Belfast anti war reports

national | miscellaneous | news report

Thursday January 30, 2003 14:32

by Davy Carlin - West Belfast SWP

carlindavid at hotmail dot com

Three meetings around Belfast in the one night

Last night school 'students against the war' was launched in Belfast.

Last night 'school students against the war' was launched in Belfast. It drew over fifty school students from across Belfast. From catholic and protestant schools, from West Belfast to East, fom North to South. They aged from fourteen to eighteen. They agreed their own agenda and activity which includes hosting anti - war debates in their schools with outside speakers and attempting to mobilises hundreds of their fellow school students into activity. This is a great step foward to begin to mobilise hundreds of youth onto Belfasts streets.

At the same time standing room only at the West
Belfast activists meeting which drew again around fifty people, trade union representatives, solidarity campaigns, youth and leading community activists were among the number. It was agreed to have weekly activist meetings, to attempt to mobilise a feeder march of those interested from the Falls and the Shankill Roads through West Belfast to the central Feb 15th meeting point. Thirdly an ATGWU and Belfast Trades council Rep called for all activists to get down to the rally called by the Fire Brigades Union this week to lend support. All proposals were accepted.

Also yet another meeting took place at the same time affording people an in depth discussion on Islam. This Marxist Forum held in South Belfast drawing over twenty People including one leading Palestinian activist who has promised to deliver Two hundred for the Feb 15th demo.

The Belfast demo is backed by the ICTU {Northern Committee} its Unions FBU, Unison etc, by the Muslim Associstion of N Ireland, the Islamic centre etc, by dozens of womens, community groups, politicans, and well known personalities and much much more. With huge interest we are talking a mass rally in Belfast, with like Britain and hopefully Dublin the largest such Demo Belfast city has ever seen on Feb 15th. With also a feeder march from Derry to Belfast over four days hosting public meetings in each town stop over and a huge public meeting planned in Belfast things are looking very good.