A prominent anti-war speaker is testing the mettle of the University of Wisconsin's dedication to a free marketplace of ideas.

George Galloway, the British member of Parliament renowned for his untiring, highly publicized criticisms of the war in Iraq, will speak at the Memorial Union Sunday, accompanied by conflicted anti-war film actress Jane Fonda.

Galloway outraged fellow and opposing Parliament members in 2003 with candid denunciations of the war in Iraq, referring to terrorists as "martyrs" and President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair as "wolves" and compelling leaders of his Labour Party to expel him from the organization.

Since then, he has continued to voice his disapproval of the war as a Parliament member under the British anti-war party, Respect.

Hollywood film actress Jane Fonda will introduce Galloway Sunday to start the event off. Similar to Galloway, Fonda is an enduring opponent of war with a contentious history of opposing United States government.

In the 1970s, Fonda visited Vietnam during the war and received considerable amounts of publicity for posing for pictures atop a North Vietnamese Army anti-aircraft gun.

During her visit, Fonda publicly denounced the war and President Richard Nixon over Vietnamese radio, when she stated Nixon "would do well to read Vietnamese history, particularly their poetry … written by Ho Chi Minh."

Since it was announced Galloway's tour — titled "Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington," after his recently published book on the controversy — will visit Madison, politicians such as State Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, have publicly denounced UW and the values the tour's main attraction upholds.

"This man is a cheerleader for the terrorists," Suder said. "He has encouraged terrorists to attack his [British] troops and American troops."

In an effort to prevent Galloway from speaking this weekend, Suder launched a media campaign in August to discourage UW from supporting the tour, labeling it 'the next Ward Churchill fiasco' — stemming from last year's ill-fated attempts to prevent Churchill, who referred to Sept. 11 victims as "little Eichmanns," from speaking at UW-Whitewater.

"I think it's worse. Galloway's statements are worse than [those] of Ward Churchill," Suder said. "Mr. Galloway goes one step further by openly siding with the terrorists — that goes far beyond what Ward Churchill said."

Suder said he believes the event could possibly — but should not — be funded by taxpayer dollars. He added that UW has not provided him a full breakdown of the event's funding.

Patrick Barrett, administrative director for the Havens Center, UW Sociology Department organization and co-sponsor of the event, said he does not necessarily agree with Galloway's bold anti-war statements, but believes Suder should embrace the activist as a balancing voice to U.S. attitudes surrounding the war.

"Our position is, even if the talk was funded by UW, [Suder] wouldn't have any basis for contesting [the tour]," he said. "The university is not, nor should it be in the business of, limiting [speakers]. Instead, it should be a platform with speakers of all points of view." Barrett added the fact that people object to Galloway only enhances his right to speak under the university's free marketplace of ideas.

Yet Barrett acknowledges Galloway has a history of siding with Saddam Hussein and terrorist forces, stating the Parliament member personally visited the former Iraqi leader twice — once in 1994 to help lift sanctions imposed on Iraq after Desert Storm and again in 2002 to persuade him to allow weapons inspectors back into the country.

Barrett said Suder believes Galloway has "cozied up" to Hussein for saluting the leader's "courage, strength and indefatigability."

Barrett added Galloway opposed Hussein during Iraq's United States-supported war with Iran, but began to sympathize with him after he lost the United States' and Britain's support.

"Galloway is outraged people would criticize him when all of the other people who are making the criticisms backed him," he said. "He spent years and years opposing Hussein, long before the U.S. and Britain did."

For on-air interviews with Suder and Barrett commenting on the tour, visit www.havenscenter.org.