Last weekend saw several cities across the country stage protests organised at short notice by Stop the War and PSC including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Newcastle. Lucy Boyle reports from Bristol

Eldin from the Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign had been in the city centre since 11am calling on the public to refuse to buy ‘the bitter fruits of Israeli oppression…the vegetables, herbs and fruits grown on stolen land’. He went on to discuss how the violence in Iran and Lebanon is but the latest episode of a long history of state sponsored violence. While Ali from Health Care Workers for Palestine suggested the war on Iran is another example of imperialists ‘cherry picking’ international law to suit their agenda.

Sheila, secretary of the Trade Union Council, remarked that while we do not know how long the horror in the middle east will go on for, we can be sure that the impact will be felt long after the bombs stop falling. She said ‘It will put pressure on the already teetering system that increasingly has nothing to offer but poverty and war.’ Both she and Eldin remarked how the working class the world over will bear the brunt of soaring prices and instability, ‘once again made to pay for a crisis not of our making’.

Anne Lemon, from Stand Up To Racism, pointed out that whenever western bombs are raining down on other parts of our world racism in Britain gets worse and worse. Referring to a study which identified 70 per cent of newspaper coverage mentioning Islam portrayed aspects deemed to be negative or concerning. Urging the people of Bristol to attend the Together Alliance unity march in London next week, she stressed that ‘these are historic moments in time – regardless of our differences, we must stand together to show our unity and strength. We are the many and we can win.’

Pointing to the increasingly booming sound of the counter protestors and their drums, Tom from Bristol Stop The War argued: ‘The supporters of the Shah claim to want the liberation of Iran, but what kind of liberation… when they demonstrate with the Israeli flag? 70,000 civilians murdered in Palestine…[do] they really think that Benjamin Netanyahu will liberate the people of Iran?’ He recounted the anti-colonial nature of the 1979 revolution and how the United States ‘has never forgiven the Iranian people for overthrowing the Shah and the threat it posed to imperialist control’.

He stated that we need a global movement against imperialism because working class people in Britain ‘have no quarrel with Iran’. He urged people not to be fooled by Starmer’s smoke screen about defensive strikes. He continued ‘If UK bases are used, we are involved and we need to protest against this. We are here today taking the anti-war message to the people of Bristol.’

The protestors marched through Broadmead and the Cabot Circus shopping centre which attracted a lot of attention due to its good acoustics. It ended in Castle Park where a rally marking the 5^–year anniversary of Kill The Bill was just beginning. Speakers highlighted the interconnectedness of the struggles we face, and the repressive legislative changes against the right to protest that have come to effect many in the anti-war movement including the leaders of both Stop The War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Chris Nineham and Ben Jamal. We need to join the dots, remain united and stay in the streets. The struggle started long ago, and it isn’t over yet.