The Stop the War Coalition condemns the British government’s support for the Saudi-led attack on Yemen. This war is a further destabilising act of aggression in the Middle East, which risks embroiling the region and its peoples in a still wider war.
We note that Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond has pledged Britain’s political, technical and logistical support for the attack by the Saudi forces which, as he says, is largely equipped with British aircraft and munitions.
Saudi Arabia is now playing a leading part in almost every anti-democratic development in the Middle East, including joining in the current Anglo-American bombardment in Iraq, We repeat our long-standing demand that Britain end its alliance with the dictatorial and oppressive Saudi regime, and cease supplying it with arms.
This present conflict in Yemen reflects the determination of both Saudi Arabia and the western powers to destroy the democratic potential of the Arab Spring in one country after another. Only the people of Yemen can resolve the crisis in that country and decide their own future, and their independence and territorial integrity must be fully respected.
Britain must change its Middle East policy as a matter of urgency, including stopping bombing Iraq, ending involvement in the Syrian conflict and abandoning plans to open a base in Bahrain, another Saudi-maintained dictatorship. The anti-war movement will place these demands before all candidates in the General Election campaign.
