International Peace Conference
Encyclopedia
The International Peace Conference was an anti-war
conference held on December 10, 2005. It was organised by the Stop the War Coalition
(StWC), and included speakers from Iraq
, the United States
, and Italy
.
The conference sold out a week before its occurrence, leaving many people who wished to attend the conference disappointed. 1,500 tickets were sold for the event, which was held in the Royal Horticultural Hall
in Vincent Square
, London
. The conference began at 10 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. 33 people spoke from the platform in four different sessions. In an unusual move, media organisations were made to pay to attend the conference. According to a StWC spokesperson, this was because the coalition had little funds, and the conference was costing £25,000 to put on.
The conference was opened by the veteran
Labour Party
campaigner Tony Benn
. Benn told the conference delegates that the anti-war movement which is calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq is the biggest he had seen in this lifetime.
Other speakers included Cindy Sheehan
, the American anti-war activist whose son died in Iraq, who spoke in a session alongside other relatives of soldiers who have died in Iraq, including Reg Keys
and Rose Gentle from Military Families Against the War
. There were also speakers from Iraq
representing different Iraqi groups that oppose the military occupation. Hassan Juma, president of the Iraqi Southern Oil Workers Union, condemned what he claimed were attempts by America to asset-strip Iraq through privatizing its services. Sheikh Hussein al Zagani, a representative of Muqtada al-Sadr
was due to speak at the conference, but was denied a visa by the UK government. This move that was condemned by the conference.
George Galloway
, the Respect MP ended the conference in which he urged people to build for a planned international demonstration on March 18, 2006.
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
conference held on December 10, 2005. It was organised by the Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
(StWC), and included speakers from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The conference sold out a week before its occurrence, leaving many people who wished to attend the conference disappointed. 1,500 tickets were sold for the event, which was held in the Royal Horticultural Hall
Lindley Hall, London
Lindley Hall in Elverton Street, Westminster is the older of the two Royal Horticultural Halls owned by the R.H.S. Enterprises Limited which is part of the charity Royal Horticultural Society in central London...
in Vincent Square
Vincent Square
Vincent Square is a large grass-covered square in Westminster, London, England, covering 13 acres. It provides playing fields for Westminster School, which privately owns it....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The conference began at 10 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. 33 people spoke from the platform in four different sessions. In an unusual move, media organisations were made to pay to attend the conference. According to a StWC spokesperson, this was because the coalition had little funds, and the conference was costing £25,000 to put on.
The conference was opened by the veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
campaigner Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
. Benn told the conference delegates that the anti-war movement which is calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq is the biggest he had seen in this lifetime.
Other speakers included Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
, the American anti-war activist whose son died in Iraq, who spoke in a session alongside other relatives of soldiers who have died in Iraq, including Reg Keys
Reg Keys
Reginald Thomas Keys, better known as Reg Keys , is the father of a British serviceman killed in the Iraq War. He stood in the 2005 General Election as an anti-war independent candidate for MP of Sedgefield, a constituency held by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.- Biography :Keys is a founder...
and Rose Gentle from Military Families Against the War
Military Families Against the War
Military Families Against the War is an organisation of families of servicemen in the United Kingdom created to campaign for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.The group's mission statement sets out their objectives as follows:...
. There were also speakers from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
representing different Iraqi groups that oppose the military occupation. Hassan Juma, president of the Iraqi Southern Oil Workers Union, condemned what he claimed were attempts by America to asset-strip Iraq through privatizing its services. Sheikh Hussein al Zagani, a representative of Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...
was due to speak at the conference, but was denied a visa by the UK government. This move that was condemned by the conference.
George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, the Respect MP ended the conference in which he urged people to build for a planned international demonstration on March 18, 2006.
External links
- Traprock Peace Center coverage of the International Peace Conference, includes audio and photos of the conference