15 February 2003: The day protest died?
(c) Pete Ashton
On the 15th February 2003, seven years ago to the day; six million people in sixty countries worldwide came out to protest against the Iraq War. In London, some estimates suggested that as …
Submitted by Sean Cable on Monday, 15 February 2010View Comments
(c) Pete Ashton
On the 15th February 2003, seven years ago to the day; six million people in sixty countries worldwide came out to protest against the Iraq War. In London, some estimates suggested that as many as two million people came out to form the largest demonstration in the Capital’s history. Despite the scale of the opposition to the War; UK forces invaded Iraq in March 2003 and would suffer the loss of 179 British soldiers and would leave behind a civilian death toll of over 3000 in Basra, before finally withdrawing six years later on 30th April 2009.
The latest enquiry being headed by Lord Chilcott is attempting to settle the question of what happened in the lead-up to the UK’s involvement in the invasion. Was Parliament misled? Did Cabinet have access to all the information? Had the decision to invade been taken long before the vote in Parliament? I suspect many more headlines will be made as it seeks to answer some of these questions.
However, on the anniversary of anti-war protests seven years ago; there is perhaps one central question worthy of equal consideration: what’s the point of protest? The largest anti-war march in London’s history that saw the Stop the War Coalition (StWC), the Muslim Association of Britain and the CND join together in solidarity along with thousands of individual objectors could not stop the invasion. Many analysts have since tried to unpick this question: some claiming that the success of the protests is evident; the end of Royal Prerogative for declaration of war and as good as guaranteeing that it would be politically impossible for a similar war to occur in the future.
However, some argue that the use of protest as a political tool can only achieve its aims if coupled with reasoned debate and analysis. Protest alone, no matter how great the numbers of people involved, can only indicate to politicians that an issue is unpopular; it cannot provide a rational explanation as to why the lack of popularity is justified. The Iraq War protests on 15th February 2003 showed an, at times, complete lack of reason; “Freedom for Palestine” and “no blood for oil” are just two examples of the slogans brandished. This argument would follow that protest is populist and should not inform policy.
I spoke to Chris Nineham, lead officer and member of the Stop the War Coalition Steering Group, to get his take on the power of protest and the lasting effects of the February 2003 demonstrations. His responses were in many ways what you expect, an acknowledgement that the protests ultimately didn’t stop the war, but that the impact is still being felt today. “Obviously, we were disappointed that the war went ahead“, he said, “but, if you had asked me at the time if I believed the protests alone would ever stop the war – well, I didn’t believe that they would, not on their own at least.“
Here, Chris Nineham touches upon something that critics have picked up on when examining the StWC; namely its association with the far-left and its belief in direct action. I asked him to clarify what he meant when he said “not on their own at least”: “well,” he said, “obviously protest can only show solidarity amongst dissenters and give a powerful voice of opposition; but it cannot shake the power of the state and it cannot fundamentally influence the apparatus of government. Therefore, large-scale strikes and non-violent civil disobedience is the other key element.
It is a view shared by members of the Communist Party and by the Socialist Workers Party, of which, Chris Nineham is a leading member. Commentators have suggested that the failure of the February 2003 protests is down largely to the influence of the far-left in organising and directing the demonstrations, through the StWC. The point being; that their influence ultimately put-off the huge swathes of politically moderate anti-war demonstrators that would otherwise have been more active even after the events on the 15th February. The anti-war feeling was hugely evident; an ICM poll conducted in January 2003 showed that 47% of people were opposed to war compared with 30% in favour. With that degree of anti-war feeling; perhaps the organisers could not keep the momentum going since they were just too radical?
I put this point to Chris Nineham who was quite put-out by the suggestion: “I don’t understand that view at all; we were the first global protest and the largest in history; we kept the scrutiny on Blair and the impact has led to three inquiries and a tainted Labour government: that is simply a moronic view.” Moronic or not; the reality is that the StWC is a group dominated by far-left organisations, its Chair, Andrew Murray, is a leading member of the Communist Party.
Moving on, I asked Chris Nineham the other effects of the February protests and the future of demonstration. “Well,” he said, “aside from the those I’ve mentioned; voting for war in Parliament (he recapped), no chance of a similar war in the future, scrutiny on Blair, three inquiries…there were also 139 Labour rebels and we helped dampen the effects of Islamic fundamentalism in the UK. The joint-working with the Muslim Association showed to British Muslims that the majority of the people in the UK, of any creed, didn’t agree with the war – those protests did more for race relations in this country than any Government initiative; if those protests hadn’t happened, we would have seen a lot more terrorist activity.”
Speaking about the future of mass demonstration, he said: “Protest is alive and well; it’s bigger than ever, as those demonstrations showed. The future, I believe, will be economic protest – the recession and whoever the next government is – will experience mass protest as spending cuts bite and times get harder.”
Defining the relative success or failure of the protests on 15th February 2003 is ultimately a matter of judgement. Some have compared the Iraq War protests with those against the poll tax in March 1991, some crediting the latter with helping to topple Thatcher in November of the same year. The poll-tax protest had 150,000 demonstrators; considerably less than the numbers demonstrating against Iraq. The problem is the degree to which protests can be said to shape other events; Thatcher’s fall was down to more complicated factors than merely poll tax demonstrations; just as the lasting impact of the February 2003 protests cannot be measured in terms of whether it did or did not stop the war. The protests did have the effects suggested by Chris Nineham; but the protests alone did not give Parliament the vote on war.
All this being said; Blair was re-elected and some would argue that the UK has simply lost its stomach for protest. A recent discussion between journalist Simon Jenkins and Howard Davies from the LSE on the Daily Politics spoke about how the Tea Party movement in the USA would not be a movement that could gain traction and large following in the UK; given what they say to be a political disengagement amongst the British; who see such movements as ineffective. They concluded that the UK did not have a culture that encouraged grass-roots activism and protest; suggesting a wider social climate away from demonstration.
Another The Vibe article, by David Moss, discussed the de-radicalisation and self-interest present in one of society’s traditionally more active protest groups: students. The analysis presenting an argument that students see protesting as naïve and less enticing than image and consumerism.
I agree that the Iraq War protests did have an impact; but I don’t necessarily agree that protest must be coupled with direct action in order to achieve great change, though certainly direct action might follow depending on the political and social climate. The Iraq War protests; whilst amongst the largest that the UK has ever seen, were still only representative of a minority that was radically opposed to the war, and for a myriad of reasons.
Despite the dramatic heading of the article; I don’t believe protest is dead, but nor do I believe that the 15th February 2003 marked any particular sea-change in the relationship between the power of protest and government.
