Welsh MEP and Chair of CND Cymru Jill Evans will be amongst the main speakers at the “Stop the War” demonstration in London this Saturday (15th February).
The leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament will be addressing the rally less than a week after returning from a peace and humanitarian mission to Iraq, where she was part of a 30 strong Parliamentary delegation from 11 European states.
Speaking from Brussels she said:
“We have to send a clear message to George Bush and Tony Blair that whatever the problem, killing innocent men, women and children can never be the answer. Because as always the greatest casualties are the most innocent."
“The US claim Iraq has chemical, biological and even possibly nuclear weapons and that they are too dangerous in the hands of Saddam Hussein. I agree - they’re too dangerous in anyone’s hands – and that is why CND Cymru has been campaigning for disarmament for decades. But that's why we have international agreements and bodies set up to enforce them - to prevent war and help keep the peace. The focus now should be on strengthening those bodies to make them effective. That means respecting, not undermining, the UN and its weapons inspectors."
“Saddam Hussein is a dangerous leader. We do not defend him or his bloody record of oppressing his own people. We want to see a change of government - but we won’t achieve that through war. The US has no right to decide to get rid of another country's government - however bad it is. It’s illegal under international law. And it would have disastrous effects on the Middle East."
“Over the past months we have seen the most powerful country in the world putting massive effort and resources into starting a war. Just imagine - if a fraction of that effort had been put into fighting poverty or bringing peace to the Middle East, the world would truly be a safer place.”
During her visit to Iraq Ms Evans met with the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator and representatives of UNICEF, the UN Development Programme, the World Food Programme, World Health Organisation and UNHCR – the UN refugee agency. She also visited hospitals, including a children’s hospital in Basra which treats the large number of cancer cases caused by the depleted uranium used in the first Gulf war. It is thought that Basra has the highest rate of lukemia in the world.
Jill Evans will be amongst prominent politicians, trade union leaders and peace campaigners leading the demonstration organised by the Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Muslim Association of Britain.
Ends.
