Alex Salmond calls on UK Government to ‘abandon military obsession’ in 2017

January 4|Yamanyoon

‘The new year is not one of celebration for many people in countries like Syria and Yemen where the horrors of 2016 will continue into 2017’ says the former SNP leader

Alex Salmond has called on the Government to “correct the errors” in its foreign policy and “abandon military obsession” in his message for 2017.

In a new year message, the former SNP leader said Theresa May’s administration should adopt an “ethical and effective” approach in coming months instead of arms sales and “knee-jerk militarism”.

“The new year is not one of celebration for many people in countries like Syria and Yemen where the horrors of 2016 will continue into 2017,” he said.

“For the UK Government, the new year should be one of recognising and correcting the errors in their foreign policy approach, and one where they adopt a more ethical and effective approach that abandons military obsession and instead puts humanitarian and political efforts at its core.

He added: “You cannot arm regimes with stained military tactics with one hand and then raise the other to proclaim the need to uphold human rights. The lessons are clear for all in the last year, from the lessons of Libya to Yemen and Syria.

Ms May’s administration has previously rejected calls by two parliamentary committees for it to stop the sale of British bombs to Saudi Arabia’s armed forces in Yemen.

Saudi forces have been widely accused of committing war crimes during the campaign in the country, where reports on the ground suggest they have blown up international hospitals, funerals, schools, and weddings.

But despite the reported incidents and the worsening humanitarian situation in the country since the bombardment began, the UK has signed off £3.3 billion in arms sales to the country since the start of the offensive.

Source | Independent News