Wedding 'Die-In' Against Afghanistan War at NATO HQ - sprinkling fake blood on bride lying on roadway
Two years ago today, on May 27, 2007, US forces in Afghanistan bombed a wedding party at Haji Nabu, killing 47 civilians; just one of numerous wedding parties massacred by NATO or US forces. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed by US/NATO forces in the war, and earlier this month, on May 4, around 120 civilians, mainly women and children were killed in an attack in Farah province. To mark these killings and call for an end to the killing in Afghanistan, protesters from Voices in the Wilderness UK, Justice Not Vengeance and London and Oxford Catholic Workers organised a 'die-in', an act of non-violent civil disobedience close to the main gate of 'HMS Warrior', the land-based Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in London from which Britain's forces in Afghanistan are commanded. It was a cold, wet morning when around 30 demonstrators, dressed for a wedding and including two brides and grooms, met at Northwood station for a march to the base. There were considerably more police than demonstrators, and after some negotiation the police agreed that the march would be allowed to proceed to a wide verge 200 metres from the main gate of the base. At the point they were stopped by the police from going further, around half the demonstrators lay down on the road. Fortunately the organisers had come with a supply of black bin bags to put on the wet surface, but it was still cold and uncomfortable, and the rain, although light, was steady. The rest of the protesters began a reading of the names of civilians killed in Afghanistan from the side of the road. Among the demonstrators were Hillingdon MP John McDonnell and Maya Evans and Milan Rai who were arrested in 2005 for reading out the names of Iraqis and British soldiers killed in the Iraq War, opposite the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Rai became the first person to be convicted under SOCPA for organising an unauthorised demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament.
Size: 3354px × 5040px
Location: Northwood, Middlesex, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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