On Saturday 29th October around 50 students from Edinburgh and Stirling University People & Planet held a name-reading ceremony in memory of the thousands of Iraqis who have lost their lives due to the American and British-led occupation. As part of the '100,000 Rings for the People of Iraq' campaign, 100 names of Iraqis known to have died since the beginning of and as a direct result of the occupation were read out, accompanied by a ring of a bell for each name. The students were accompanied by a six metre long dummy missile with 'WMD' written on the side, serving as a reminder to the fact that none have been found in Iraq despite WMD being the primary reason for the invasion.

The main purpose of the missile was to use it to blockade the US consulate in Edinburgh. After the ceremony the group marched along Princes Street with the missile held high, headed for the consulate and flyering the public on the way. The flyers contained information about the occupation of Iraq and encouraged people to join us at the consulate. Once the group arrived, the missile was set down in front of the main entrance to the consulate. Yasmin, a P&Per with family in Iraq, delivered a very powerful speech on the steps of the consulate and reminded those assembled outside the consulate that the Lancet report of 100,000 dead was now a year old and the true figure was now likely much higher. US General Tommy Franks had insensitively said, “We don’t do body counts.” However, the American military does count its own dead and the number recently reached the 2,000 mark.

After the speech the group held a two-minute die-in in memory of those who have lost their lives at the hands of British and American neo-imperialism and in solidarity with those suffering every day in Iraq. During the die-in, one member of the group attached the Lancet Report and list of names to the consulate door. The blockade lasted almost an hour before the group left, taking the missile with them for future use.