Global Divestment, Guantanamo & Venus: Saturday 14th February 2015 was Global Divestment Day, designed by the UN to “to draw attention to the importance of divesting from fossil fuels, which are the main cause of global warming.” But of course it was also St Valentine’s Day, and two events reflected this.
‘Bad Boy Borises’ in Global Divestment Day
London City Hall
The protest at London City Hall, then at More London close to Tower Bridge, called on the Mayor and London Assembly to end their pension fund investments in climate wrecking fossil fuels and lead a fossil-free London.
The event began with a nightmare vision as multiple Mayor Borises arrived, revelling in dirty fuel. They were greeted by a choir singing songs specially written for the occasion and fed with some disgusting looking things supposed to be dirty fuel.
After several speeches the protesters split up around 3 metre tall letters which they eventually lifted up to spell out the word ‘DIVEST’.
They called for an end to investment in fossil fuels which are causing catastrophic climate change.
Two dressed as bishops called on the Church of England to get its act together and take its investments out of fossil fuels. Many churches have already divested, and campaigners were pressing others including the Church of England to do so.
More pictures at ‘BadBoy Borises’ in Global Divestment Day.
Valentine Day – 13 years for Shaker Aamer
Westminster
A march from Parliament Square to a rally opposite Downing Street called for the urgent release of London resident Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo, where he arrived has been held and regularly abused for 13 years without charge or trial.
Aamer had been in Afghanistan helping to build a school for an Islamic charity when he was captured by an Afghan militia and sold to US forces for a £5,000 reward. After the US and tortured him, aided by MI5, in Bagram Air Base they illegally rendered him to Guantanamo, on Feb 14, 2002.
There his torture continued – and he was lucky to escape death in 2006 when he was one of four prisoners taken to a special secret interrogation site – and the only one to survive the ordeal.
Aamer has permanent resident status in the UK and his British wife and family were living in Battersea, but it was not until 2007 that the UK government began to request his release. And despite doing so, the government also spent over a quarter of a million pounds in legal fees to prevent his legal team gaining access to evidence which might prove his innocence.
The years of torture of him and others at the hands of the US military have failed to come up with any evidence against him, and he was twice cleared for release in 2007 and 2009 – but only if he went to his native Saudi Arabia where he would almost certainly disappear without trace. Both UK and US intelligence agencies are thought to have prevented his release to the UK as the evidence he would give about their use of torture would be highly embarrassing.
The protest was the start of a new ‘We Stand With Shaker’ campaign bringing together groups including the Free Shaker Aamer Campaign, the London Guantánamo Campaign, Amnesty International and others. Among the long list of speakers at the rally were Joy Hurcombe of the Free Shaker Aamer Campaign, writer Victoria Brittain, Lindsey German of Stop the War, veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent of CND, Katie Taylor from Reprieve, Yvonne Ridley, Aisha Maniar from the London Guantánamo Campaign, campaigner Andy Worthington and Joanne MacInnes of We Stand With Shaker.
More at Valentine Day – 13 years for Shaker Aamer.
Venus CuMara Reclaim Love 13 at Eros
Piccadilly Circus
Venus CuMara’s 13th Reclaim Love Valentine Party at Eros in Piccadilly Circus included bands, dancing and a “Massive Healing Reclaim Love Meditation Circle beaming Love and Happiness and our Vision for world peace out into the cosmos“.
As usual there was a great atmosphere as people came together to share in love and party together in opposition the the huge commercialisation of Valentine’s Day and indeed of love itself. It is nothing to do with money, just about people.
Venus speaks to everyone and tells them to form the Massive Healing Reclaim Love Meditation Circle…
beaming Love and Happiness and our Vision for world peace out into the cosmos and together they chant the mantra: “May All The Beings In All The Worlds Be Happy & At Peace“
After which the music and dancing continued, along with hugging and other activities, and was still continuing when I left for home.
More pictures at Venus CuMara Reclaim Love 13 at Eros.
Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos
All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.
