The Guardian 20 July, 2005
London unites against terror and war
Tim Wheeler
As the death toll from the July 7 terrorist bombings in London climbed to 52, labour and
anti-war groups voiced anger and revulsion against both terrorism and the Iraq war.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone, the British labour movement and faith groups called for a "London
United" demonstration on July 14. At noon buses and other traffic and individuals stopped as
millions of Londoners observed two minutes of silence in memory of those who died and to show
their "complete defiance of the terrorists".
The action was also to pay tribute to the heroes of the transport and emergency services who
responded immediately and saved many lives.
In an e-mail message to the People's Weekly World, John Haylett, editor of the London-
based newspaper Morning Star, said the action aims "to show that London will not be
moved from our goal of building an open, tolerant, multiracial and multicultural society". The
Morning Star reported that racist vigilantes have attacked several mosques in the wake of
the bombings.
Livingstone told reporters, "This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It's
not aimed at presidents and prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners,
Black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old — an indiscriminate attempt
at slaughter". He said the attack will not deter people from living "in harmony with one another" in a
tolerant, democratic society.
Andrew Burgin of the London-based Coalition to Stop the War told the People's Weekly
World by telephone that the anti-war movement and London's Muslim community had called for
another mass demonstration on July 17 in Russell Square, where one of the bombs
exploded.
"It will be a memorial to those who died, a tribute to the public sector workers who rescued the
wounded and an expression of solidarity with the Muslim community", Burgin said. He said it is too
early to assess what conclusions people have drawn about the crisis "but there are a large number
of people who are very angry with Prime Minister Tony Blair".
The attack was timed to disrupt the G-8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, where protestors
demanded that the world's wealthiest nations take steps to reduce poverty in Africa and to curb
global warming.
More than 225,000 people marched in Edinburgh on July 3 to demand action to end poverty by the
UN's target date of 2015. President George W Bush seized on the London bombings to change the
subject back to the "war on terrorism".
But critics were not deterred. The 70,000 member Rail, Maritime, and Transport Union (RMT)
whose members operate the subways and buses that were bombed, said in a statement, "We
reiterate union policy: the UK's participation in the invasion of Iraq has made our country, our
transport system and transport workers more vulnerable to attack.
"We should also take this opportunity to express our solidarity with the innocent Iraqis who are
subjected to these kinds of attacks on a daily basis. We will continue to campaign to ensure the
best possible security and safety measures are in place for our transport network."
Dave Prentis, president of Unison, the United Kingdom's largest union covering public sector
workers, thanked emergency response workers, all of them Unison members. "They have shown
over the past few days just how much the public service ethos matters in our society", he said.
"They have worked round the clock to rescue, treat or care for the victims regardless of their own
safety and comfort."
Reginald Keyes, father of British soldier Tom Keyes, killed in Iraq in June 2003, charged that Blair's
decision to join Bush's illegal war in Iraq made the terrorist attack in London "inevitable". Keyes ran
as an independent against Blair in the recent UK election, charging that his son "died for a lie". He
garnered 10 per cent of the vote.
As for the G-8 summit, leaders of the anti-poverty movement blasted the trickery of recycling
previously approved funds as if it is new money for African economic development. At a news
conference in Edinburgh, Kumi Naidor, chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty said, "The
people have roared but the G-8 has whispered".
In the US, United for Peace and Justice condemned the London terrorist attack. "Instead of feeding
the cycle of killing, it is time for a new direction in our policies", the UFPJ statement said. "It is time
for the US to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan … end US support for Israel's occupation of
Palestinian territories … to remove US military bases from oil-rich countries like Iraq and Saudi
Arabia."
UFPJ added, "We use this occasion to recommit ourselves to doing all that we can to end the war
in Iraq, including building a massive march in Washington, DC, on September 24."
People's Weekly World