These are some of my favourite current campaigns, both national and international. They all need your support, and in most cases it's simply a case of signing a petition or perhaps writing a letter. If you know of, or are running, a campaign that you think I should feature here, please drop me a line. This page is updated regularly.

FREE FILEP AND YUSAK

On 1st December 2004, in West Papua, Indonesia, two men - Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage - publicly raised their national flag, the Morning Star, and called for independence from Indonesia. For this they were arrested, tried, convicted of 'treason' and sentenced to ten and fifteen years in jail respectively.

This from an ally of ours, Indonesia, which regularly boasts of its status as a 'democracy', and which is a recipient of British arms. The Free West Papua Campaign is currently asking people to sign a petition calling for the relase of Filep and Yusak, who are languishing in jail as international campaigns to free them continue to gather pace. Please take a moment to visit the campaign web page and send a message of solidarity to these two brave men.


STOP THE HASTINGS LINK ROAD

Thought the days of road protests were long over? Thought you could pack away your old climbing gear and bust cards forever? Think again. The extent of the Labour government's road-building plans now almost rival the Tory's vicious schemes which so many took to the trees to oppose in the 1990s. The government has announced a minimum of £30 billion-worth of road-building over the next decade. This will pay for 360 miles of motorway and trunk road widening and 100 trunk and local bypasses, much of it through virgin countryside and protected areas.

One of those which is currently being fought at local level is the Hastings Link Road - a resurrected version of the Hastings Bypass which was rejected two years ago by the government for being too environmentally damaging. This one will be equally bad, slashing through wildlife reserves and untouched countryside, and leading, as bypasses always do, to an increase rather than a decreease in traffic.

Friends of the Earth are running a Campaign against the road. Visit their site and send an email to the government opposing this road.


SAY NO TO I.D. CARDS

There is no serious argument to be made in favour of ID cards. Their value in 'combatting terrorism' is nebulous, as shown by the fact that no-one who claims they will do so is able to say quite why. There is similarly no evidence that they will combat benefit fraud, stop illegal immigration or help us sleep easier at night.

What they will do is put your name, address, CV and genetic details onto a central government database, creating a Surveillance State the like of which has never been seen in the UK before. They will reverse the ancient balance of liberty in the UK, under which the State has to give a good reason for interfering in your life. They are antithetical to the civil liberties that people have fought and died for over centuries.

They are, in short, a bloody disgrace and they are coming your way, soon if you don't stand up against them. You can find out how to here.


SIGN UP TO STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION

The Government's Aviation White Paper, published in December 2003, outlined the biggest single programme of expansion the UK will have ever seen. In the White Paper, the Government said that it expects the number of passengers using UK airports to nearly treble by 2030.

To meet this demand the Government said that new runways would probably be required at Stansted, Heathrow or Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh and most likely Glasgow. Nearly all the country's other airports would see significant expansion.

This makes a nonsense of the Government's supposed commitment to tackle climate change, to which air traffic is the fastest growing contributor. It will also lay waste to much of our countryside.

Visit this site to sign a pledge committing yourself to take personal action to stop any airport expansion. It's worth it.


FREEDOM FOR WEST PAPUA

The tribal people of West Papua have had their nation viciously occupied by the Indonesian military, against their will, since 1969. In that time, up to 800,000 Papuans have been murdered. Torture, beatings, disappearances, illegal imprisonment and mass rape are commonplace.

The Papuans are desperate for the international community to recognise their struggle. They are appealing to the UN to allow them a referendum on self-rule, and to governments all over the world to pressurise Indonesia to withdraw its soldiers from their land. There's a chapter on their plight in 'One No, Many Yeses'.

To find out how you can help, please visit www.freewestpapua.org

To give your support to Papuan prisoners imprisoned by the military, often illegally and always in horrifying conditions, visit westpapua.net/cases/hr/prisoner/index.htm

SAY NO TO 'STAR WARS'

Ronald Reagan's 1980s fantasy of a giant missile shield protecting the US from attack is back, courtesy of George W Bush. The US wants to build a missile shield to protect it from attack by 'rogue states.' Even if the shield were to work, it would ramp up a new arms race. It would also contribute to the weapon-isation of space and, conveniently, to the 'full spectrum dominance' (a Pentagon phrase) of the US military everywhere on Earth. It's a dangerous folly.

For Missile Defence to work, the US needs to use the UK spying and monitoring stations at Menwith Hill and Fylingdales in Yorkshire; making Britain a target for anyone who might have their sights set on attacking the US. If we can halt UK involvement in the project, 'Star Wars' may never come into being. Find out more here: cndyorks.gn.apc.org/md/index.htm

STOP GATS IN ITS TRACKS

The General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), a World Trade Organisation agreement, is intended to remove restrictions on 'service delivery' by the private sector. 'Services' include libraries, schools, hospitals, banks, rubbish collection and water delivery. The service industry is big business and heavily dominated by Western multinationals. GATS, drawn up by, and for, corporations, is intended to hand much of what remains in the public sector over to some of the world's biggest and most voracious corporations.

Negotiations are currently underway to determine which services will be swallowed up. Thanks to recently leaked documents we already know that European corporations are pressing for the right to be allowed to buy up not-for-profit state services in poor countries, including water provision, transport, telecoms and energy. Privatisation of basic services in poor countries is always a disaster for the poor (see the example of South Africa in my book if you don't think so). GATS needs to be stopped before it gets off the ground. More here: www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/GATS.htm

NO NEW OIL

Climate change is the most serious problem humanity has to tackle in the 21st century. If we can't tackle it soon, and seriously, then all our other priorities and efforts will go by the board. Global warming is already happening and is set to get worse (for a fantastically readable account of how the changing climate is affecting people all over the world get hold of a copy of High Tide: news from a warming world, by Mark Lynas, which is published by Flamingo).

Almost every government on Earth accepts this reality, while at the same time promoting new waves of the oil, coal and gas exploration which is causing the problem. This has to change, and fast. Get involved in the campaign to halt new oil exploration here: www.nonewoil.org