|
"No More Lies - No More Lives"
On Saturday 27th September, the Scottish Coalition for Justice
Not War will be holding a rally in Edinburgh in support of the
demonstration in London on the same day.
Speakers include Colin Fox MSP; Ian Hamilton QC; Eleanor Scott
MSP; Wael Shawish; Susan Karin; Isobel Lindsay.
Saturday 27th September 12 noon, The Mound Place, Edinburgh.
On the same day at the rally, the Scottish Coalition will be
launching a petition campaign to get the Lord Advocate to indict
Tony Blair for misleading Parliament and taking Britain to war
without a UN mandate. Everyone attending the rally will be asked
to join a mass public signing of the petition and to take copies
away for friends and family to sign.
Leaflets and posters available from Scottish CND more details:
0141 423 1222 or scnd@banthebomb.org
Scottish author Alasdair Gray (Author of 'Lanark' and other
influential Scottish novels) supports "No More Lies - No More
Lives" protest against the US occupation of Iraq and for Justice
for Palestine on Saturday 27th September:
"I support the Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War for
reasons too many and well known to repeat here. People who think
it right to ignore these reasons believe the USA, with British
support, can use their unprecedentally vast store of destructive
weapons to police the world, without United Nations support.
No single state or group of states can do such a thing: especially
when managed by governments whose main care is to increase the
profits of the richest private companies within their borders."
top
Composite : EC1 - Iraq
Conference noted the statements made by Robin Cook and Clare
Short at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 17 June 2003,
that reaffirmed our belief that the basis for war in Iraq was
unjustified. Instructed the NEC to demand - and campaign for
vigorously - a thorough public independent enquiry in to the
whole debacle.
Conference was concerned that the military conflict in Iraq
may have led to an increase of Islamaphobia and racist incidents
in Britain. UNISON condemns all racist activity and calls on
the government to continue its efforts to foster harmonious
relations between all the communities of Britain and to stamp
out racism and Islamaphobia.
Conference calls on the NEC to work with other Unions, the
international trade union movement and governments to assist
the development of bona fide and independent trade unions in
Iraq as part of a programme to build democratic institutions
within the country.
UNISON must be at the forefront of those helping to build a
strong and effective union to fight for the interests of public
service workers in Iraq. Conference urges individual UNISON
branches, regions and the National Executive Council to continue
to promote UNISON's position through the 'Stop the War' Coalition
and by lobbying MPs and MEPs.
Click
here for the full text on the UNISON UK website
top
Stop the war - bring the troops home
Despite the best efforts of large sections of the international
community - and in the face of widespread public opposition
around the world - Britain is standing on the brink of war.
It is up to every UNISON member to make their voice heard
and tell the government that war against Iraq cannot be justified.
UNISON's position on this issue is crystal clear - we believe
any military action without the explicit authority of the United
Nations Security Council would be unjustifiable and against
international law and the requirements of the UN charter.
We oppose military action because we do note accept that the
case for war has been demonstrated. UNISON has also been instrumental
in developing a similar position in the TUC. The TUC general
council statement, agreed unanimously, expressed the view that
on the evidence currently available the conditions for military
action had not been met and war could not be justified.
Stop the War coalition is encouraging support for a range of
activities. If war is declared, local Stop the War groups will
be organising local demonstrations, particularly at lunchtimes
in city centres to protest against the war.
Members may therefore wish to participate in such protests
and in London a large demonstration will take place at lunchtime
in Parliament Square London. There will be a second national
demonstration in London on Saturday 22 March at 12noon.
See http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
top
National Executive Committee Statement on Iraq,
19 February 2003
UNISON's National Executive Council issued the following
statement on Iraq:
National Executive Committee Statement on Iraq,
19 February 2003
UNISON applauds the millions of people who demonstrated
in the Stop the War marches on 15 February and have joined in
protests across the world. These people included hundreds of thousands
of public service workers and UNISON members united in a desire
to stop the killing of innocent civilians and to prevent an unjust
war.
It is crucial that we maintain the broad public
pressure on the government to heed our concerns and we will continue
to work with the Stop the War coalition, the TUC and International
unions and NGOs to seek a sustainable and peaceful solution to
the Iraq crisis. To this end we endorse the statements issued
by the TUC, Solidar and US Labour Against the War.
UNISON NEC reaffirms its statement of 8th October
2002 that "any military action without the explicit authority
of the United Nations Security Council would be unjustifiable
and against international law and the requirements of the UN Charter".
To date the weapons inspectors have failed to find
convincing evidence of a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction
and the case for war has not been justified. In these circumstances
we oppose military action against Iraq, a view shared by an increasing
number of members of the Security Council who do not accept that
the case for war has been demonstrated. We believe that Hans Blix
and his team should be given the fullest possible support to find
an alternative way to disarm Saddam Hussein without the need for
war.
The government should acknowledge the valid concerns
of our key partners in NATO and the European Union and to take
steps to heal the rifts which have developed. We are convinced
that the position taken by, for example, the French and the Germans
is one based on only going to war as an absolute last resort and
we believe that our government should sign up to that principle.
UNISON's position in no way indicates support for
Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi regime whose human rights record
and contempt for democracy we continue to condemn. We call on
the UN Security Council to insist that Saddam fully co-operates
with the weapons inspectors and the terms of UN resolution 1441
or face the consequences of international law.
We recognise and condemn the human rights violations
and other attacks on people in Iraq and other countries by the
regime of Saddam Hussein, and we express our solidarity with those
democratic forces in Iraq which are seeking to bring about a free
and democratic country. However, we believe that change must be
brought about by a political rather than a military solution,
and that regime change must be determined and brought about by
the Iraqi people themselves.
Finally, we believe that if the UN is to retain
its respect and authority in the world order it must adopt a consistent
approach to implementation of UN resolutions. We recognise the
steps already taken by the Labour government in making a case
for an independent Palestinian state and call on them to work
pro-actively in the UN and bilaterally to instigate peace talks
in the Middle East which will deliver this objective.
UNISON therefore calls on the Labour government
to:
- Respond positively to the legitimate concerns of our union
and the British people
- Explicitly state they will only operate under the auspices
of the UN and work towards an alternative to war
- Confirm that they will not form a military alliance against
Iraq with the Americans in defiance of the will of the UN
- Allow a full debate and vote in parliament
- Halt any further preparations for war while the UN weapons
inspectors are still carrying out their work on the ground in
Iraq
- Use the so-called special relationship between the US and
the UK to convince the US administration that the world is not
prepared to rubber stamp George Bush's attempts to wage war
at will
- Intensify the political and diplomatic pressures on the UN
and the US to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Palestine
and Israel
|
International
- Iraq