MSP Leckie 'can keep' midwife status

BBC NEWS An MSP convicted over an anti-nuclear protest will not be struck off as a registered midwife.

Carolyn Leckie, Scottish Socialist Party MSP for Central Scotland, was arrested during a demonstration at Faslane naval base.

She was jailed for refusing to pay a £100 fine after being found guilty of a breach of the peace.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council confirmed that she will not be subject to disciplinary action.

Ms Leckie was jailed for seven days but only spent one night in Cornton Vale women's prison at the end of January.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council informed the former midwife by letter that she would be subject to a preliminary hearing because of her conviction.

Following a hearing, council members decided that there should be no further action taken.

Ms Leckie said on Saturday that she was delighted with the ruling.

She added: "I'd like to thank everyone who offered their support. I'm obviously pleased that the Nursing and Midwifery Council has taken the decision not to proceed any further.

"I had confidence in the professional judgement of the council and that has been borne out by their decision."

Socialist women demonstrate outside prison

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 12/03/05

Socialist women demonstrate outside prison

Approximately 200 members of the Scottish Socialist Party’s Socialist Women’s Network today took part in a demonstration outside Corntonvale Women’s prison in Stirling as part of events around International Women’s day.
Attending the demonstration was Carolyn Leckie MSP who was imprisoned in Corntonvale at the end of January for her part in anti nuclear direct action at Faslane nuclear submarine base.
Carolyn came out of Corntonvale with prisoners accounts of strip searching, prison clothes that didn’t fit and communal showers and toilets with half doors you could see over and male prison staff in attendance.
The demonstrators outside Corntonvale today demanded more appropriate programmes and facilities in communities throughout Scotland, with equal access to help and support for women.
Many of the women in Cornton Vale women’s prison should not be there.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons reports that;
“90 per cent of admissions have addiction problems, 80 per cent have a history of mental illness and over 60 per cent have a history of being abused. The question has to be asked: what will the prison do for them?”

Speaking after the demonstration Carolyn said;
“Today was a fantastic event, organised by the SSP’s Socialist Women’s Network.
“I know that women inside the prison will have been heartened by the event and we could see them standing at the windows waving.
“International Women’s Day celebrates the gains made by women but also causes us to recognise just how much we still have to fight for.
“Today we were calling for a change to the prison system, to demand equality for women across the world and for socialist change to a system that produces poverty, inequality and injustice.”
[ends]

SSP demand answers on pensions

Scotsman.com News - UK - Pensions liability is set to hit £700bn The sensitivity of the pension question was brought home to Holyrood yesterday when Jack McConnell, the First Minister, was questioned on the issue by Colin Fox, the Scottish Socialist leader.

Fox asked McConnell to give yes or no answers to questions on whether the First Minister supported the five-year increase in retirement age and the end to the final salary scheme.

Fox told McConnell: "Each public-sector worker in the country stands to lose at least £20,000, if these changes go through. I’m sure public sector workers across the country will be disgusted by your evasions."

Police break up Trident protest

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Police break up Trident protest Police have arrested 10 anti-nuclear protesters using a 25ft model of a Trident submarine in Edinburgh.

Traffic had to be diverted as a result of the protest, which was organised by the Trident Ploughshares group.

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane was among about 20 people taking part in the demonstration outside Holyrood.

Spokesman David Mackenzie said the protesters were happy for the sub to be dismantled and wanted nuclear weapons scrapped too.

Officers moved in at about 2200 GMT on Thursday, arresting 10 people. The rest of the protesters disbanded by 0045 GMT, police said.

Trident Protest at Scottish Parliament

BBC News

Anti-nuclear protesters used a 25ft model of a Trident submarine to bring traffic to a standstill in Edinburgh.

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane was among about 20 people who took part in the demonstration outside Holyrood.

Traffic had to be diverted as a result of the protest, which was organised by the Trident Ploughshares group.

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie was told to leave the chamber during First Minister's Questions for refusing to put down a support the protest poster.

Her sign read: "Rosie Kane is not at FMQs because she discovered WMDs."

