January 20, 2003
On 25th January a convoy of anti-war activists will leave London and travel overland to Baghdad in order to act as human shields. The convoy comprising volunteers from Britain and around the world, will cross Europe picking-up more human shields en route, arriving in Baghdad on 8th February where they will stay until the imminent threat of war has passed.
The convoy will be led by a white London taxi and two red double-decker buses. It will be the first in a series of convoys which will be leaving London over the coming weeks; the largest of which is timed to coincide with the global day of protest on 15th February.
Organised by former US Marine and Gulf War veteran, Ken Nichols O'Keefe, the convoy has attracted volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. O'Keefe sees the hundreds of volunteers who have already signed-up to join this action as indicative of the breath and depth of outrage felt about the prospect of war and the anger at the failure of our governments to listen.
"Our so-called democracies have failed us. If we as people are going to stop wars we must act." said O'Keefe. "The Iraqi people have suffered brutal sanctions for 12 years, and to drop bombs on them is beyond criminal, UN resolution or not."
Mr O'Keefe who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1999 in protest of U.S. foreign policy, believes that a massive civilian presence in Iraq has the potential to create the pressure needed to stop western governments from pursuing "a criminal war".
"Our strategy is potentially dangerous but that is the risk we must take in standing beside our brothers and sisters in Iraq. There are literally billions of people around the world who are opposed to this war yet our so-called ‘democracies' in the U.S. and Britain are plunging us into it. We can and we must stop this war, and all we need to achieve this is a few thousand volunteers to migrate to Iraq."
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