Stop the War Coalition
This Wednesday hundreds of people came to hear a range of experts and anti-war campaigners who examined the disastrous decision to invade Iraq at the People’s Chilcot Tribunal organised by Stop the War.
In the opening session, former UN envoy to Iraq Hans von Sponeck emphasised the tragic humanitarian consequences of the last two and a half decades of sanctions and invasions of Iraq. He noted that the UN Security Council sanctions against Iraq from 1990 were the most severe sanctions in history. He also stressed that the 2003 invasion of Iraq resulted in enormous casualties and a dramatic fall in the living standards of the broad population. In her speech, Stop the War convenor Lindsey German emphasised how the current refugee crisis is also to a large extent the product of the wars which the UK and the US had started in 2001 and 2003.
CND general secretary Kate Hudson gave a summary of the evidence about the illegality and deceit on which the decision to invade Iraq was based. As Stop the War Chair Andrew Murray pointed out: “The propaganda war unleashed on the British people was a masterpiece of mendacity”. He emphasised the need to end the special relationship with the US which has taken Britain into one war after another. Political commentator Peter Oborne reiterated these points in his speech, which focused on revealing how the institutions of the British establishment, including the mass media, had set out to tell lies.
Peter Brierley from Military Families Against the War spoke about his son who died in Iraq. He described his school-age experiences and his personality, which was a reminder of the countless personal tragedies which war produces. Ex-soldiers Ben Griffin and Geoff Martin described how UK soldiers were used as cannon fodder in the narrow interest of the warmongers. Ben Griffin described how his military unit was breaking into people’s houses, stealing their property and kidnapping and torturing Iraqi men. In relation to these and other human rights’ abuses, journalist and playwright Richard Norton-Taylor said Blair can be tried for breaching the 4th Geneva Convention in failing to protect occupied civilians.
The entire event highlighted the need for real government accountability for its policies, and the need for the anti-war voice to be heard. This is the only way in which we can escape the quagmire of permanent war.
Source: Stop the War Coalition
