Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2015
I congratulate John Wilson on bringing this timely debate to the Parliament. I am only sorry that there are not more members who regard the subject as one of the most important that we can debate.
I agree with almost everything that I have heard from other members, who made powerful speeches. I cannot add to what they said, but I want to talk about the seriousness of war and the lack of coverage in our media. We know what the bombs are capable of, because we can find out for ourselves, but the media are not showing, and never do show, the harshness of war. The reality was described well by members to the few people who were here to hear them, and what was said will be in the Official Report.
Scotland is a nation, although defence and military matters are still reserved to Westminster, and there is no doubt whatever that Scotland’s representatives, who owe their positions to the democratic process of the people of this country, voted against bombing in Syria. That should have been a headline that was repeated and repeated.
The bombing is not in my name, and, as Christina McKelvie said, not in our country’s name. We knew what would happen. It is no surprise that bombing will not fix anything; it did not fix anything in the past and it will not do so now.
What is needed is humanitarian aid, perhaps starting in this country. To spend £100,000 on a bomb is an obscenity when thousands of people in this country have no food and there is a genuine desire to help Syrian refugees.
Why are we allowing this to happen? I ask the minister, our Government and all members of the Parliament how we can get that message into a press that is supporting the arms race and is not reflecting the views of the 78 per cent of people in the country who oppose the bombing in Syria, according to a recent poll. How do we ensure that our nationhood and our people’s desire not to bomb Syria are expressed? How does Westminster react when a country has expressed clear objection and wants to take no part in the war?
I welcome John Wilson’s motion, but the debate is not over and we should be making our voices heard much more strongly. If we can bomb Syria, we will bomb again the next time. We will not learn and we will be constantly carried along by a Westminster military machine that does not reflect the will of the Scottish people.
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