GreenFlint: human rights

Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts

Thursday, 23 June 2016

Leaving the EU: Forward to the past?

Yesterday's decision is depressing. Like the rest of the Green Party I regret it but we recognise that it is the decision of the people.

Many things, however, will not change. Geographically, culturally and politically we will still be part of Europe. And our sovereignty will still be limited by a web of international treaties and relationships.

As we unweave the strands labelled 'EU' there are some things we’ll be glad to see go. Of these the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – the secret treaty that seeks to make our parliament subject to corporate courts – is the most toxic.

But some things we should keep. Our EU membership provides useful protections for our health, human rights and environment. There is nothing at all un-British about such protections which were often pioneered by the UK before joining the EU.

On both these the UK government has taken the wrong side – backing TTIP and undermining our rights. As we leave those of us – clearly a majority – who reject TTIP and value these protections need to watch what’s being done in our name. We need – immediately – to insist on open access to the negotiating texts of the agreements that will replace our EU membership. And we need to organise to resist the underhand attacks on our rights that the Tories will make in the name of UK independence.

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Supporting the Kurds

Two months ago a questioner in a Kurdish audience asked a panel of Greens whether we would want the UK to offer military support to the Kurdish forces defending their homelands in northern Iraq and Syria. He made it clear that this was more important to them than our views on the Living Wage or Trident. It's not an easy question - which is why all us local candidates asked Jean Lambert to answer first!

On the one hand it's easy to sympathise with anyone who's resisting Islamic State. There can be few fates worse than falling into the hands of IS - especially if you are gay or a freethinker or a woman - or just like music! The Kurds are holding the line despite inferior equipment and funding.

On the other hand Greens are sceptical of military 'solutions'. We prefer negotiation and we remember how the 'heroic' anti-Soviet mujaheddin evolved into Al Quaeda. Not to mention the role of the Blair-Bush invasion in creating the very forces the Kurds now face.

As historian Tom Holland put it at the Hay Festival we tried intervening and that was disastrous so we tried not intervening and so was that!

Yet the Kurds are not another military sect but a settled community resisting attacks. The leaders of Rojava - the Syrian enclave - are trying to develop a tolerant and democratic society. Independent observers take their attempts seriously whilst criticising shortfalls. And this is important. There are few Middle East states which even share these humane and civilised aspirations. It would be wrong and stupid of us not to make real efforts encourage a development that could, eventually, be a beacon for the region.

There are risks in every course of action but I believe that we should support the Kurds' defence of their territory. That means military supplies and, probably, training and intelligence sharing. It does not mean military action by British forces.

As I argued in a recent post the Muslim world is going through an extended period of warfare akin to the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It's unpredictable but it must be right to support those who share our values.

So here are some non-military things the UK government should do:

Increase humanitarian aid to the Kurdish enclaves in Syria and Iraq.
Cease to treat the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation
Ask Turkey to end the ban on the PKK and open negotiations.
Release its leader Abdullah Ocalam from solitary confinement.

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) can secure representation in a new parliament, marking a significant shift in Turkish politics by moving away from the era of AKP single-party governments.
Commenting on the elections, Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP said:
‘The HDP are a party with an ecological, pro-democracy, equality driven agenda. They are also clear about wanting autonomy and peace for the Kurds. Their representation is important.’
International coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales, Derek Wall concluded:
'They are an inspiration. Success for the HDP would be a win for the Kurds, the LGBT community and the Turkish Greens who are part of the HDP. More should be done to promote their message. Turkish voters who want to influence their country's future can vote in the General Election this weekend at Olympia.'
Turkey has the world’s highest electoral threshold, requiring a 10% vote share to achieve representation. The general election takes place on the 7^th of June.
- See more at: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2015/05/29/greens-support-hdp-ahead-of-upcoming-turkish-election/#sthash.iZ2B5Iin.dpuf

Sunday, 26 April 2015

Joan Ryan: The New Labour years

Every vote is a vote for a person as well as their party so it's fair to look at a candidate's track record. Joan Ryan, my Labour opponent, was an MP for 13 years before Nick de Bois defeated her and you can now see her key parts of her voting record online.

It's not a pretty sight.

Let's start with the good news. She voted for gay rights, higher alcohol prices and to ban hunting with hounds.

Now the rest.

The Iraq War
First and worst she voted for the Iraq war. That was a war for an unjust cause, fought without UN sanction and that was sold to the UN and to the British Parliament and people with lies; most notably the "dodgy dossier". Perhaps she believed the lies - though many of us saw through them even then. But if she believed them why did she not demand a full inquiry? In fact she voted against inquiries in both 2003 and 2009.

Of course government MPs are expected to vote for the government line whilst ministers, Ryan was a Parliamentary Private Secretary and then a whip, are required to. But a decision to authorise killing is above all a moral decision and this decision had extraordinary consequences for Iraq, Syria and the flow of migrants to Europe. If she had disagreed with the leadership she could, and should, have resigned. So I believe that she believed the lies.

And what can we conclude from this? Surely that her political judgement is poor and that she's too ready to follow her party's leaders into folly.

Strengthening the state
Ryan has voted repeatedly for measures that increase the power of the state over its citizens. They include:

Identity cards - which help the state to track us.
To allow GCHQ to retain data about phone calls, e-mails, etc.
To allow ministers to intervene in inquests - to avoid embarrassment to the government.
Various 'anti-terrorism' measures which undermine the rule of law.

Ryan is no friend of civil liberties on matters where such liberties inconvenience the state.

Climate change
Ryan voted against various measures against climate change. For instance:

In 2008 she voted against including climate change policies in the National Policy Statement,
and against government powers to set emissions targets for power stations.
In 2009 she voted against the government's endorsing the 10:10 campaign.

New Labour did take action on climate change but these fall far short of what is needed to avoid catastrophe.

Of course she voted for and against many other measures but these illuminate her politics.

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Some campaigns I support

Since becoming a candidate I have agreed to support the following causes (sorry for lack of detail!). I've also offered qualified support to a number of others:

CND's opposition to replacing Trident.
CAMRA's manifesto (beer and pubs)
Crisis' No One Turned Away (homelessness)
Cancer Research's Cross Cancer Out campaign
Barnado's and others A Stitch in Time campaign
The Royal Statistical Society;'s Data Manifesto
The Public Service Users Bill
Traidcraft
The Frack Free promise (FoE and Greenpeace)
The League Against Cruel Sports' five animal welfare calls.
The Living Streets Manifesto
Compassion in World Farming
Breast Cancer Campaign
The OneKind pledge
The Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England's manifesto.
The Local Goverbnm,ent Association's four points
The RSPB's I'm Backing Bob campaign
The Disability Benefits Consortium's 5 asks
The CTC
The Terrence Higgins Trust
The Empty Homes Agency
The LGBT Whip
London Cycling Campaign's demand to remove TSRGD
The Tibet Society's demand for human rights for Tibet.
The ASI