Roger opposes military intervention in Syria

Roger Godsiff MP has spoken out against military intervention in Syria. Speaking from the House of Commons today, Roger said: “I am opposed to Britain participating in military action against Syria, and I will be voting against it at the Parliamentary debate tomorrow. I am concerned that strikes against Syria will only cause the conflict to escalate, possibly to the wider region, and yet more lives will be lost.” Roger continued: “I welcome the opportunity to debate the issue and put it to a vote. However, I am concerned that the decision to involve the UK in military action in Syria has already been made by the Government, and MPs will be faced with a done deal tomorrow. I do not understand why the UK Parliament is voting on whether to support military intervention in Syria before the UN weapons inspectors have finished their site visits and analysis. The inspectors were given four days to complete this work, and the debate and vote tomorrow will take place on the third day. Why are MPs being asked to vote before all the necessary facts are in?” Roger compared the rush to take military action against Syria to the run-up to the Iraq war, which lead to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties. He said: “There is now talk about missile strikes beginning before the end of this week. Have we learned nothing from the Iraq war, when the UK rushed into military action without waiting for a UN mandate? If the UK is to take any action it must follow the proper steps before doing so, and wait for a mandate from the UN Security Council.” UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called for more time to be allowed for peaceful and diplomatic methods, while the Arab League has opposed retaliatory strikes on Syria. There have already been reports of an increased flow of refugees leaving Syria, while Israel has started calling up reserve troops. Roger is concerned that missile strikes will worsen the humanitarian crisis in Syria and threaten regional stability, and will fail to prevent further atrocities being committed against the people of Syria. Roger said: “The priority must be to prevent further loss of life and protect the human rights of the people of Syria. I do not believe that the best way to do this is to launch missile attacks against a population which is already suffering the casualties and horrors of war.”