Around 30 people attended an emergency protest was organised by Tyneside Stop the War Coalition on Monday, March 21st at 5pm at the Monument to protest against the military intervention of Britain and big powers in Libya.
Roger Nettleship chairing and opening the protest said on March 19th, the international gangsters France, Britain and the US committed an act of war against Libya by launching over 100 missiles at Libya and seizing the assets of the Bank of Libya abroad. He explained that, as with Iraq and Afghanistan the war could not be legitimised under the UN charter even if being "legalised" by a minority vote in the UN when the majority of nations expressed their concerns at the action. He went on to say that Cameron was the new Blair and this shows even more the need to fight for an anti-war government in Britain that such a programme of the anti-war movement stood for peaceful resolution of conflicts between nations and within nations and nothing could justify the present attack on Libya and the pro-war consensus at Westminster.
Alex Snowden also speaking from Tyneside Stop the War Coalition said military intervention was not the way to bring democracy. Not through cruise missiles and B52s. What was crucial for the people of Libya is their self determination and that they control their own destiny and not having it taken away by the big western powers. It was hypocritical for Cameron, Obama and Clinton and so on to claim that they support popular uprisings as they also arm countries that suppress uprisings. He said look at history look at the so-called humanitarian interventions in Iraq and in Afghanistan they have been disastrous and the attack on Libya is not different if the big powers don't get what they want through airstrikes we could well see a ground invasion.
Tony Dowling of Tyneside Stop the War Coalition spoke saying that we have to be quite clear that our governments, the west, the United Nations have never gone to intervene in a country to actually help the people. They go in only for their own political and economic interests. He said that are saying we have to cut millions from public services but they are sending Cruise Missiles at a million pounds a time into Libya.
The chair then concluded by saying the aim of the anti-war movement isn't just to oppose each war as they launch it but also to create the conditions in Britain for an anti-war government that resolves international conflicts and conflicts within countries in a peaceful way. Everyone was called upon to oppose the military intervention in Libya and the Middle East.
