Protestors tell Burnham don’t support illegal war on Iran
Labour CND
Hundreds of protesters gathered at short notice for a protest at the main gates of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Saturday following another attack on Iran this week by a US B-1 bomber stationed at the airbase. The emergency demonstration was called by CND and Fairford Action group, and supported by Iranians Against War and Stop the War Coalition.
The US bomber’s flight from Fairford was the latest escalation in fortnight of US bombing which has targeted Iranian bridges, energy supplies and other civilian infrastructure. Iran responded with attacks on US bases in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. A recent statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Britain was an ‘accomplice’ to the United States’s illegal war. Iran now viewed British bases like RAF Fairford as legitimate targets.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made known his government will be continuing his predecessor’s ambiguous policy of permitting British bases to be used in so-called defensive operation. Placards and banners at Saturday’s protest made clear demonstrators understood the killing of Iranian children was not ‘defensive’; it isillegal under international law.
It is now widely accepted that Keir Starmer’s policy of permitting RAF Fairford and Britain’s Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean to be used for so-called defensive operations is, at best, an ambiguous formulation. Despite this, Burnham make it known that Labour Government 2.0 plans to continue Starmer’s policy, despite growing opposition.
In a CND press release announcing CND’s emergency demonstration, General Secretary Sophie Bolt said the use of British bases had to end now. ‘Public opposition to the use of British bases to commit war crimes overseas is growing. Diplomatic pathways to achieve a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear programme have been shown to work. Trump’s bombardment is only sabotaging this progress.’