Graham Jones
I WRITE about the constituency an awful lot and certainly a lot is going on with regards to transport, however I thought for a change I’d take a detour and talk briefly about three foreign policy issues that are current.
The Israel-Palestine one is simple. Israel is a fabulous country in itself but it has no right to occupy and oppress its neighbour Palestine. Nor has it a right to steal land or water.
I recently visited the West Bank for a few days and the Israeli Army are everywhere harassing innocent Palestinians. In area C it is particularly brutal repression. The settlements, nearly 300 of them, are everywhere. On every hilltop looking down. Settlers steal farmers’ land, build properties and then use violence against local Palestinians who fight back. The government steals land for ‘security reasons’ too. The Israeli government will find a fault with land deeds and then claim ownership of ‘un-owned’ land even if it has been farmed for 1,000 years.
Collective justice is applied everywhere and young children are locked up in a military prison for as long as six months without trial and schooled by Israel randomly.
Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel when half of it isn’t in Israel will only further fan the flames of resentment.
We must never forget however that there are a lot of good people in Israel who oppose too the policies of their right wing government.
There is a terrible civil war in Yemen where, as a result, extreme Islamic terrorists (al Qaida and ISIS) have found a new base.
The north-south civil war has led to the biggest humanitarian crisis in decades and an unprecedented human crisis. Unfortunately, the brutal Houthis have refused to come to the peace table, concentrating on winning that civil war and turning Yemen into a terrorist state. They have close links with the terrorist organisation Hezbollah, are supported by Iran who supply hi-tech missiles and have launched over 80 of those long range ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia. They have laid over 35,000 landmines. Their slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews” and their intentions are to destroy the west (including the UK) and Saudi Arabia and build not a nation - but a Shia Islamic caliphate. This cannot be allowed to happen and as a result the UN Security Council (2216) have voted 14-0 for action against the Houthis.
The Rohingya are being raped, murdered, brutalised by Buddhist elements complicit with the Burmese (Myanmar) government. Heartbreaking scenes of death, mutilation and pain. Babies being burnt.
As an internationalist and a humanist, I believe the UK should do all it can to defend human rights, freedoms and stand up for the oppressed around the world. We have to believe in a better future.