by New Worker correspondent
A bronze statuette of Brian Haw the peace campaigner was unveiled at the Imperial War Museum in London last weekend. Brian Haw camped out in Parliament Square for over ten years in protest against Anglo-American aggression in Iraq and imperialist wars throughout the rest of the world. Despite the best efforts of the police to hound him out Brian maintained his vigil until ill-health forced him to leave shortly before his death in 2011.
Brian Haw was a little-known evangelical Christian, motivated by the pacifist teachings of Jesus of Nazareth that are often ignored by many of those who profess to believe in him, who travelled to northern Ireland and Cambodia to preach “love, peace and justice for all” in the 70s and 80s. But he hit the headlines with his one-man protest against the imperialist aggression against Iraq.
He set up his tent opposite the so-called “Mother of Parliaments” in June 2001 to protest against the cruel imperialist blockade against Iraq that preceded the invasion and occupation by Anglo-American imperialism in 2003.
Brian was never short of company. Peace campaigners made a point of visiting his tent in the heart of London to help or spend some time in solidarity with the protest, which grew as Haw decorated the square with his home-made posters and peace banners condemning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This rapidly became an alternative London tourist attraction. But it was also an embarrassment to the Establishment and it soon attracted the unwelcome attention of the police.
For over ten years Haw maintained his round-the-clock vigil, braving all weathers and violent attacks from thugs and the police. He defied all threats to evict him, including an abortive new law to restrict demonstrations within half-a-mile of Parliament. In 2006 the police succeeded in obtaining authority to remove and confiscate Brian’s entire display. Fortunately the 40 metre long display was entirely recreated by the artist Mark Wallinger who won the 2007 Turner Prize for his exact replica of the encampment, entitled State Britain, that was exhibited in the Tate Modern art gallery. And supporters and friends maintained the protest tent when ill-health forced Haw to seek treatment for cancer in Germany paid out of a fund raised by British peace campaigners.
In February 2023 a group of supporters and friends launched a campaign to create a permanent public reminder of Brian Haw's crusade for peace that raised the £25,000 needed to create the monument
The ceremony was unveiled by three of his children while the famed actor, Sir Mark Rylance, paid tribute to Brian’s "bright sense of conscience". The actor, who is a patron of the Stop the War movement, said "His great call was to stop killing the children...no matter what conflict we have as adults, they didn't create that conflict and we should find a peaceful way of resolving the conflict". And, appropriately enough, the words “Stop killing the kids” are inscribed underneath his likeness.
A bronze statuette of Brian Haw the peace campaigner was unveiled at the Imperial War Museum in London last weekend. Brian Haw camped out in Parliament Square for over ten years in protest against Anglo-American aggression in Iraq and imperialist wars throughout the rest of the world. Despite the best efforts of the police to hound him out Brian maintained his vigil until ill-health forced him to leave shortly before his death in 2011.
Brian Haw was a little-known evangelical Christian, motivated by the pacifist teachings of Jesus of Nazareth that are often ignored by many of those who profess to believe in him, who travelled to northern Ireland and Cambodia to preach “love, peace and justice for all” in the 70s and 80s. But he hit the headlines with his one-man protest against the imperialist aggression against Iraq.
He set up his tent opposite the so-called “Mother of Parliaments” in June 2001 to protest against the cruel imperialist blockade against Iraq that preceded the invasion and occupation by Anglo-American imperialism in 2003.
Brian was never short of company. Peace campaigners made a point of visiting his tent in the heart of London to help or spend some time in solidarity with the protest, which grew as Haw decorated the square with his home-made posters and peace banners condemning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This rapidly became an alternative London tourist attraction. But it was also an embarrassment to the Establishment and it soon attracted the unwelcome attention of the police.
For over ten years Haw maintained his round-the-clock vigil, braving all weathers and violent attacks from thugs and the police. He defied all threats to evict him, including an abortive new law to restrict demonstrations within half-a-mile of Parliament. In 2006 the police succeeded in obtaining authority to remove and confiscate Brian’s entire display. Fortunately the 40 metre long display was entirely recreated by the artist Mark Wallinger who won the 2007 Turner Prize for his exact replica of the encampment, entitled State Britain, that was exhibited in the Tate Modern art gallery. And supporters and friends maintained the protest tent when ill-health forced Haw to seek treatment for cancer in Germany paid out of a fund raised by British peace campaigners.
In February 2023 a group of supporters and friends launched a campaign to create a permanent public reminder of Brian Haw's crusade for peace that raised the £25,000 needed to create the monument
The ceremony was unveiled by three of his children while the famed actor, Sir Mark Rylance, paid tribute to Brian’s "bright sense of conscience". The actor, who is a patron of the Stop the War movement, said "His great call was to stop killing the children...no matter what conflict we have as adults, they didn't create that conflict and we should find a peaceful way of resolving the conflict". And, appropriately enough, the words “Stop killing the kids” are inscribed underneath his likeness.
