Brian Haw was a man of great courage and principle. We mourn his loss and pay tribute to his tenacity and uncompromising commitment. His ten year protest rightly became a symbol, both of opposition to the brutality of sanctions, war and occupation, and of defence of the right to protest, against all the odds – legal and physical – that could be thrown at him.
Most significantly, his protest began before 9/11, before the war on terror, and the great campaigns against the war on Iraq. He protested to save the children of Iraq – reportedly 500,000 died as a result of sanctions in the 1990s – at a time when few others really took an interest. He was a trail-blazer, an inspiration and an example to us all.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace.