Report, Photos & Radio Interview - Veterans for Peace UK Officially Launched

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Tuesday April 17, 2012 11:03

by Vetarans for Peace UK

Veterans for Peace UK held its inaugural meeting on Easter Sunday. 11 veterans attended the meeting. The meeting was started with the reading of The Statement of Purpose. We then had an extended check in where there was a good exchange of experiences.

Easter Sunday launch of UK Veterans For Peace

The aims of VFP UK were laid out;
1) To resist war through non-violent action.
2) To support war resisters.
3) To counter militarism and educate on the true nature of war.

A clarification of our committment to acting non-violently was made, Gerry Condon (VFP USA) explained that even though there are many pacifists within VFP it is not a pacifist organisation. Bruce Kent enlightened us with some stories of resistance from within the British Army that are not well known.

REPORT/ PHOTOS CONTINED..............
http://tinyurl.com/c9oz2wp

*Radio interview with former SAS soldier Ben Griffin, Veterans for Peace UK (10 mins)
http://tinyurl.com/crr6brc or see link below

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/media/2012/04//494912.mp3

Ben Griffin - Veterans For Peace - mp3 6.4Mb

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Comments (4 of 4)

VIDS from Launch

by VIDS of Launch - Veterans for Peace UK

Tue Apr 24, 2012 08:33

London

YOUTUBE (3 mins 42 secs) Individual Veterans for Peace (UK & USA) introduce themselves at launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHb_OFwZ3w

YOUTUBE (19 mins 38 secs) Barry Ladendorf -San Diego/ USA Veterans for Peace UK Launch Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Uov210wew&feature=relmfu

“Wars are very easy to get into and very hard to extract yourself from”

by Matt Report

Thu Apr 19, 2012 09:44

Now even the UK political mainstream is beginning to admit that a going to war in Afghanistan was - after all - a really stupid idea. (We told you so, didn’t the word “Afghanistan” ring any alarm bells?)

Meanwhile, war is glorified certainly more than even before in my lifetime, with all UK soldiers automatically labelled as “heroes” in the tabloid press. While their bravery is beyond doubt, the blanket use of subjective terms like “hero” really has no place in a newspaper that claims to report facts. Anyone who questions the wisdom of sending “our boys” (and girls) to Afghanistan finds themselves marginalised, lumped together with the jihadi nutters and their poppy-burning stunts. Compare this with civilian attitudes to the Army’s deployment in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles,” when a fairly big cross section of mainland UK opinion (especially in London, which bore the brunt of Troubles-related bombings in the UK,) weren’t afraid to say they felt their Army’s continuing presence in the Province was a bad idea.
REPORT CONTINUED.........
http://tinyurl.com/c2gb9eq

Céad Míle Fáilte

by Justin Morahan

Thu Apr 19, 2012 00:55

A hundred thousand welcomes to Peaceland

UK Veterans Launch VFP Chapter

by by Helen Jaccard and Gerry Condon, Vets for Peace USA - Veterans Speakers Alliance: Veterans For Peace

Wed Apr 18, 2012 08:21

The first chapter of Veterans For Peace in the United Kingdom is now a reality. On a dreary “Easter Monday” afternoon in a working class section of London, England, veterans, allies, friends and families gathered for the inaugural event of Veterans For Peace UK. The Guiseppe Conlon Catholic Worker House hosted the event in the sanctuary of an old church draped with banners proclaiming peace and justice. British and Scottish veterans, young and old, fresh from their first official meeting as a VFP chapter, testified in word and song that they will go to war no more.
REPORT CONTINUED....
http://tinyurl.com/c6zu39c

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Report, Photos & Radio Interview - Veterans for Peace UK Officially Launched

Comments (4 of 4)