WILSON TO OPEN DEBATE ON SYRIAN AIR STRIKES
John Wilson MSP will open a debate on Syrian air strikes today (Thursday) after his motion, condemning the decision taken by the UK parliament to bomb Syria, received cross party support.
Mr Wilson’s motion, which has been supported by colleagues in the Green – Independent group, as well as Labour and SNP MSPs, states that launching air strikes in Syria will be ineffective in targeting terrorist threats and will inevitably lead to significant civilian casualties.
Wilson’s motion states that further western military action in the Middle East will increase the likelihood of radicalisation and that diplomatic and humanitarian efforts should be put at the forefront of our efforts to support the region.
The motion goes on to praise the ‘Don’t Bomb Syria’ protests held across Scotland and welcomes the fact that the vast majority of Scottish MPs voted against the bombing. It finishes calling on the parliament to condemn the decision to launch air strikes in Syria.
John Wilson, Fair Work spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP candidate for Central Scotland in 2016, said:
“War should always be left as the last option. In this instance it seems the UK government were all too eager to start bombing. Instead of learning lessons from previous conflicts in the region, we appear to be following the same path and making the same mistakes.”
“Our efforts should be focused on helping the millions of displaced Syrians with humanitarian aid, and on trying to secure an end to the Syrian civil war. We should be trying to ensure that those funding Daesh, buying their oil and providing their arms are stopped. Instead we posture, we drop bombs, and in doing so we ensure that more innocent people are killed.”
“I am grateful to all those MSPs that supported the motion. It is vital that Scotland’s parliament has the opportunity to debate serious issues such as this. I was glad to see that most of Scotland’s MPs voted against the UK government’s motion to launch air strikes and, while there’s no vote today (Thursday), I’m certain it will be evident that a majority of MSPs also oppose the action.”