Vigil for Fallujah in Manchester, UK

Manchester, UK. Wednesday 10th November 2004. Hundreds of anti-war activists hold a candle light vigil in the Peace Gardens adjacent to the Town Hall. The purpose of the vigil is to call for an end to the murderous slaughter that is currently happening in Fallujah and for the immediate return of all foreign troops from Iraq. The vigil takes place a day before the annual Rememberance Day cermony that commemorates the dead from the two world wars.

The vigil begins with music from a lone clarinetist playing a suitably subdued and mournful tune. The names of some of the dead are read out--these include Iraqis as well as the occupying troops, many of whom were recruited as cannon fodder via poverty and economic conscription. Very few of the young men and women in Iraq are sons and daughters of the bravemouth politicians and chicken-hawks that launched the war. A particularly sobering moment arrives when the names and ages of dead Iraqi children are read out.

A message to the rally from the courageous Rose Gentle--a mother whose son was recently killed in Iraq--is also read out. Rose has been an outspoken critic of Tony Blair and has this week helped to launch Military Families Against the War. The speakers included an American archdeacon, a Manchester doctor and a representative of Labour Against War. The latter, a brave man indeed, was heckled as he spoke--people asked why no other Labour Party members or banners were present.

The clips on this page are of several of the speakers at the rally. The first clip, however, shows the scene in the Peace Gardens as the vigil was being set up. The soundtrack features an anti-war song by local singer-songwriter Gerry Dempsey. This song can be downloaded as an mp3 file by clicking here The lyrics are also available at on the same page.

Broadband clip of speaker reporting on an anti-war conference in Cairo.

Broadband clip of the organisers preparing the vigil as the song, "The Unknown War Criminal", plays in the soundtrack.

Broadband clip of a Manchester doctor talks about the government's response to a paper on deaths in Iraq in The Lancet.

Postscript. However much we might criticise the British press about its coverage of Fallujah, there is no doubting that its failures pale beside those of the US press. The so-called "liberal" US press is actually applauding the fact that the city is being subjected to a Nazi-style blitzkrieg attack. It has effectively been razed to the ground in a fashion reminiscent of the Nazi destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto. This is absolutely not an exaggeration.

The Israeli army (IDF) has been advising the US military throughtout the period of the 2003-4 Iraq War. A journalist from The (London) Times writes in the article below that Fallujah reminded him of Beirut at its worst. We should be clear that large scale war crimes are happening in Fallujah even as I write. Have a look, for example, at Occupation Watch for the truth about what is happening. Have a look also at this review of the US press coverage of Faluujah:US Media Applauds Destruction of Fallujah