Anti-war group to protest ban on Bush demo

LONDON • Anti-war demonstrators complained yesterday that police had banned a central London march to coincide with the visit of US President George W Bush-but vowed to press ahead with their protest. The Stop the War Coalition umbrella group of anti-war, left-wing and Muslim groups said they had wanted to walk the short distance from Parliament Square to the British prime minister’s official Downing Street residence on Sunday. “It seems that when George W Bush visits this country traditional rights of assembly and movement are removed from the people,” the group added. “This would be unacceptable for the visit of any foreign leader, but for this one- a war criminal- it is doubly unacceptable and we will defy the ban.” A spokeswoman for London’s Metropolitan Police said that roads around Downing Street would be closed from 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Sunday until Monday. The same area would be closed on Sunday morning for separate ceremonial events. Demonstrations are only allowed within a one-kilometre radius from Parliament Square subject to police permission after a written application seven days in advance. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to look again at the legislation governing such protests, amid concern from lawmakers and civil liberties groups about the legislation’s impact on freedoms of speech and assembly. The police spokeswoman did not say whether the Stop the War Coalition had applied for written permission. But she added: “We have had a number of meetings with the Stop the War Coalition. We have made it clear that we want to facilitate their lawful protest.” This included alternative routes between the times of the road closures, she added. The Stop the War Coalition quoted human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger as saying that a high security “green zone” like that in Baghdad was being erected in London to protect Bush from criticism over the war in Iraq. The police spokeswoman said the US security services had not made any “special requests” for Bush. The plans had been shared with them and the level of security reflected “the nature of the visit and the person”.

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