She was asked to leave after Presiding Officer George Reid said she was guilty of "disorderly behaviour".

Ms Kane said MSPs were not representing the views of the 70% of the Scottish public opposed to Trident.

"Many of us in different parties have tried over a long period of time to get the Scottish Parliament to at least speak up about this," she said.

"Until we get the powers to do something about it ourselves, we will do something on the streets.

"As an MSP, I am simply representing the wishes of the people of Scotland."

The demonstration blocked the Canongate at the bottom of the Royal Mile.

Police said they would not be forcing the protesters, who said they had chained themselves together inside the silver mock submarine, to move on.

The campaigners included 53-year-old Angie Zelter, who said: "Our message is that it's up to Scotland to try and get rid of Trident.

"We have to obey international law ourselves and stop being hypocritical. We are going to stay here until we are dismantled."

End Tax Breaks for Private Schools

Scotsman.com

ATTEMPTS by left-wing MSPs to strip independent schools of their right to tax breaks and rates relief were yesterday defeated in the Scottish Parliament...

The Scottish Socialist Party went further by calling for every private school except special schools, such as Donaldson’s School for the Deaf in Edinburgh, to lose their right to charitable status altogether.

Tommy Sheridan, an SSP MSP, described independent schools as "a symbol of elitism and privilege" that had no right to state support through tax and rates relief. "The people of Scotland want an end to the situation that says these elite institutions are able to hide under the cover of being charities," he said.

International Womens Day 2005

The Scottish Socialist Party wishes everyone a happy International Womens Day.

The Socialist Womens Network will be holding a demonstration outside Corton Vale Women's prison.

Demonstration
Saturday 12th March at 12 noon.
Bus leaves Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh at 10.00 am.

Bring your pals, kids and pots and pans!
let's make some noise!

More info:

Cornton Vale

Many of the women in Cornton Vale women’s prison should not be there. The
chief inspector of prisons reports that, ‘90 per cent of admissions have
addiction problems, 80 per cent have a history of mental illness and over 60
per cent have a history of being abused. The question has to be asked: what
will the prison do for them?’

Poverty

A recent Scottish Prison Service report restates clearly that the key cause
of crime in general is poverty: 155 of the poorest areas in Scotland provide
half of the country’s prison population. In Cornton Vale, almost half of
the women are in custody for defaulting on fines, fines that many simply
cannot afford to pay. The average of these fines is £214 - hardly evidence
of a hardened criminal.

Scottish Socialist Party

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie was recently imprisoned in Cornton Vale because she
refused to pay a fine imposed on her because of a peaceful protest at
Faslane Nuclear base. Carolyn described conversations with other prisoners
who told of strip searching, prison clothes that didn’t fit and communal
showers and toilets with half doors you could see over and male prison staff
in attendance. What we need are more appropriate programmes and facilities
in communities throughout Scotland, with equal access to help and support
for all women.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (8th March) celebrates the gains made by women but
also causes us to recognise just how much we still have to fight for. Join
with us in calling for a change to the prison system and a change to the
wider system that reproduces poverty, inequality and injustice.

Asian Dub Foundation SSP benefit concert

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 07/03/05

Asian Dub Foundation SSP benefit concert
April 3rd at the Academy Glasgow.
Support Monkey Tribe, DJ Loki.
Doors open 7pm.
Tickets through Ticketweb; www.ticketweb.co.uk or 0870 771 2000

The London based band Asian Dub Foundation are heading to Scotland in April to play a benefit gig for the Scottish Socialist Party; the only Scottish date on a world tour to promote their new album `Tank'. Asian Dub Foundation started off in 1993 at London based organisation Community Music and were brought to the attention of the UK press when Scottish band Primal Scream took them on tour in the summer of 1997. ADF have helped to demolish many stereotypes of Asian musicians and by extension, Asian people. An acknowledgement of this came in the form of the BBC Asian Award for Music in December 1998.

ADF member Pandit G explained why the band is coming to Scotland to play for the SSP; "Whenever we can help progressives we do. "Because we all live in London we don't hear much about what goes on in Scotland but we know a lot of work's been done in the anti-war movement with the SSP. "Hopefully our gig on April 3rd will be a help."

