Justice and peace pilgrims spark debate
A debate has been sparked after the Pilgrimage passed through York
A British Legion chairman has described recent actions of the Peace and Economic Justice pilgrims as ‘a total insult and a total lack of respect’. His remarks followed the arrival of the pilgrimage at York on Armed Forces Day, 29 June. The pilgrims walked through the city handing out anti-war literature to soldiers and veterans who were manning stalls.
Cliff Lawrie, chairman of the Fulford branch of the Royal British Legion, said: ‘To us it was a mark of disrespect, and to be approached and an attempt to give peace literature… added insult to injury. Many veterans fought so we can enjoy relative peace in our time and allow the freedoms to demonstrate and free speech.’
Andrew Greaves, coordinator of the Pilgrimage and a Friend from Hexham Meeting, said: ‘The vehemence of the comments… underlines the vital need for more public debate about the very issues the Pilgrimage is seeking to highlight.
‘There has been a disturbing trend of late (perhaps to be explained by this country’s continuing entanglement in Afghanistan in particular) for the virtues of military service and military values to be paraded as somehow intrinsic to our national identity and wellbeing.
‘With the deepest respect for the devastating personal consequences that so many service personnel and their families are having to live with… it continues to be of the greatest importance for alternatives to war and militarism to be affirmed by every possible means, wherever the opportunity arises.’
The Pilgrimage has been endorsed by Michael Meacher, Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton, and Andy D’Agorne, leader of the Green Party in York.
Andy D’Agorne, who joined the Pilgrimage in York, said there was ‘certainly no intention to insult, disrespect or offend any veterans’. However, he challenged the territorial army’s display of military equipment and guns intended to ‘entertain and excite young children’ at the event.
The pilgrims are walking from Iona to London to highlight UK government plans to spend £100bn on Trident while slashing vital public services. They are due to arrive in London this week, where the Pilgrimage Declaration will be handed in to 10 Downing Street.
