Out of Iraq Demo Report
Author:John
On Saturday the NSTWC draped Nottingham's Armed Forces Recruitment Centre with coffin-shaped placards naming the members of the British Forces killed in Iraq. The Recruitment Centre, just by the Victoria Centre Clocktower, closed while we were there. The placards, edged in black, were mounted on a line, with the names of each of the 98 dead UK servicemen, in preparation for a wave of protests to be mounted across the country should the government let the death toll reach 100. But why wait? With our stall and banner proudly erected outside the Centre we gave out all of our 1,000 leaflets urging Blair to end the occupation before the death toll reaches 100, and urging prospective recruits to stay out of the forces. Passers by took a great interest in our stall, badges and leaflets, and put over £20 in our collecting bucket. Initially the placards were strung along the temporary railings round the pavement repair site, but we soon realised we could loop one end over the National Westminster Bank's sign so that the coffins dangled diagonally across the front of the Armed Forces Recruitment Centre window. It looked impressive in the sunshine. The local ITV camera crew didn't bother to broadcast their footage, but plenty of people took pictures. If we have got our act together, there's a photo with this report. We finished in time to get down to CND's (also very successful) Vigil for hostage Norman Kember in the Market Square, and the local BBC camera crew down there did broadcast their footage that evening.
|
