Protests in Scotland
"Bombing Afghanistan in this way is not the answer"

Anti-war activists gathered across Scotland on October 8 to protest the U.S.-British attacks on Afghanistan. More than 400 people gathered in Glasgow's George Square where speakers condemned the air strikes. Many protesters lit candles in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. and for those who have been killed in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led aggression.

At the demonstration Mohammed Narveen Asif, an Afghan refugee, said that the bombing of his homeland was as morally reprehensible as the attacks on New York and Washington. He said, "Bombing Afghanistan in this way is not the answer. Thousands of innocent people are going to be killed needlessly."

Maarya Sharif, a student, said, "I've had friends here in Glasgow who have been picked on because of what they are wearing and another girl got a bottle smashed over her head. Despite saying it's a war against terrorism, it is Muslim people who are in the firing line, the majority of whom are innocent. People stare at us now when we walk down the street, when we're at university and when we're at work. Now it seems that they're asking themselves if we are terrorists, if we are with them."

Rita Traynor, a pensioner, holding a "stop the war" banner said, "I object strongly to people being killed for no reason. This is nothing less than a sanitised bombing, because the people dropping the bombs don't see the devastation caused on the ground." She said that she would join in the protests against the aggression for "as long as necessary." She added, "This is an unjust and highly immoral war."

Following the demonstration an action was held outside a Ministry of Defence building in Glasgow where six people were arrested. Police were called in after reports that demonstrators had bound themselves together with piping and unfurled a banner. A police spokeswoman said: "Six people in total were charged, three men and three women. They have been released from custody and a report will go to the Procurator Fiscal." The spokeswoman added that two men, aged 54 and 19, and two women, aged 20 and 29, were arrested following an incident on the ledge of a first floor window. Meanwhile, a 25-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were arrested in connection with incidents on the ground.

A spokesman for the Faslane Peace Camp said the protesters unfurled a banner asking: "What do the dead eat?" in reference to the U.S. airdrops of food packets. The spokesman added: "We condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians. Bush and Blair are nothing short of murderers themselves. If they have proof against Osama Bin Laden they should bring him to trial through the international law courts."