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox expressed delight at the news of Asian Dub Foundation's benefit gig for the party. Colin said; "Asian Dub Foundation are a major force in popular music worldwide and it is a great honour for the SSP that they have chosen to play their only Scottish gig as a benefit for our campaign funds. "The proceeds from the Asian Dub Foundation gig will go to spreading the message of the SSP; of our continuing outrage at the Iraq war, opposition to the polices of the G8 leaders and our determination to end the gross inequalities of wealth and health in Scotland in the 21st century."

Mother of Dead Soldier Banned from Labour Conference

Scotsman

Mother of Dead Soldier Banned from Labour Conference
By Joe Quinn, Political editor, Scottish Press Association

The mother of a Scots soldier killed in Iraq was refused access to the Scottish Labour conference, she said today.
Rose Gentle, whose Royal Highland Fusilier son Gordon was killed last year, branded the decision a "disgrace."
She turned up with a fellow campaigner at the hotel where visitors are accredited to seek access to the Dundee conference,
"We said we are applying to get into the Labour conference," she said.
"But they said our campaign was not an organised one and we could not get in.
"I asked if we could speak to someone higher, and the person said no," said Mrs Gentle, from Pollok, Glasgow.
Mrs Gentle, who since her son's death has campaigned against the war, speaking in particular at Scottish Socialist Party events, added: "They should have let me in.
"I wasn't going to cause a scene.
"My son was killed in Iraq and I think it's a disgrace."
She said the refusal had strengthened her resolve. She now planned to lobby delegates as they made their way to the conference.
A Labour spokesman said: "It was a very short conversation.
"One of our people was in the corridor welcoming people as they arrived.
"He asked if they were party members or if they had been invited.
"They said 'We are from families against the war' and he said: 'I'm afraid you won't be accredited.'
"There was no discussion, and they left. I don't think there was any difficulty or confrontation."

G8 debate in parliament

Scottish Parliament Debate on G8

Below are the opening and closing speeches in the debate. You can read the full debate at the Scottish Parliament website by clicking on the link above.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): I hope that this debate is as lively as the one that preceded it.

The Scottish Socialist Party looks forward very much to the G8 summit that will be held in Gleneagles in July. In particular, we look forward to welcoming the people who will join us in the protest against the G8, its agenda and its record. Motion S2M-2506 seeks to reaffirm the basic human right to protest, to dissent and to highlight our opposition. That right is in danger of being compromised.

In my opinion, the scare stories and over-zealous police preparations are creating an atmosphere of fortress Gleneagles. I wonder whether they are designed to prime the population for attempts to curtail our right to protest peacefully. In some quarters, the coverage so far has amounted to ridiculous scaremongering. Many commentators paint a crude picture that suggests that those who wish to pursue their democratic right to protest are set on violence rather than peaceful protest.

This morning, Parliament is being asked to reiterate our right to speak out against those whom we do not support. I hope that no member–regardless of their attitude towards the G8–will oppose such a basic democratic right. Such rights are not granted by the powers that be, but are fought for again and again by the people.

On Tuesday evening in the Parliament, the human rights campaigner Professor Alan Miller of the University of Strathclyde said:

"One of the most positive things coming out of the G8 is that it will internationalise civic society."

Those words ring true. Professor Miller has sought repeatedly to put the debate in context by asking the Executive to keep its promise–made a long time ago–to deliver a Scottish human rights commission. He was quick to point out that Scotland has been condemned throughout the world for jailing children at Dungavel and for forcing prisoners to endure the degradation of slopping out.

Just this week, the Home Secretary tried to introduce house arrest–in other words, detention that is ordered by a politician rather than through the judicial process. That is an even worse blot on the landscape than the infamous Diplock courts. At Belmarsh prison in London, there has been detention without charge. We have no right to rest on our laurels. Such repressive practices are visible throughout the G8 countries.

The counter-argument, which is that we do not have an absolute right to assemble, is never put. It is always argued that that right is to be granted only in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. That explains the compromise amendments from Labour and the Conservatives.

