Pledges: War

#13 in my Pledges series

Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash

A bit about militarism.

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Heddwch ar Waith, Peace Action Wales

Annwyl Karl Drinkwater

(There's an English translation below)

Rhwydwaith ymgyrchu dros heddwch yw Heddwch ar Waith, a sefydlwyd y llynedd gan CND Cymru a Chymdeithas y Cymod. Cawn ein hariannu gan Ymddiriedolaeth Elusennol Joseph Rowntree. Ein nod yw gwneud Cymru’n Genedl Heddwch, lle mae militariaeth ar bob lefel o gymdeithas yn cael ei deall, a’i herio, trwy eiriol dros ddewisiadau amgen cynhyrchiol yn gymdeithasol sy’n dda i bobl a’r blaned. Rydym yn gobeithio creu rôl Llysgennad Heddwch o fewn pob awdurdod lleol yng Nghymru, a fydd yn eiriol dros gymunedau iach, gwydn a gwyrdd gyda chydlyniant cymdeithasol yn ganolog iddynt, yn unol â’r Nodau Llesiant sydd wedi’u cynnwys yn Neddf Llesiant Cenedlaethau’r Dyfodol (Cymru, 2015).

Heddwch ar Waith, Peace Action Wales is a peace campaigning network, founded last year by CND Cymru and Cymdeithas y Cymod. We are funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Our aim is to make Wales a Nation of Peace, where militarism at all levels of society is understood, and challenged, by advocating for socially productive alternatives that are good for people and planet. We hope to create the role of Peace Ambassador within every local authority in Wales, who will advocate for healthy, resilient and green communities with social cohesion at their heart, in line with the Well-being Goals contained in the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Wales, 2015).

And these were the attached Parliamentary candidate policy questions:

1. Peace Ambassadors

The role of a Peace Ambassador is to promote human rights, dignity, equality and respect of diversity through education, advocacy and other non-violent actions through projects at the local, national and international level.

Will you support the creation of the role of Peace Ambassador within every local authority?

2. Land, air and sea area committed to militaristic activities

The MOD own 23,400 hectares of land in Wales, comprising about 25 military bases. Sennybridge Training Area accounts for just over half of this. 85% of land is classified as ‘low flying area’.

Do you commit to reviewing the extent of land owned and used by the military in Wales, and urge the Government to reduce this, or put its use to socially productive alternatives?

3. Militaristic activity

Wales’ land, air and sea are used for a variety of militaristic activities. For example, at ParcAberporth where Elbit Systems test their drones across a ‘Danger Area’ of some 6,500 square kilometers of Cardigan Bay. The only airspace in Europe where drones operate in a segregated flying zone.

Will you take seriously that private companies who are permitted to use Wales’ land, air and sea, like Elbit Systems, should be held accountable for their complicity in war crimes? If so, will you pressure the government to revoke their licenses?

4. AUKUS Alliance

As part of the new military alliance between the United States, Australia and United Kingdom, the Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire has been selected as the site for Deep Advanced Space Radar Capability. In addition, Rolls Royce have been granted a contract to manufacture nuclear attack submarines at St Mellons, Cardiff. These developments represent a significant escalation in the global arms race, which makes the world a more dangerous place.

Will you commit to scrutinizing the decisions to undertake these projects in Westminster, as well as advocating for alternative, socially productive job creation?

5. Military carbon Emissions

Unlike any other sector of human activity, the military is exempt from carbon reporting and emissions targets, despite contributing as much as 6% of our total emissions – higher even than civil aviation, and the equivalent of 6 million UK cars.

For the peaceful continuation of life on Earth, it is vital that we stop and reverse climate change. Will you pledge to support carbon reporting and emissions targets in the military?

6. Militarism in our public institutions

74% of state secondary schools in Wales are visited by the army an average of 4 times per year. These visits are concentrated in areas of high unemployment. 18 schools in Wales have cadet forces as part of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Most Welsh universities offer an officer training corps programme and University Air Squadron.

Do you think that it is appropriate for the military to infiltrate these institutions, where young people should be taught to reconcile conflicts, rather than perpetuate them? If no, will you pledge to oppose the presence of the military in schools and on campuses, as well as to promote alternatives, such as the Welsh Centre for International Affairs’ Peace Schools scheme, and the Young Peace Ambassadors programme?

7. Recruitment of young people and minors into the armed forces

With parental consent, the minimum age to join the British Army as a soldier is 16 years old. The Conservative Party have pledged to introduce a form of mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds.

Do you agree that coercive exposure to these deadly serious matters, at such a young age, as well as the gamification of warfare, is deleterious to the healthy development of young people in Wales? If so, will you commit to opposing the above in Westminster?

My answers to all the questions are “Yes”! In fact, I often write about the awful focus on militarisation and violence rather than peace, e.g. Endless War, Palestine and Western Hypocrisy, Patterns Repeating, Government Hypocrisy. And my focus on peace and understanding can be seen in Humanism and Tolerance, or Simpol. It's one of the reasons I am standing as an MP, to try and change the culture.

