Greens propose solutions as Labour wallows in war chaos
27 February 2003
As huge numbers opposed to Tony Blair’s war-drive gather to protest in Swansea at the Welsh Labour Party Conference, the Green Party is re-affirming its position as the pre-eminent pro-peace party by distributing to peace activists a new report containing constructive solutions to the crisis with Iraq.
The Greens’ presence at Friday’s conference adds weight to the anti-war movement, by providing a political alternative for peace that surpasses what Plaid Cymru, the Socialists or the equivocating Liberal Democrats have to offer.
“While Plaid Cymru are outwardly against war, they visibly continue to support arms manufacturing (1) - even though there would be a net jobs gain through ending arms exports. (2) We in Wales could create a Green jobs explosion through investing in sustainable industries, rather than in war, pollution and profit for the privileged.
“Only the Green Party has the constructive policy-solutions to work for peace in this conflict and all conflicts” said leading Assembly candidate Martyn Shrewsbury.
Asking voters to “Vote 2 Stop the War”, Martyn said: “Making your 2nd Vote Green is not only a vote against the war on Iraq. It is a vote against war as an instrument of foreign policy and the arms trade in general.”
Promote the cause of peace by tackling the causes of war
The Greens’ new briefing sets out a comprehensive package of measures both for dealing with this crisis and for promoting non-violent conflict resolution, and tackling the causes of war in future. It advocates:
Letting the UN inspectors do their job, and ending the hypocrisy: they had destroyed 90-95% of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction in 1998 before they were withdrawn prior to renewed US bombing. Iraq is virtually clean compared to nuclear weapons states such as Pakistan, India and Israel who get military and political support from the USA and Britain.
Lift the sanctions: Economic sanctions have killed over a million people, half of them children under five. Chronic malnutrition is widespread, with one in ten children dying of hunger before their fifth birthday. Could this in any way help promote peace?
Let the Iraqi people themselves create democracy – which they can’t do as long as they’re caught between the anvil of Saddam's oppression and the hammer of Western sanctions and bombings.
Apply international law: the International Criminal Court (ICC) is now up and running, despite the active opposition of the US government, and could try Saddam Hussein.
Proper funding for UN: the UN is the forum for fighting terrorism and addressing rogue states. Yet while 10% of our taxes go to the military, only a sixth of that sum goes to the UN.
Reform the Security Council: democratise the United Nations so that countries cannot be bullied or bought by big nations such as the United States.
End arms exports to dictatorial or unstable regimes: UK taxpayers currently subsidise the arms exports industry by £763 million a year. Many of these arms go to oppressive regimes – which makes a mockery of British or US government rhetoric about disarming the villains.
Outlaw DU weapons: Rates of cancer and birth defects in Iraq are very high, due to the Depleted Uranium-tipped shells that the Allies used during the 1991 Gulf War.
Notes to Editors:
(1) Plaid Cymru’s 2001 General Election Manifesto only goes as far as to state that they support greater controls on the brokering of arms deals, although that has now happened to a small extent under Labour’s inadequate Arms Exports Bill
(2) Campaign Against the Arms Trade www.caat.org has determined that the UK arms exports industry is subsidised to the tune of £763m per year, which is £40 per British taxpayer.
