MONDAY 16 MAY: PARLIAMENT DEBATES LIBYA
MONDAY 16 MAY: PARLIAMENT DEBATES LIBYA
DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL
LONDON SW1A 2AA
Just as Stop the War Coalition predicted when it began, the Nato
intervention in Libya is leading to full scale war. In just two months, we have
gone from "no-fly zone" to "no-drive zone" to "let's assassinate Gaddafi".
Now, the head of the British armed forces, General Sir David Richards, is
calling for the destruction of Libya's infrastructure.
Over 2000 bombing raids by the US, Britain and their allies have only
produced stalemate and the western powers are facing another disaster in
the third Muslim country they have attacked in the last decade.
General Richards makes it clear that included in the aims of the escalation he
is proposing would be the killing of Colonel Gaddafi. This is yet more
evidence that a war for regime change -- which is illegal under international
law -- has been disguised as a humanitarian intervention to "protect" the
Libyan people.
We know from the Iraq "shock and awe" experience, what destruction of
Libya's infrastructure will mean for the Libyan people -- countless deaths,
essential facilities in ruins, and the collapse of public services.
It is outrageous that a military officer like General Richards can make such
overtly political statements. How long is it before he is calling for ground
troops to invade Libya?
A war opposed by the majority of the British public, which we were promised
would be over in weeks and would -- according to the government -- "cost
tens, not hundreds of millions", now has no end in sight.
Parliament will debate the Libya war tomorrow, Monday 16 May. Stop the
War has called a protest at Downing Street, at 5pm, to demand that the
bombing of Libya stop immediately and the negotiations to reach a peaceful
resolution to the civil war, which have been proposed by a number of
countries, now take place.
MPs have got into the habit of supporting wars of aggression against foreign
countries, with disastrous consequences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now is the
time for MPs to represent the majority view of those who elected them to
parliament, by voting to stop the bombing of Libya and to end the Nato
intervention.
