Soldier leads march for Afghan withdrawal
Thousands of anti-war protestors expected in London calling for British troops to come home from Afghanistan
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Saturday, 24, Oct 2009 03:39
By Matthew Champion.
A serving soldier has participated in a march of thousands of anti-war protestors in London calling for British troops to come home from Afghanistan.
In a rally organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative, demonstrators marched from Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park at 12noon to Trafalgar Square.
There the names of the 222 UK soldiers killed in the last eight years were read out; proof in campaigners eyes of the "awful price" of the war against the Taliban.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North and vice chair of the CND, said: "The war in Afghanistan has no clear war aims, is clearly escalating and spinning out of control and can only impact on Pakistan and the whole of south Asia.
"Nato forces have been in Afghanistan for eight years and the result appears to be increased drug production, high levels of corruption and terrible losses of life on all sides, civilian and military.
"Now is the time to change policy and bring the troops home to prevent Nato involving itself in a Vietnam style quagmire."
Among the protestors taking to the streets was Peter Brierly, the father of a dead soldier who this month refused to shake Tony Blair's hand at an Iraq war memorial service because it "has my son's blood on it".
Also joining the hundreds of families with relatives in the armed forces will be Paul McGurk, who quit the army over the "unjustifiable" war in Afghanistan, and Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who faces court martial for refusing to return to the country.
L/Cpl Glenton was also warned he would face further charges for taking part in the protest.
"It is distressing to disobey orders but when Britain follows America in continuing to wage war against one of the world's poorest countries I feel I have no choice," he said.
"Politicians have abused the trust of the army and the soldiers who serve, that's why I am compelled and proud to march with the Stop The War Coalition today."
Gordon Brown has consistently insisted the importance of remaining in Afghanistan to deny al-Qaida militants a save-haven from where they could strike out at the west.
Conservative policy is broadly in line with his view, although the opposition has been a strong critic of the government's provision of equipment and overall strategy.
The Liberal Democrats this week indicated they could call for a complete withdrawal at the next election unless the strategy was refined.