Anti-War Protest – Thursday October 31^st

"Today was a national day of ‘civil disobedience’ (marches, sit ins etc.) to protest against the proposed war on Iraq, following on from the extremely successful march held in London last month. Today's protest was organised by the Leeds Stop the War Coalition, which has been growing for over a year now.

We gathered as requested at YTV on Kirkstall Road at 5pm, to find a slightly worrying strong police presence and a handful of protesters milling about peacefully. The crowd soon grew (I would guess 150 people altogether) and we moved closer to Kirkstall Road with a selection of banners and placards to demonstrate to as many passers by as possible the strength of feeling about the so called ‘War on terrorism’, Bush and Blair’s desire to wage war on Iraq and the problems of Israel and the occupied territories. As in London, it was a really peaceful and mixed crowd (old, young, seasoned protesters, people popping down after work to lend support, whole families etc. etc.) making a serious point in a quiet and united way, whilst having some fun at the same time. There was the obligatory drumming to help us keep moving to ward off the cold, some great chants and a variety of creatively carved pumpkin lanterns (CND symbols etc.).

A small group of people quite enterprisingly used a pelican crossing to briefly block the road by sitting down – not long enough to cause much real inconvenience but long enough to attract more attention and further the aim of getting important points across. To be fair to the police, although there seemed to be far too many they were mostly pleasant to us although I saw a few people being dragged away. The atmosphere generally was peaceful and lively, I left feeling invigorated and really pleased that I had gone along to lend my support to what I believe is a well organised and vital campaign." - Catherine Tonge

For further information see the coalition’s website www.stopwar.org.uk