Peace Pledge Union

Posted: 22nd October 2020

White Poppy Campaign launched with call to remember Yemen

White poppy sales are well underway as we head towards Remembrance Day. (Buy yours here! https://shop.ppu.org.uk)

The Peace Pledge Union has said that Remembrance Day risks being a “festival of forgetting” if we ignore Yemen and other current wars.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Yemen, which has already killed over 20,000 people and left over 10 million facing starvation.

The PPU is using the slogan “Remember Yemen”, along with the usual call to “Remember Them All” – victims of all nationalities in all wars, including current wars and lesser-mentioned colonial wars of the past.

White poppies, which have been worn since 1933, have three meanings:

• Remembrance for all victims of war, both civilian and military, of all nationalities.
• A commitment to peace.
• A rejection of militarism and any attempt to celebrate war.

The PPU has repeatedly condemned British complicity in the war in Yemen, pointing out that Saudi forces have been trained by UK forces, both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia. While the UK government boasts of giving £1bn in aid to Yemen since the war began in 2015, they have licensed arms sales worth well over six times that figure in the same time period.

Backing the PPU, Adhiyan Jeevathol of London Students for Yemen said, “We should remember Yemen because we are in part responsible for the misery in Yemen if we do not take a stand against the policies of the UK government and arms companies.”

While white poppy sales and Remembrance events this year are likely to be affected by the ongoing pandemic, there has already been an increase in orders of white poppy material for schools.

The Peace Pledge Union will hold an Alternative Remembrance Sunday Ceremony at 12 midday on Sunday 8 November. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony this year will be online, bringing groups together from across the UK. Let us know you’re coming by registering here: https://www.ppu.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=173&reset=1e

You can order white poppies online, see a list of outlets in your area, add a Facebook frame to your profile and read more about the meaning and history of white poppies.

27th October – open space discussion on the politics and activism of white poppies and alternative remembrance

We hope you will join us on Tuesday 27th October, 7pm – 8.30pm, for our open space online event for PPU members and supporters.

To find out more and register to receive details of how to join the meeting, please visit our website: https://www.ppu.org.uk/civicrm/event/info%3Fid%3D175%26reset%3D1 and if you have any questions you can contact us on [email protected] or 020 7424 9444.

International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth: call for action

The Week of Action takes place from the 9th-15th November. Young PPU members and supporters will join activists across the world in making a stand against the militarisation of young people.

A variety of actions are currently being planned; we would love for more of our young members and supporters to join us and we welcome any ideas.

Please email [email protected] to get involved and visit the War Resisters International website for further information about the Week of Action.

Save the date for our 2021 AGM

The next PPU Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 24th April, so please save the date. With the future of the pandemic uncertain, we don’t yet know what will be possible in terms of format – meeting in person, online or a mixture of the two.

We will keep you informed and also ask for your feedback a bit nearer the time about what would make the AGM accessible for you. If you have any thoughts on that now, please do email us on [email protected] or call 020 7424 9444.

The AGM is an event for PPU members. If you are not already a member and would like to sign the Peace Pledge and pay a small annual fee to join, please visit our website: https://www.ppu.org.uk/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=2

Events

Visit our website for PPU events, as well as other events that PPU members and supporters are involved in: https://ppu.org.uk/events

Peace Pledge Union
020 7424 9444

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