Message to Obama and Brown: Yes We Can

A national tour of Stop the War public meetings, titled YES WE CAN - with speakers ranging from Tony Benn to the film director Ken Loach - comes to Haringey on Thursday 19 March, when the speakers will include Guardian journalist Seumas Milne, human rights lawyer Louis Christian and Lindsey German, national convenor of Stop the War. (Full details below).

These meetings are part of the build up to a national anti-war demonstration which will take place on April 1, when the leaders of the G20 countries meet in London, which will also be Barack Obama’s first visit to this country.

While Obama’s decision to start withdrawing troops from Iraq and the closure of the Guatanamo concentration camp distances him from his predecessor, he has disappointed many who didn’t expect his slogan “change you can believe in” to mean continuing most of George Bush’s war policies.

50,000 US troops will remain in Iraq for at least another two years, the war in Afghanistan is to be escalated and Israel’s barbaric and illegal treatment of Palestinians will still receive unqualified support.

Gordon Brown, like Tony Blair before him, is committed to the same slavish support for all aspects of American foreign policy. While Britain sinks into its worst economic crisis for at least 70 years, the government - having already wasted 13 billion pounds in the past seven years on illegal and unnecessary wars - will still this year double the expenditure for its attacks on Afghanistan.

It is a scandal that so much money is being spent on these conflicts rather than on housing, schools and hospitals. Similarly, in the view of Haringey Trades Union Council - joint organisers with Stop the War of Haringey’s meeting on Thursday - the same purpose could be served by the hundreds of billions the government is spending to bail out the bankers who were a prime cause of the economic mess we’re in.

These are all themes which will be discussed at next Thursday’s YES WE CAN public meeting. Please publicise the meeting as widely as you can.

YES WE CAN PUBLIC MEETING
THURSDAY 19 MARCH 7.30 PM
Called by Stop the War Coalition and Haringey Trades Union Council

FREE PALESTINE - END THE WAR ON TERROR - JOBS FOR ALL - BAIL OUT PEOPLE, NOT BANKERS
Speakers:
SEUMAS MILNE – The Guardian
LOUISE CHRISTIAN – Human rights lawyer
LINDSEY GERMAN – National Convenor, Stop the War
RAY MORRELL – Unite trade unionist
PALESTINIAN SPEAKER – To be confirmed

WEST INDIAN CULTURAL CENTRE
CLARENDON ROAD, LONDON N8 (Off Hornsey Park Rd, nearest tube Turnpike Lane)