Why do hundreds of thousands of people want to protest against the G8? What is so dreadful about its record that makes people want to come from all over Europe to Scotland in July to protest? The group of industrialised countries that we know today as the G8 was established in 1975 by the heads of state of the leading industrialised economies to consider their shared economic and political interests and the international community. The group has consistently controlled the terms of international trade and of relations between the G8 and the developing countries. It sends out diktats on a host of issues including arms control, the information superhighway, crime and human rights. The G8 heavily loads the help that it gives to developing countries with political, economic and military influence.

The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said that, as the host of the Gleneagles summit, he is entitled to highlight two issues–Africa and climate change. If history is anything to go by, many mighty promises will come out of Gleneagles and, true to form, none will be kept. The G8 has been promising to abolish world poverty, hunger, disease and war since its inception 30 years ago and its record is risible. There are more people living in poverty in Africa than at any time before. Throughout the world, 50,000 people die from tuberculosis every day, even though the cure costs just £10 per patient. There are more enslaved people in the world today than there were in the time of William Wilberforce.

In 2002, the G8 announced the heavily indebted poor countries initiative, the aim of which was to reduce the debts of African countries by $19 billion. At the end of 2002, low-income countries in Africa and elsewhere owed the rich world $523 billion, which is roughly half their gross national income. Each year, low-income countries pay back more in debt to the G8 than they spend on education and health. Let us be clear about the fact that the G8 and its policies are the godfathers of capitalism. Those policies are responsible for the perpetuation of inequality and injustice. People who look to the G8 for a solution to world poverty will be sadly disappointed.

The make poverty history organisation–which I know enjoys widespread support from members of all parties–argues that, above all, the "glaringly unjust world trade system"

is at the root of the problem. That brings us to the debate's key question. What forces will be able to get the G8 to change its ways and to hold it to account?

One of the world's leading dissidents, Professor Noam Chomsky, will visit Edinburgh in the next few weeks to speak on that very subject. He has written that the neo-liberal agenda behind G8 globalisation is creating its own gravediggers in the anti-war and anti-capitalist movement. By failing to deliver on its promises to eradicate poverty and, instead, driving ahead with a nakedly imperialist agenda, the G8 is creating a huge worldwide movement of opposition, especially in the third world and the middle east. The anti-war and anti-capitalist movement is the sign of a desire to force an agenda that is entirely different to that of the G8. That is the phenomenon that we will see on the streets of Edinburgh on 2 July and at the summit in Gleneagles.

We should explain to the people of Scotland the relevance of the G8 agenda to them. The G8 is responsible for the privatisation of our public services, the globalisation of trade, the casualisation of the labour market, the low pay in our economy and the denial of basic human and trade union rights. Lest we think that poverty is found only in the third world, on Monday the United Nations Children's Fund highlighted the fact that 20 per cent of children in the United States of America live in poverty.

The G8 alternatives group is part of a vibrant, healthy movement of opposition to the G8 that is flourishing throughout the world. In Edinburgh in July, there will be a carnival of forums, discussion and debate on the theme that another world is possible and necessary. The view that another world is possible and necessary is held by the vast majority of people, who want a socialised economy–one that is run on the basis of providing benefit for the many in the world rather than for the few. That puts them at odds with the G8. We are the many; it is the few. We want a world in which the world's resources and talents are shared equally among all its peoples. We should divide up the world's wealth and, in the first instance, look after those who are in most need.

I move,

That the Parliament puts on record its support for Article 20 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association"; notes that the G8 summit will be meeting in Gleneagles in July this year, and resolves to uphold and support the right to peaceful assembly and protest in Scotland, in particular in Edinburgh at the Make Poverty History demonstration and at the summit itself in Gleneagles.

Summing Up for the SSP:

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): In July this year, the G8 summit will be held in Scotland. Personally, I am happy about that, not only because the world will get to see how beautiful Scotland is, but because the people of Scotland will be able to show the world what they think of the leaders who make up the G8. The First Minister, Jack McConnell, once described G8 members as "the top table". He was not far wrong. These jokers get to sit at the world's top table and feast, while the rest of the world sits below the table waiting for the crumbs to fall and hoping to receive some sustenance.

