Britain’s legislators.
Indeed their recent decision to pass a law banning demonstrations without permission for a mile around the parliament buildings is reputed largely to have been occasioned by the eyesore (and ear ache) caused by the -year-old father of seven’s Iraq protest.
Cindy Sheehan has been on a short visit to the UK to meet with campaigners here. She says she plans to return to Crawford, Texas, to continue to press her request for a meeting with President Bush. She has also co-founded Gold Star Families for Peace.
In the High Court, Mr Haw successfully fought off the attempt to evict him from his perch outside Parliament. He successfully argued that his protest pre-dated the legislation.
Mr Haw has been protesting against UK and US government policy towards Iraq since 2 June 2001 – from economic sanctions and the continued bombing of Iraq to the ‘war on terror’ and invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq – all policies in which the civilians population has suffered enormously, he says.
Last week he survived an apparently arbitrary arrest for ëbreach of the peace’, a charge which his supporters describe as ‘deeply ironic in the circumstances’.
[Also on Ekklesia: London protest ban demo sparked by Christian campaigner; Christian anti-war protester wins in High Court; Peace camp to be set up opposite Parliament]