International Relations
REPORT 2002
Global Action for peace
Once again the international scene has been dominated by war,
this time by the threat of war against Iraq.
The union has made clear that it regards a war on Iraq to be
unnecessary and dangerous. The dangers to ordinary Iraqis are
clear but it is also a danger us since it will ratchet up the
threat of terrorism in this country.
We have supported the Scottish and Edinburgh coalitions against
the war and have welcomed the participation in them by a broad
range of organisations, including the Church of Scotland.
The hypocrisy of the only nation which has ever used nuclear
weapons in war planning a war against another state because
it may have some weapons of mass destruction is stark. So is
the transparent bias when the only state in the region which
has definitely got nuclear weapons - Israel - receives millions
of dollars of US aid.
The failure by the USA to address Israel's attacks on Palestinians
and its occupation of Palestinian territory is perhaps the most
destabilising element for world peace. The branch has given
support to campaigns over this issue, including supporting a
boycott of Israeli goods.
It truly is important that our union continues its efforts
as part of a world-wide movement to end this warmongering and
hypocrisy.
In addition to these issues we have been very concerned about
the impact of globalisation, not only on the poor of the world,
but also on public services everywhere. The General Agreement
on Trade in Services (GATS) is a serious threat to the ability
of national governments to protect public services so we have
been making representations about this, including to local MPs.
MATTHEW CRICHTON
International Relations Officer
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