UK student leaders launch statement against war in Libya .
28 May 2011 Middle East and North Africa ..
Student leaders from across Britain have launched the following statement demanding the British government immediately stop the war on Libya.
To add your name to the statement please email
info@studentcnd.org.ukThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your name, college/university and position (if appropriate).
Statement by Students Against the War in Libya
We believe that the war on Libya is morally wrong, illegal under international law and must end immediately.
The West's intervention is inflaming the civil war rather than helping achieve a settlement. Rather than helping protect innocent civilians - NATO forces are destroying vital infrastructure, bombing residential areas and killing people.
The leaders of US, France and Britain claim intervention is for humanitarian reasons, but all now explicitly state that the purpose of the bombing is regime change. Under international law, war for regime change is illegal.
The Libyan people have a right to self-determination. Ending the bombing and intervention against Libya is the best way that the West can support democracy, freedom and human rights for the Libyan people. External intervention and killing innocent people will not solve the country's complex problems.
Governments whose populations make up the majority of the world are calling for a ceasefire in Libya - a call also backed by the African Union. They recognise, as we must, that only an end to the killing and a diplomatic and political solution can bring the Libyan people the peace and freedom they deserve.
We must learn the lessons of the last ten years. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by Western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain should not be intervening again in another country in the Middle East to secure its resources and strategic interests - such a path smacks of immorality and naked self-interest.
Britain's own interests are not served by spending millions of pounds dropping bombs on Libya at a time when huge cuts are underway. The government should prioritise education, healthcare and other public spending not war.
We demand our government immediately stops bombing Libya and ends all military intervention.
We urge students to support the activities of the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament and others in opposition to the bombing of Libya – including protests, pickets and public meetings against Western intervention.
Signed,
Kanja Sesay NUS Black Students' Officer
Vicki Baars NUS LGBT Officer (Women's Place)
Fiona Edwards Student CND Convenor
Shadia Edwards-Dashti Stop the War Student Officer
Aaron Kiely NUS NEC-Elect
Rima Amin NUS Black Students' Committee
Mark Bergfeld NUS NEC & Stop the War Coalition Steering Committee
Elly Badcock NUS Women's Committee
Hanif Leylabi NUS LGBT Committee
Sean Rillo Raczka NUS NEC & ULU Vice President-Elect
Samaira Anjum NUS Black Students' Committee
Joshi Sachdeo NUS NEC
Clare Solomon ULU President
Neelam Rose University of Worcester SU Diversity Officer & NUS Black Students' Committee
Amena Amer LSE SU Education Officer-elect
Edward Bauer Birmingham Guild of Students VP Education-Elect
Ashok Kumar LSE SU Education Officer
James Haywood Goldsmiths SU President-Elect
Louis Hartnoll University of the Arts London Students' Union President
Lukas Slothuus LSE SU Community and Welfare Sabbatical Officer-Elect
Khaled Al-Muddallal Bradford Union Treasurer-Secretary
Lucy McFadzean LSE SU Women's Officer-Elect
Rashida Islam Sheffield University SU Black Students' Committee
Arianna Tassinari SOAS SU Education & Welfare-Elect
Lois Clifton LSE SU Ethics and Environment Office-Elect
Adam O'Connell Birmingham Guild of Students Councillor
James Meadway SOAS SU Postgraduate Officer
Sam Browse Student Broad Left
Mary Robertson Student CND
