Derry: More Protest at Reports of Bush visit

national | miscellaneous | news report

Monday April 07, 2003 07:48

by George Row

gh_row at yahoo dot co dot uk

Free-Derry wall, a famous icon of Derry's struggle for civil rights, has been draped in black to show opposition to the visit of Bush and Blair to Northern Ireland.

Two international war criminals are planning to meet in Belfast. With the blood of people from Iraq and from their own countries still fresh on their hands they have come here to talk of peace and to pose for the cameras.

Derry anti-war campaigners have rejected this hypocrisy.

Free Derry Corner has been an icon of the Civil Rights struggle in Derry for more than thirty years. The original slogan "You Are Now Entering Free Derry" was painted on the end gable wall of a terrace of houses. Although the houses were demolished decades ago, the "Free Derry" wall was retained and has become a focal point for political activity in the Bogside area of Derry city.

At midnight on Sunday night Derry anti-War activists draped the wall in black cloth to mark their disgust at plans by George Bush and Tony Blair to meet in Belfast and to mourn for the people killed in their names in Iraq.

The images here show the draping in progress.

An earlier story here reported how the message on the wall was modified to tell Bush that he was not welcome.
http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=40946