Tough test of loyalties

The British anti-war effort is gaining momentum even at the heart of the political establishment, writes Gamal Nkrumah from London
Members of Britain's ruling Labour Party are breaking ranks with the government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the so-called anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan. Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Tam Dalyell, Alice Mahon, Ann Cryer, John Cryer, Alan Simpson and Diane Abbott are leading this anti-war rebellion and they are collaborating with anti-war groups, as well as members of Britain's embattled Muslim community.
Such protestations have angered the British leadership, but this ire has been mitigated by subtle attempts from the Blair team to sabotage the growing anti-war rebellion within the Labour Party. There are also indications that the British public at large is growing war weary. Blair himself confirmed these fears, saying recently that "The British [public] worry about civilian casualties. They are anxious about the refugee crisis as winter approaches. They wonder what comes after the conflict." The prime minister conceded that, "No one who raises doubts is an appeaser or faint heart."
Alan Simpson, chairman of the Labour Against the War group, welcomed Blair's overtures, but warned that "None of the big issues have gone away." MP Alice Mahon explained that "With an impressive list of aid agencies speaking out against the effects of military action, there is growing concern within parliament over the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding before us." She added: "No wonder support is growing across the parliamentary parties for a call to halt the bombing and get food convoys in."
Among the most vehemently outspoken anti-war Labour back-benchers is Jeremy Corbyn, who advocates closer cooperation between the various anti-war groups. "There is good collaboration between all people opposed to war," Corbyn told Al- Ahram Weekly. Also a member of "Stop the War" -- a group that organised the 13 October anti-war event in London that drew thousands of activists -- Corbyn is working closely with other groups that oppose war.
Corbyn warned against the grave results of the "combination of Western arrogance and ignorance of the feelings that people have about Palestine and sanctions against Iraq. Or, indeed, the sheer misery of people in Afghanistan, who have been suffering for over 20 years of war." Noting that modern telecommunications and the information revolution have radically transformed the means of communications around the world, Corbyn says that it has become easier for like-minded groups to organise themselves and exchange information and ideas. "The age of the Internet changed everything. It is now easier to organise peace movements across Europe and the entire world," Corbyn explained.
Corbyn is off to Spain next week for a mass gathering of European anti-war organisations. One of the issues to be addressed, he says, is the pro-war bias prevalent in the Western media, which is dominated by CNN, the BBC and Sky. "It's about time the West woke up to the hurt of the poorer people of the world," Corbyn said.
Corbyn pointed out that the current crisis is fuelled by Western powers' thirst to ensure access to Central Asian resources and control of oil and gas pipelines. "In the background [of the current conflict] has to be the geo-political considerations -- oil and other mineral reserves in Central Asia, the entire resource-rich region from the Caucasus Mountains to Pakistan," he stressed.
Corbyn also noted that the cosmopolitan nature of contemporary Britain necessitates a more sensitive regard for the feelings of Britain's ethnic and religious minorities -- most significantly, its large Muslim community. "In my own constituency of Islington North, over 50 languages are spoken and there is a very large Muslim population. I have had a lot of contact with members of the Muslim community," Corbyn told the Weekly. "Such meetings have yielded good results."
Corbyn highlighted a long list of anti- war events scheduled throughout the next couple of months. He specifically noted the 10 November Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) event "Shoulder to Shoulder for Peace and Justice". CND Vice Chair Kate Hudson told the Weekly that the 10 November event would be a vigil in Whitehall "to remember both the dead of 11 September and those currently being killed in Afghanistan. It precedes Britain's official day of remembrance of war dead on 11 November."
"Military action should be ended right now and the campaign against international terrorism conducted in a manner that can achieve real and lasting results by diplomatic and political means," Hudson said. "We are currently organising an event in front of parliament on 16 November where the word 'peace' will be spelled out in candles in both Arabic and English. We are working with representatives of the British Muslim community and are inviting British Muslim peers and MPs to participate."
Hudson also said that CND was organising a cross-party meeting in parliament on 27 November with representatives of the Labour Party, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party. "We will also be inviting a representative of the Muslim community and representatives from the aid agencies," Hudson added.
"There is very broad opposition to the bombing of Afghanistan within Britain -- now over 50 per cent according to recent opinion polls," Hudson noted. "The most effective way to step up the anti-war effort is to bring the campaigning into the mainstream of British politics, involving a range of parties, communities, trade unions and other organisations," she argued. "The movement and campaigning must embrace the widest sections of British public opinion, particularly around the humanitarian concerns for innocent civilians facing starvation and cold."
Hudson stressed that CND is a non-party organisation committed to working broadly within society, saying that the group has cooperated successfully with MPs, trade unionists and the Muslim community, as well as with anti-war organisations and faith-based groups. "It [CND] is Britain's mass peace movement and is not a leftist organisation," she said, noting that CND happy to work with all groups that oppose the war through peaceful means. "It is very happy to work with the left, but not only with the left -- with all peace-loving forces."
"The military strikes on Afghanistan seem both to have strengthened the resolve of the Taliban and fuelled anti- American sentiments in the Arab and Muslim world," Hudson said. "CND is gravely concerned about the ramifications of these air strikes on the growing refugee crisis in Afghanistan."
Amid reports that hundreds of British Muslim men are signing up to fight for the Taliban, there are growing signs of tension and unease within the two million-strong British Muslim community. Omar Bakri Mohamed, leader of the London-based militant Islamist organisation Al- Muhajiroun, recently urged British Muslims to wage a jihad against the United States and is reported to be recruiting Muslim youths.
Meanwhile, the more moderate majority who eschew the use of force are pleading for a halt to the US and UK air strikes on Afghanistan. "Most want the bombings stopped immediately because [the strikes] are killing innocents who have suffered long enough," wrote Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown recently. "They abhor [Saudi dissident Osama] Bin Laden and extremists. They do not trust the US government to do what is right and resent the rhetoric of Western political leaders," she continued. Moreover, Alibhai-Brown was sceptical about the Sunday Times claim that 40 per cent of British Muslims support Bin Laden.
Other Muslim voices have been equally dismissive of the poll. "When people say they support Bin Laden, what they really mean is his rhetoric about supporting Palestine," explained Sher Khan, national coordinator of the Islam Awareness Week, which is currently taking place in Britain to "dispel some of the anti-Islamic sentiment." Munir Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, concurred, adding that there is a pressing need to "refute the myths and misunderstandings around the Islamic faith" in order to show that Muslims are a "peace-loving community".
Recommend this page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor