Each year, a peaceful ceremony held in front of the memorial stone for conscientious objectors in Tavistock Square, London. Organised by one of the oldest pacifist organisations in the UK, the Peace Pledge Union, which is part of War Resisters’ International.
This year the event was hosted by feminist activist and comedian Kate Smurthwaite, who seeing it as a sign of the polarised times, commented that her social media had received quite a backlash when she mentioned this year’s event. What would the women who founded the white poppy movement in 1933 have thought, that 91 years later people are angry that a peaceful ceremony is being held on Remembrance Sunday.
Among the crowd of a couple of hundred people were members of Veterans For Peace, and the speakers were CND vice-president Roger McKenzie, Palestinian researcher Nadine Aranki, Jon Nott from Campaign Against The Arms Trade, and Associate Professor in peace studies at Coventry University, Marwan Darweish.
