Scotland Says Stop the Slaughter!



More than ten thousand demonstrators gathered from across Scotland in Edinburgh to protest against the continuing slaughter in Iraq.

Organisers condemned the Lothian and Borders Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Dickson who said he "could not guarantee public safety" on the demo. Despite this organisers had met with police to discuss the route and had given assurances that the event would be peaceful.

The Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition said Mr Dicksons remarks were "a thinly-veiled political intervention" and that the movement "reiterates its consistent position that we are a campaign committed to mass peaceful demonstrations and, at the appropriate times, non-violent civil disobedience to oppose a crime being committed by the British government". The demonstration was entirely peaceful.

Demonstrators filled Princes Street and sat down, holding a minutes silence for the dead in Iraq. A rally was held at the Meadows with speakers including MSP's Tommy Sheridan, Margo McDonald, John McAllion, Robin Harper and Lloyd Quinan. There were also powerful speeches from Iraqi exiles, school students, muslim representatives, Linsey German from the Stop the War Coalition in England and Michael Letwin a US trades-unionist who is convener of US Labor Against the War.

Local bands from Edinburgh Rock Against War rounded off the rally.

The event was a further demonstration of the commitment of the anti-war movement in Scotland to continue opposing the slaughter in Iraq.

More pictures: 1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 ::