We need a call to alms in Syria- not a call to arms
Posted by Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet, at 12:40, Fri 6 September 2013:
With every day, the pictures on our television screens become more desperate as the crisis in Syria deepens.
It was against this backdrop that I was pleased when the Prime Minister recalled the House of Commons last week for a debate on one of the most important issues that we face globally: the use of chemical weapons.
Whilst I always support humanitarian efforts in areas of conflict, I could never vote for military intervention in Syria. I was a passionate campaigner against the Blair/Bush Iraq invasion and believe that war rarely brings with it anything other than the deaths of innocent civilians and increasingly heightened international tensions.
I do not however believe that we should let any government get away with gassing its own citizens. I have seen firsthand the mental scarring left on survivors and their descendants by these kind of attacks in Iraq following the Halabja poison gas attack when 5000 people were immediately killed and a further 7000 left seriously injured or with long-term illnesses. Over twenty years on this was finally recognised as a an act of genocide against the Kurdish people. Too little, too late many have said.
The use of chemical weapons is about far more than just Syria. We should be talking about their global proliferation. I find it abhorrent that there are still seven countries (including Syria of course) that have not yet signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. How can these countries expect to be part of our international community? I believe that we should be making it much harder for these countries to co-exist with us by excluding them from every international table whether we're talking about trade or football.
I am not sure what military intervention can realistically achieve in Syria. If we follow in the footsteps of the quagmire that is Iraq and Afghanistan, we could easily end up in Syria for the next decade. I think that we must instead be looking at options available to us that set us apart from these most inhumane governments. We must make chemical weapons absolutely intolerable whilst providing humanitarian support to those who are so desperately in need of it. Rather than the call to arms everyone has been talking about, I want to see a call to alms- a fight for assertive humanitarian action.
- Laura's View, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Fri 6th Sept 2013
For more on my view on Syria, my speech can be found here: http://telllaura.org.uk/news/an-open-letter-to-south-thanet-residents-on-syria
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Posted by Robin G Howard, 17:48, Fri 6 September 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
My opinion is that sanctioned military action to be used only upon a direct threat to Britain. Both Britain and Europe should deliver a common message to Assad. The use of chemical weapons not to be tolerated. The responsibility, for every action or atrocity committed by your regime, investigated and prosecuted by International law. Until that time, imposed imprisonment within your countries boundaries will result, disabling all travel with diplomatic immunity removed. No matter how long it takes, justice will prevail.