The Green manifesto has many relevant sections, particularly this one, about A Fairer, Greener World:

• Most of the world’s countries do not possess weapons of mass destruction and are safer as a result.

• Elected Greens will:

• Push for the UK to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and following this to immediately begin the process of dismantling our nuclear weapons, cancelling the Trident programme and removing all foreign nuclear weapons from UK soil.

• Work with international partners to enlarge membership of the TPNW and ensure that all states meet their commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

• The Green Party recognises that NATO has an important role in ensuring the ability of its member states to respond to threats to their security. We would work within NATO to achieve:

• A greater focus on global peacebuilding.

• A commitment to a ‘No First Use’ of nuclear weapons.

As you can tell, I would like to go a lot further. And I don't agree with US military bases in the UK as part of US hegemony and imperial expansion. Not only is it enabling militarism, but it makes us a target for attack, while we get used as a shield. It's wrong on so many levels. The Greens want to spend £70 billion on the NHS, but Labour and Conservatives want to spend £75 billion on weapons and killing. That makes me angry.

I have also had a few emails about Ukraine. Our Green policy is: “Continue to support Ukraine as it resists Russian invasion.”

I agree that Russia has behaved awfully in its attack on the Ukraine. However, it was partly in response to US/NATO provocation. NATO has been expanding towards the Russian borders militarily for decades, sometimes in opposition to agreements. Rather than peaceful cooperation, it has been a direct challenge, and is escalating things towards a totally avoidable war. If Russia had put military bases that close to the US, the US government would never have accepted it. There is hypocrisy at play here, as discussed in other (personal) posts I’ve written, and it is the Ukrainians who suffer for the games played by militaristic nations. As well as resisting Russia, we should be resisting and reforming the US and NATO.

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Soldiers

I had a few emails asking me to support soldiers and ex-soldiers. I pointed out that the Green Party Manifesto has many sections to do with supporting people, so I'd be surprised if our reforms didn't benefit ex-soldiers massively, along with everyone else. We want to reform support and benefits and life opportunities to help people with what they need and deserve.

In general I would support everyone who served to defend our country for noble reasons. Unfortunately the foreign policy of previous governments has often been corrupt, creating unnecessary conflict and leading to unnecessary deaths and injury of British soldiers.

We want to end that. Our manifesto states: "The Green Party wants to see the UK take the lead in upholding the right to self-determination and the enforcement of international law".

That means no longer would we send soldiers to die for unjust causes, colonisation, supporting US imperialism, attacking other countries. We would no longer have a government that encouraged war crimes and violence, that ignored international law, that killed both indigenous peoples and our own soldiers for the benefit of arms manufacturers and other nations.

If people put their lives on the line for a cause, it should be a just one, not a criminal one. And for that, veterans should be rewarded appropriately.

Also note that the traditional establishment British view of all soldiers as heroes and veterans is a political viewpoint. It’s something espoused by conservative or right-wing nationalists and imperialists. As reality has shown, the praise is empty and once a soldier is no longer fighting they are often left by the government and military to die in poverty, in a similar way to how they treat dogs. Pay attention to people’s actions, not their jingoistic words. That’s how you spot what they really value.

Just because someone was in the army does not make them a good person. In fact, with the horrific situations, pressure to follow the most horrendous and immoral orders, brutal training, and indoctrination into violent mindsets where killing another human is seen as just following orders, the end result can be extremely dangerous and disturbed individuals. The kind who murder their neighbours with a ceremonial knife, shoot colleagues with a pistol, or even with a submachine gun while robbing banks. And that doesn’t include the crimes committed on duty, or when invading other countries. Not all ex-soldiers are heroes. To claim they are is to whitewash reality.

One way to look at it. And this is just my personal view.

How many UK soldiers who died in action in the last fifty years were killed within the UK? And how many were killed in other countries? What % in each? Is it around 1% killed in the UK, 99% invading or attacking people from other countries? It begs the question, what were are soldiers even doing in other countries? They shouldn’t be there. (If you live in the US, replace UK with US. You will probably get the same result.)

An ethical army would only leave their country to prevent severe injustice (e.g. to stop Israel’s genocide). Ideally there would be a public referendum before sending soldiers outside of the country for any purpose. And, since soldiers should only sign up to defend their country, if ever the referendum agrees to send soldiers overseas, every soldier should have a choice as to whether they go or not. They should be able to refuse with no penalty. It should always be voluntary.

The same would apply to other nations, and we would favour alliances with nations that don’t send soldiers outside their borders.

In a better world there were be less need for killing. Fewer would die and be injured. We wouldn’t need to spend so much on violence. We’d have an army focussed purely on domestic defence, for the benefit of us, the soldiers, and the world as a whole.

How you can help.

Promoted by Harriet King on behalf of the Green Party both at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.