UK must stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia, say MPs

[ENT]

• 15 September 2016

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The UK must stop sales of weapons which could be used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen until an inquiry into human rights breaches is complete, MPs have said.
The Business, Innovation and Skills and International Development Committees' joint report has evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law.
However, there is division between MPs on the issue.

The Foreign Affairs Committee's report says weapons exports should stop only if UK courts rule the sales unlawful.
The committee's Conservative chairman Crispin Blunt is understood to have drawn up the rival document after objecting to proposals to issue the call for immediate suspension through the House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC).

Reports suggested he walked out of a CAEC private meeting to prevent a vote being taken on the draft report, because he felt it was one-sided.
age captionThe move came amid claims that UK-made arms are being used in indiscriminate bombing raids on civilian targets by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shia rebels in neighbouring Yemen.

One of the attacks resulted in the deaths of 47 civilians, including 21 women and 15 children, and injuries to 58 who were killed when a wedding party at a house was struck by missiles from military aircraft.

CAEC inquiry chair Chris White said the UK had led the way in setting up international humanitarian law to govern arms sales.
But, the conflict in Yemen raised serious concerns that the country was not determined to make sure they were respected.
'Violation risk'

"During this inquiry we have heard evidence from respected sources that weapons made in the UK have been used in contravention of international humanitarian law," he said.
"The Government can no longer wait and see and must now take urgent action, halting the sale of arms to the Saudi-led coalition until we can be sure that there is no risk of violation."

He called for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding incidents in Yemen such as allegations of the use of cluster bombs.
And he said the current system for overseeing the sale of arms must be improved.

The government has faced sustained pressure to suspend the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
In August, aid agency Oxfam accused the British government of "denial and disarray" over the trade.

But Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has defended it, insisting the export of weapons to the country would continue.
The CAEC is made up of four parliamentary committees - Business, Innovation and Skills; Defence; Foreign Affairs; and International Development.
The Defence Committee has not said whether it intends to publish its own report.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37376317

[sabang]

While I agree, British Aerospace doesn't.

[ENT]

Boris Johnson: "We need to have some way of encouraging visionary leadership in that area " ."Downing Street has said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's comments on Saudi Arabia do not represent "the government's position".

Footage has emerged from an event last week at which Mr Johnson said UK ally Saudi Arabia was engaging in "proxy wars" in the Middle East.

The PM's spokeswoman said these were the foreign secretary's personal views.

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale called it a "pretty robust slapdown" for Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson's comments were made at a conference in Rome last week but only
emerged after the The Guardian newspaper published footage of the event.

In it the foreign secretary said: "There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives.

"That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy for me - and that's why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area - is that there is not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves."

'Offending the Saudis'
Mr Johnson told the Med 2 conference: "There are not enough big characters, big people, men or women, who are willing to reach out beyond their Sunni or Shia or whatever group to the other side and bring people together and to develop a national story again.

"That is what's lacking. And that's the tragedy," he said, adding that "visionary leadership" was needed in the region.
He went on: "That's why you've got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars."
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale said Mr Johnson had spoken a "bit of truth", but it was "clearly awkward" for the government, which had led to No 10's "slapdown".

He said many people would agree with the analysis that many of the Middle East conflicts were proxy wars fought between Sunni and Shia factions, often in the form of Iran and Saudi Arabia being on opposing sides, such as in Syria and Yemen.

However it was not the official government position, our correspondent added.

The UK was supporting the Saudi conflict in Yemen not because it was a proxy war, but because they believed that strategically it was the right thing to do and could help stop Yemen becoming a failed state, he said.

He said by dismissing this as "proxy wars" and "puppeteering", the foreign secretary risked offending the Saudis.

'Shabby hypocrisy'
Downing Street's comment came as Prime Minister Theresa May returned from a visit to the Gulf where she had dinner with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

Her spokeswoman said that Mrs May wanted to strengthen the relationship with Saudi Arabia, saying, "we are supporting the Saudi-led coalition in support of the legitimate government in Yemen against Houthi rebels".

She said: "Those are the prime minister's views - the foreign secretary's views are not the government's position on, for example, Saudi Arabia and its role in the region."
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry accused the government of "shabby hypocrisy".

"The government cannot complain about Saudi Arabia's military actions one minute, then continue selling it the arms to prosecute those actions the next," she said.
Tom Brake, the Lib Dems' foreign affairs spokesman, said: "This will be a huge embarrassment to May as she returns from her grubby tour of the Gulf, where she did her best to ignore human rights and desperately push trade at all costs."

Robert Lacey, a historian and author of the Kingdom and the House of Saud, said that while he agreed with Mr Johnson's comments, he questioned whether he should be saying them about an ally.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he believed it was a gaffe and that Mr Johnson was acting more like a journalist.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38248316

[cyrille]

There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives.

[Cujo]

There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives.

Let's have us some fucking war.

Great find. Never seen that before.

[Neverna]

Blair looks like he's gagging for Bush's cock.

[Cujo]

Blair looks like he's gagging for Bush's cock.

I'm not a fan of either, but that would only ever occur to a faggot,

[Neverna]

Blair looks like he's gagging for Bush's cock.

I'm not a fan of either, but that would only ever occur to a faggot,

Butterfly asked me to post it on his behalf.

[Dragonfly]

Downing Street has said Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's comments on Saudi Arabia do not represent "the government's position"

priceless

[Dragonfly]

Blair looks like he's gagging for Bush's cock.

I'm not a fan of either, but that would only ever occur to a faggot,

Butterfly asked me to post it on his behalf.

you wish !!!

[birding]

The Middle East did have strong leadership like Gaddafi, Saddam and still does in Assad but they are unacceptable for they kill those who oppose them so who does Boris suggest.

[ENT]

Didn't Churchill have the same problem?