The HeraldIt was a whistle-stop appearance, but there was time enough for the tall figure, all in black save for the white peace poppy on her lapel, to create a stir.
The minute Cindy Sheehan stepped from the car outside the Scottish Parliament, the 60-strong group of anti-war campaigners, including two other mothers who lost children in Iraq, surged towards her...
Among those demonstrators waiting to greet her was Rose Gentle whose son, Gordon, also lost his life in the conflict.
The two met earlier this year when Mrs Gentle, 42, from Glasgow, flew out to the US to take part in an anti-war march and rally in Washington.
Also there yesterday was Susan Smith, 44, from Staffordshire, whose son, Phillip, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. All three took the microphone to launch a fierce criticism of Jack McConnell, the first minister, Mrs Gentle accusing him of being "a coward and a disgrace to Scotland".
She added: "He will send our sons to die, but he won't come and speak to the mothers. He can't look us in the eyes."
Mrs Sheehan took up the attack, comparing Mr McConnell to her president: "They don't have as much courage as our sons did and they don't have the answers to our questions."David Swanson of the After Downing Street project also spoke to the rally yesterday and he filed
this report on the trip to the American Chronicle.
"Our first stop was a rally outside the Scottish parliament. A number of Members of the Scottish Parliament spoke, including Colin Fox, leader of the Scottish Socialist Party; Tommy Sheridan, also from the SSP; Francis Curran, SSP; and Christine Grahame, of the Scottish Nationalist Party. At the meeting inside following the rally at least one MSP from the Scottish Green Party participated. Only the Labour Party was AWOL – McConnell said he was too busy to stop by.
Rose Gentle said McConnell "is running scared from military families." But she had some choice words for Blair as well. "I wonder," she said, " what Tony Blair's face looks like when he gets home and takes the makeup off. I wonder if he has as many bags as we've got….I'm sorry, Mr. Blair. Military Families are going to haunt you until our boys come home.
Another speaker at the rally was John Mann, a priest who said that a young person recently asked him out of the blue whether he thought God would forgive George Bush. He said he responded that it was a good question. He told me that what struck him was that years ago that question was always asked about Hitler.
Cindy Sheehan, whose last name means peace in Gaelic, told the rally that "there are Cindy Sheehans all over the world."
The cross-party meeting was an opportunity for Members of the Scottish Parliament to hear from Rose, Susan, and Cindy. About 18 of us sat around a table, including the three mothers and a few other activists, and several MSPs. Keir McKechnie, Co-Chair of the Glasgow Stop the War Coalition did the introductions.
Colin Fox extended "the warmest possible welcome, which should have been extended by the First Minister." Fox noted that "when Bush came in July, [McConnell] was prepared to run about the country and do whatever George Bush wanted."
"I'm a socialist and a democrat," Fox said. "Democrats do not support regime change in another country. The majority of people in America and Britain want the troops out. And most importantly, 82 percent of Iraqis want the troops out. The democratic credentials of Bush, Blair, and McConnell are in serious doubt."
Rose Gentle said that any money paid to the families of dead soldiers is "blood money." She said she'd also been offered free vacations to keep her quiet. "I won't take nothing off them. What we want is our boy back. If we can't have him back, we want everybody else's boys back."
