As we are meeting here today there are similar rallies and demonstrations and meetings and vigils taking place not just throughout Wales, not just throughout Europe, but throughout the world including the USA. People everywhere are saying no to a war against Iraq. We are here to tell the British government that they cannot go to war in our name – we won’t accept it and we will do all we can to stop it.
And I know from the letters and phone calls that I get in Parliament that for every person that comes out to protest, there are hundreds that can’t be here but who feel just as strongly as we do.
Protests like this are SO important. We have to send our 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 – 42% of the people of Iraqi are under 16 years old.
We hear all the propaganda, the reasons given for going to war against Iraq, but people just don’t believe it. It doesn’t make sense.
They 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 – what CND Cymru has campaigned on 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. But rather than exhausting all peaceful means, Bush and Blair are avoiding them.
George Bush speaking yesterday, admitted that this attack was planned straight after September 11th.
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 govt - but not 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.
It’s double standards. We hear so much about the war against terrorism. But when I was in Palestine last year I saw thousands of men, women and children who were being terrorised every day by the Sharon government which is also breaking international law and also has nuclear weapons but in this case has the support of the US.
And talking about enemies - the greatest threats to world security are poverty and injustice. Yet the gap between the rich and the poor gets wider.
Look at what that poverty means in Iraq. According to UNICEF 25% of babies born in Iraq weigh less than 2kgs. – a key indicator of famine. A million children under 5 suffer from malnutrition. But under the UN “Oil for Food” programme, which has been running for 6 years, only £127 is allowed for each person every year to cover all their needs – food, education, health, and so on. Only a third of the oil revenues can be spent on these things. The rest goes to pay compensation to Kuwait and to pay for the weapons inspections.
Do they really expect us to believe that attacking these people will help bring peace and security? Are their lives worth so little?
Well I don’t believe that and neither do hundreds of thousands of people. I am going to Iraq from here – 30 MEPs will be meeting UNICEF, UN agencies and visiting hospitals and schools. Hans von Sponeck, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, who knows as much as anyone about Iraq, first suggested a delegation to Baghdad. He is opposing the war. I can tell the Iraqi people that we meet that the people of Wales don’t want to attack them, and that I can come back with more information to raise awareness, put more pressure on the government and help convince more people that this war is wrong.
The weapons inspectors must be allowed to finish their work and if they find evidence of weapons or if there have been breaches of UN resolutions, peaceful measures taken to resolve the problems.
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.
We can make a difference. We are part of a worldwide movement for peace. Public opinion is with us. We are the majority and we are in the majority in Europe – not the right wing coalition of Blair, Berlusconi and Aznar who want war. We need to encourage and inspire people to speak out. To force the governments to listen. We have to drown out the cry for war with a deafening demand for peace.
Jill Evans ASE/MEP
