December 17, 2005
by Milan Rai
Justice Not Vengeance
Yesterday morning we rang out the names of the dead on the barriers in front of Downing Street.
The police around us, the Prime Minister’s office in front of us, a friend of ours being harassed and searched across the road for filming us, under the threat of arrest, we read out the names of Iraqi civilians and of British soldiers.
Somehow, reading each name felt more painful than it had in Brighton or in Northwood. Somehow, the ceremony of remembrance had become more moving in these strange circumstances.
There is some deep human need not to be forgotten. We want to be remembered by those who come after us; we want to be remembered and respected.
Those who have died in this war, Iraq and Western, will be forgotten, and their memory not respected, if the leaders of this war have their way.
Reading the names of the dead, marking their passing with each ring of a bell, has been a meditation on the reason why we campaign about Iraq.
It has been a way of insisting that these people matter, that they have not blown away in the wind, that they deserve and will receive respect from those of us who come after.
These hours spent remembering, by the side of a busy city road, outside a military base, opposite the centre of government, have been immensely energising, much to my surprise.
Beforehand, despite being an enthusiastic supporter of the project in principle, I had quailed at the monotony of hours of reading and bell-ringing in practice.
I was a doubter.
As it turned out, this has been one of the finest experiences of my activist career, and one that I would not trade for anything.
Being arrested for organising the ceremony in London was the culmination and the resolution of a powerful experience.
I’d rung up the Metropolitan Police Events Office, which handles demonstrations outside Downing Street, to book a slot for our bell-ringing ceremony. They said there was no problem about the event, and no clash with anything else, but there was a new form to fill in.
I knew there was new legislation about demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament, but it hadn’t struck me as a particularly big issue for our bell-ringing.
The important thing was to ring the bell 1,000 times outside Downing Street, and to read the names of the dead.
After the form was sent to me, however, and I was faced with the physical reality of cooperating with this new law. I consulted others more involved, and found no strong guidance.
One of the groups leading the campaign against the new laws had itself complied with the legislation in order to hold a demonstration in the same spot.
Ringing up the Events Office to my mind was like booking a slot, not asking for permission. It was better to avoid a situation where there was another demonstration happening there at the same time.
Filling in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act form, however, was cooperation with repression. It was asking for permission to mourn the dead.
Ringing the bell was important. Reading the names was also important. But not at the cost of cooperating with the erosion of freedom in this country.
In the end, I rang the Events Office and explained that we would be going ahead with the event but that I would not be submitting the form. I was told that I would be arrested and faced up to 51 weeks in prison if convicted.
Maya, as a participant in the demonstration, faced a maximum penalty of £1000 in fines.
After we were arrested, the police revealed that they’d been sure we wouldn’t turn up.
Maya has been charged with participation in an unauthorised demonstration, and has her first hearing on Tuesday. She has a conference with her lawyer, who is defending other ‘participants’ from other events on Monday.
I have yet to discover whether or not I am to be charged with being an organiser of an unauthorised demonstration. This is the first time someone has been arrested on this charge, and the procedure didn’t seem to be entirely clear to the police. It has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision by 10 November.
Simultaneously, I’ve been informed that my £2000 compensation/fine from last year, protesting against the impending attack on Fallujah, is to come to my local court on 19 November.
I’ve refused to pay this sum, because I think that marking the Foreign Office with anti-war messages was a legally and morally justifiable response to the threatened assault on Fallujah.
I understand that the maximum penalty for non-payment is a 45 day sentence, or three weeks with time off for good behaviour.
(Meanwhile, in the US Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence is being pursued for non-payment of a sum almost half the size, for which the maximum penalty is six months in prison. British law vs US law.)
The police yesterday were gentle, restrained and as helpful as they could be under the circumstances. I heard one say that this wasn’t the best piece of legislation ever passed.
This isn’t the best anniversary that’s ever been held either.
Yesterday morning we rang out the names of the dead.
