PARLIAMENT SQUARE BECOMES WAR CEMETERY
TO MARK 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ INVASION
1pm, Sunday 18 March: The London Catholic Worker joined with Voices in the Wilderness to plant 186 crosses – each bearing the name of an Iraqi killed by US/UK forces – in Parliament Square yesterday to mark the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and call for an immediate end to the occupation. While this ritual was going on, Chris Goodchild and Henrietta Cullinan prayed and led the 'stations of the cross', reminding us that our God suffers with this crucified people, and yearns with us that their liberation be achieved. A reading from 'Isaiah According to Lauren Cogswell' of the Open Door Community, Atlanta, reinforced this message and prayer.
A banner bearing the word “186,000 Iraqis killed by US/UK forces” was also displayed. According to survey published in the Lancet last October, at least 186,000 Iraqis have been killed by “coalition” forces in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 invasion – 31% of all violent deaths in Iraq through June 2006. So each cross represented a thoussand killed. A sobering and somewhat depressing thought on this annversary. The stations of the cross however finished with Resurrection and God's hope of liberation - a reminder for us to 'hold our heads high, for liberation is near at hand.'
This event was not “authorised” by the police. Consequently, participants were risking arrest, a criminal conviction, and a fine of up to £1,000 under the SOCPA (Serious Organised Crime and Policing Act) laws. However, the few police who were present seemed to prefer to look the other way, or race past sirens screaming apparently more concerned with London's mis-timed ( a day late) St Patrick's Day celebrations! Superficial entertainment once more preventing recognition of deeper truths.
Gabriel Carlyle (32) said: “Over the past four years US-led forces have been one of the main sources of violent death in Iraq, killing at least 186,000 Iraqis. At the same time the occupation has helped to push Iraq into a state of civil war, and acted as a recruiting sergeant for extremists across the Muslim world. Moreover 78% of Iraqis believe that the occupation is causing more conflict than it prevents. It’s time to end Britain’s participation in this disastrous and immoral occupation and bring the troops home.”
