Friends welcome cross-party call to stop arming Saudi
A letter signed by five opposition parties calling for the end of arms sales to Saudi Arabia has been welcomed by Quakers
Quakers have welcomed the news that five opposition parties have called for the British government to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The letter signed by leaders of the Labour Party, Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party says the policy has contributed to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. It was released on the fourth anniversary of the start of the Yemen civil war.
Friends have long been campaigning to raise awareness of the links between UK weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and the civil war in Yemen, which reached a fragile truce in December when warring parties agreed to a ceasefire.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) told the Friend that it has made a submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee on the matter which is not yet published.
A spokesperson from the Quaker organisation Roots of Resistance told the Friend: ‘The arms trade fuels conflicts around the world. According to data from SIPRI [Stockholm International Peace Research Institute], Saudi Arabia now imports more arms than any other country, and is the UK’s single biggest customer. We welcome the cross-party condemnation of arms exports to Saudi, but it is also important to remember that huge arms exports to authoritarian regimes is nothing new, and all of the main political parties have been responsible for them in the past. There is no such thing as an ethical or responsible arms trade.’
Symon Hill, from the Peace Pledge Union, told the Friend: ‘It’s vital to remember… that British support for the brutal Saudi regime is not limited to arms sales. In October, ministers admitted that the RAF is training Saudi pilots in north Wales. Now the government has agreed to investigate reports that British special forces are literally fighting alongside Saudi-backed troops in Yemen.
‘The fact that they need to “investigate” this suggests either that the government don’t know what their own troops are up to, or they know but don’t want to say. Either possibility is extremely alarming.’
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP, tweeted: ‘An estimated 8 children are killed or injured in Yemen every day. By fuelling this brutal war, the UK is complicit in human rights abuses.’
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