The following excellent letter was published in the EDP on 7th November:
Sadly, I have read that the Conservative Party, if elected next year, seems set to do the arms industry leaders' bidding.
Sadly, I have read that the Conservative Party, if elected next year, seems set to do the arms industry leaders' bidding.
At the UK Defence Conference, Liam Fox, shadow defence secretary,
appeared to say unquestioningly that the Conservative Party and a
potential Conservative government promises to seek to maximise UK arms
exports and to use them as a "foreign policy tool". Does this mean
selling weapons to further Britain's "interests" abroad by interfering
in other peoples' conflicts, and build "friendship" and trust with
other governments. Yet the brutal history of the past 100 years (and of
course even earlier) shows that arms sales guarantee neither peace nor
security. Once military equipment has been exported, Britain (and of
course other exporter countries) has little or no control over its use.
What the world needs now and in the future is new policies for peace and security, not the failed dinosaur policies of the
past which have failed people. If we spent as much time, energy and ingenuity in promoting peace and healthy conflict management as is spent on making war, our world would be transformed.
This is of course a message for everyone, whoever is in power. It would be good to see Britain taking a lead role in this vital
matter, for our own sakes and those who follow us. This is a timely reminder at this season as we remember the dead of two world wars and innumerable "minor" wars in between, the civilians as well as the soldiers.
PETER KEMP
What the world needs now and in the future is new policies for peace and security, not the failed dinosaur policies of the
past which have failed people. If we spent as much time, energy and ingenuity in promoting peace and healthy conflict management as is spent on making war, our world would be transformed.
This is of course a message for everyone, whoever is in power. It would be good to see Britain taking a lead role in this vital
matter, for our own sakes and those who follow us. This is a timely reminder at this season as we remember the dead of two world wars and innumerable "minor" wars in between, the civilians as well as the soldiers.
PETER KEMP
