(I can't figure it out either)
Posted on 11/18/2003 12:30:01 PM PST by Ruby Gamgee
President will be protected by 16,000 police officers By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
18 November 2003
One in nine police officers in England and Wales will be protecting George Bush on his state visit to Britain, which begins today.
Ten thousand more police officers have been drafted in amid rising concerns about the threat from terrorists and the scale of anti-war demonstrations. That brings to 16,000 the number of policemen and women who will be deployed during the four-day trip.
The bill will run to at least £7m, and the British taxpayer will pay for it.
The Metropolitan Police announced that it was boosting the numbers of officers on duty in London from 5,000 to 14,000.
The unprecedented security operation, which begins when the President arrives in London this evening, is partly in response to new intelligence that indicates violent anti-Bush demonstrators are travelling from continental Europe to protest in the capital.
Police also believe the national rally through London on Thursday will be far bigger than previously thought, with in excess of 100,000 now expected. Anti-war protesters were yesterday given permission by the Met to march down Whitehall, close to Parliament, having been earlier denied that route by Scotland Yard.
Anti-terrorist specialists are also growing increasingly concerned about possible al-Qa'ida attacks. This fear has been heightened by the bombings of two synagogues in Istanbul, which killed at least 23 people and wounded 300 on Saturday.
As well as the massive police operation in London, around 1,300 officers will be on duty when President Bush has lunch with Tony Blair and a group of residents in the Prime Minister's Sedgefield constituency on Friday.
All police leave has been cancelled in Durham Constabulary and officers from neighbouring forces will be drafted in as part of an operation costing £1m. The cost of the Metropolitan Police's deployments are expected to be in excess of £5m, while up to £1m is being spent on extra security at ports and airports.
On the eve of the American President's state visit, Mr Blair said he stood by the decision to invite Mr Bush to Britain.
Opposition to the President's visit appears to be growing daily. Concerns about the scale and intensity of the anti-war demonstrations prompted Scotland Yard to announce yesterday that they were almost tripling the number of officers on duty over the four-day period. A police source also disclosed that a number of anarchists and other extremists were travelling by train and ferry to Britain and were expected to take part in "ad hoc" violent demonstrations in London. The troublemakers are not expected to take part in the official Stop the War Coalition rally, which won permission yesterday to march past Parliament, bearing right along Whitehall and congregating in Trafalgar Square. At first the police had wanted to use an ancient law to forbid marchers going past Parliament. Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour MP who took part in the negotiations, said: "The march is going to be huge, very well stewarded and very well ordered."
Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Met, has promised not to shield President Bush from"embarrassing" demonstrations. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Trotter, who is in charge of policing the demonstrations, said the decision to increase the number of officers on duty to 14,000 had been taken primarily because of security concerns. "We're on a very high level of alert at the moment - we obviously have the visit of the President coinciding with that and we've got to make sure that London is kept safe and the visit goes well.
"At the same time we're concerned about disorder, not only the potential for disorder from the march itself but there will always be other opportunities over the few days of his visit and we've got to make sure we've got sufficient resources to deal with that." The police also remained "very concerned" about the level of threat posed by al-Qa'ida.
Mr Bush will be privately greeted by the Prince of Wales on his arrival this evening and will be the guest of the Queen at a banquet at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the President will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior before talks with the Mr Blair. He will also meet relatives of British victims of the attacks on 11 September as well as servicemen who fought in Iraq.
Aims and Objectives of the Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition was formed on September 21st, 2001 at a public meeting of over 2,000 people in London. The Coalition is campaigning under the following slogans: Stop the war No to a racist backlash Defend civil liberties
The resolution below, setting out the Coalition's platform, was ratified at public meetings held in October 2001 in London. 1. The aim of the Coalition should be very simple: to stop the war currently declared by the United States and its allies against ‘terrorism’. We condemn the attacks on New York and we feel the greatest compassion for those who lost their life on 11th September 2001. But any war will simply add to the numbers of innocent dead, cause untold suffering, political and economic instability on a global scale, increase racism and result in attacks on civil liberties. The aims of the campaign would be best expressed in the name Stop the War Coalition. 2. Supporters of the Coalition, whether organisations or individuals, will of course be free to develop their own analyses and organise their own actions. But there will be many important occasions when united initiatives around broad stop the war slogans can mobilise the greatest numbers. 3. The Coalition shall elect a steering committee which reflects the breadth of those involved to carry forward the aims and objectives. Local groups should have regular, open and inclusive meetings. 4. We call on all peace activists and organisations, trade unionists, campaigners and labour movement organisations to join with us in building a mass movement that can stop the drive to war. 5. We are committed to opposing any racist backlash generated by this war. We will fight to stop the erosion of civil rights.
If you are a member of an organisation that is opposed to Bush and Blair's on-going "war on terror" and agree with our aims and objectives, we urge you to ask your organisation to consider affiliating to the Stop the War Coalition. Individuals are also welcome to join the Stop the War Coalition. Together, we can make our voice heard.
The "war on terror" has progressed through a number of stages, and naturally the slogans of the day have changed to fit. It has also had consequences far beyond the immediate US-led military attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, but in each case, it has been the US-led drive to war which has been the prime cause of these crises, backlashes and other repercussions.
In the UK the Stop the War Coalition has organised massive demonstrations against these wars, in conjunction with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain. Today, we are trying to End the Occupation of Iraq and to Stop the War on the Iraqi people. A wide range of international organisations which are attempting to do the same thing are listed on our links page.
For information on how to get regular bulletins from the Stop the War Coalition, click here. This now includes a text message service.
That should drive the pro-communist protestors over the edge :-)
Please stop calling people who disagree with you 'terrorists'. It cheapens the word and detracts from your credibility.
A terrorist is one who purposely uses physical force against non-combatants to instill fear in a population with the purpose of effecting political change.
The vast majority of protesters of the left and the right do not meet that definition. These people are dissenters, and only totalitarian states treat dissidents as criminals.
For further info, please read my tagline.
If you have to ask permission and pay someone to exercise a right, it isn't a right, it's a privilidge.
Free speech and free assembly are rights.
58.9 MILLION STAY HOME
They have that right Pro or Con. Where did I say they didn't?
That said!
When they cost the tax payers who are not burning down the buildings, causing pyisical damage to others and forcing the municipality to fork out my tax money that is not their right. It now is my right to complain about the draining of my city's tax funds to support their position of which I may not agree with.
One more point most of these Freedom loving Free loaders are bussed in from other communities. >B>GET IT Freedom is wonderful but, it is not free at any cost no matter how you slant the liberal view.
I have to agree, unfortunately. These morons have every right to be on the street. If any of them break criminal laws, they should be arrested and prosecuted. However, the right to peacable assembly is the hallmark of a free society.
(I can't figure it out either)
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