Last month Parliament Square in London lost its war protester Brian Haw who took up residence a decade ago near the statue of Churchill.
He learned at a young age the terrible effects of war as his father committed suicide when he was 13 who was one of the first Allied soldiers to step into the German concentration camp at Belsen. Perhaps it was the reason which made him a war protester and took in a one-man political protest against the first in Iraq and foreign policy in June 2001. He stared protesting against Western sanctions against Iraq were killing thousands of innocent people.
For me it was always a great pleasure, whenever, I was in the Parliament Square to see him and admiring him for his cause (initially) against the war in Iraq. I along with thousands of others have been on the demonstrations and protests against the war in Iraq many times. Many times we tried putting our protest everywhere we were able to do, but no one has passionately continued this protest as Brian Haw.
As an anti-war protester he caught the eye of thousands of tourist pouring into the square which was of course very uncomfortable for the authorities. Westminster City Council attempted to prosecute Haw for causing an obstruction to the pavement in October 2002, but the case failed as Haw’s banners did not impede movement.
All this continued in courts for many years, the authorities tried to do the best to get him to abandon the Square. But during that time he got the support of many anti-war activists and gained support also from former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn and activist/comedian Mark Thomas.
Brian Haw said very clearlyspeaking after a court appearance that he set out his intention to remain in the square for the rest of his life.
He became a symbol of the anti-war movement over the policies of both the United Kingdom and the United States in Afghanistan and later Iraq. He was a peace campaigner who also received the Channel 4 political Awards as he was voted ‘Most Inspiring Political Figure’.
As Britain is proud of being one of the earliest states in the world to adopt democracy, then Brian Haw, who lived and campaigned for ten years in a camp in London should be honoured with a statue or artwork (not very big) in the Parliament Square for his cause and work for Peace. This would be a fitting tribute to his campaign and to a selfless human being.
Copyright Semra Eren Nijhar – All rights reserved
Semra Eren-Nijhar 