Hundreds will be gathering for the biggest anti-war conference in years tomorrow (February 9th) in London at Friends Meeting House, London, to mark the ten year anniversary of the global protests against the Iraq War.

The demonstrations formed the biggest protest event in world history. They include Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Salma Yaqoob, Mitra Qayoom, Phyllis Bennis and Jeremy Corbyn MP.

The conference on the 9th of February, under the heading, “Confronting War Ten Years On,” will say that the warning of millions were horribly vindicated.  More than 20 speakers from Afghanistan, Iraq, America, Ghana and Canada will take part, including Noam Chomsky, Afghani Mitra Qayoom, Iraqi Saieb Khalil and the founding figures of the Stop the War Coalition [1] in Britain and the anti-war movement abroad.  Other speakers lined up are: Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Salma Yaqoob, Phyllis Bennis and Jeremy Corbyn MP.

The conference will examine the disasters of the last ten years of the war and assess the drive to further war in the Middle East and Africa. As well as plenary sessions on The Consequences of War and The War on Terror Today and the International Movement there will be panels on the situation in The Middle East, The New Scramble for Africa, Art and War and Drone warfare: remote control imperialism. Lindsey German, convenor of The Stop The War Coalition, said: “Before the Iraq invasion the anti-war movement was dubbed the second superpower by the New York Times.

“Sadly, ten years on, the second superpower is needed more than ever.”

Timetable The conference is from 10.30am (registration 9.30am) until 5pm, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. Press tickets will be available for press card holders from the registration desk. The timetable for the day is:

10.30 am – 11.45 am: opening plenary: The consequences of war

12am – 1.15pm: parallel sessions/workshops

Palestine & the Middle East

Drones & remote control imperialism

Art & war

The new scramble for Africa

Islamophobia

1.15pm – 2.15pm: lunch

2.15pm – 3.30pm: afternoon plenary: The war on terror today

3.45pm – 5pm: closing plenary: The international movement

Notes

[1] The Stop the War Coalition was founded in 2001 to stop the military intervention in Afghanistan proposed by the United States and its allies against ‘terrorism’. In 2003 it brought together up to 2 million – Britain’s largest demonstration – to oppose intervention in Iraq.

[2] Conference web site – http://www.tenyearson.org.uk/ Facebook event – https://www.facebook.com/events/431558470237110/

[3] Speakers include: Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Phyllis Bennis, Victoria Brittain, Noam Chomsky (via a live link), Chris Cole, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Lindsey German, Shamiul Joarder, Manuel Hassassian, Kate Hudson, Owen Jones, Jemima Khan, Seumas Milne, Robert Montgomery, Andrew Murray, Explo Nani-Kofi, Derrick O’Keefe, Mitra Qayoom, Sami Ramadani, Salma Yaqoob, Rafeef Ziadah.