The Guardian reports about the anti-war and anti-occupation march in London yesterday, which was held as the closing
demonstration of the European Social Forum. Amongst the
demonstrators were also the parents of British soldiers killed in Iraq:
Rose Gentle and Reginald Keys – parents of two soldiers killed in Iraq – were helping to launch a new organisation supporting former service personnel.
Mrs Gentle’s son, Private Gordon Gentle, 19, from Glasgow was serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers when he was killed in a roadside blast in Basra in June this year. Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, from Llanuwchllyn, near Bala in north Wales, was one of six Red Caps killed by a mob while manning a police station 120 miles north of Basra in June last year.
The parents are supporting the UK Veterans and Families for Peace organisation, which aims to tackle the welfare issues soldiers face after leaving the forces, as well as taking an anti-war stance.
Acording to the Guardian, some 70,000 people marched. Far less then before the war, but still a respectable figure, especially considering how little attention the media has paid to this demo. It shows that the issue is still alive in the UK and won’t blow over soon.