At this year's summit, there will be a high profile make poverty history campaign, which we all support. The summit will follow on from the terrible, devastating effects of the south-east Asian tsunami, which has focused the eyes of the world on our so-called leaders. Ordinary people have dug deep to help their sisters and brothers throughout the world. The focus will be on Africa, on civil war, on starvation, on war in Iraq, on weapons of mass destruction, on environmental destruction–[Interruption.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Order.

Rosie Kane: Thank you, Presiding Officer.

On all those fronts, the vulnerable on this planet have taken the brunt.

Under such very current pressures, the G8 public relations machine will no doubt tell us how the G8 leaders will deal with those issues. They will claim that the G8 will make poverty history. Many folk out there who want a better, healthier world might want to feel reassured. However, poverty is not a new phenomenon and nor is the G8, so why is our world spiralling deeper and deeper into disaster despite the fact that these geezers have been meeting for years? What have they done for the world so far?

I will tell members what the G8 leaders have done. The socialists are here for today's debate to highlight how some world leaders have acted in tandem with the multinationals. The world has been raped and pillaged of everything, from oil to diamonds, so that those at the top table – and their buddies–can prop another cushion under their gold-plated, fat backsides. Let us not kid ourselves that G8 members are caring and compassionate. The folk who dug deep for the tsunami or who drew attention to, and collected money for, the relief of poverty across the globe are the ones whom we should celebrate.

Let us take a look at who these G8 leaders are. Japan's Koizumi is pro-business and pro-privatisation–[Interruption.] Members on the Tory benches may well cheer. At least they align themselves honestly; this lot on the Executive benches pretend.

Germany's Schröder is for big business and is pro-war. France's Chirac is pro-nuclear weapons, pro-big business, anti-trade union and pro-privatisation. Russia's Putin is pro-war, anti-human rights, anti-free speech and anti-democracy. He presides over hideous and continuing brutality in Chechnya. He is corrupt to the core. Canada's Martin is a multimillionaire tax avoider, union buster, environmental law-breaker, social services cutter, private finance champion–[Interruption.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Order.

Rosie Kane: Italy's Berlusconi is a multimillionaire and flogger of public services. He has been under investigation for everything from fraud to corruption and bribery, but has got out of it by changing the law to protect himself. America's Bush is pro-war, pro-big business, anti-environment, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-trade unions, pro-nuclear weapons and pro-death sentence. Britain's Blair is pro-war, pro-big business, anti-environment–[Interruption.] Presiding Officer, do you mind?

Blair is anti-environment, anti-trade union and a liar. [Interruption.] Presiding Officer, I must complain about the decibel levels.

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Order.

Rosie Kane: The whole lot of G8 leaders are out for themselves and out for their pals. It is not in their best interests to eradicate poverty.

They have blood on their hands. They know that, members know that and those who will converge around Gleneagles know that. It bothers me that many politicians and less responsible sections of the media have set their focus on riots and violence. If they want violence, they will find it not in the minds of protesters but in the actions of the G8 and their big-business pals who attack the planet, push people aside and put greed before need. The talk of water cannons, rubber bullets and even ground-to-air missiles is a diversion. A frenzy has been whooped up to divert attention from the real issues. The First Minister should not kid himself or the public that the G8 will end poverty. The G8 is the problem, not the solution.

As a child, when I was fed my dinner at night with my brothers, my mother or father would tell me, "If you don't eat your dinner, you're wasting it, when there are children starving across the world." In my childlike mind, I imagined how I who had enough could send that food to all those children. It turns out that, for every £1 that we send in aid, £3 is owed in debt repayments. Under those circumstances, had I sent my dinner across the world, the child in Africa who received it would have had to put gravy on it, put silver service with it, give me a tip and send it straight back. That is what the G8 has done for us. It was like that then, and it is like that now.

If the G8 is so good, so kind and so righteous, why must it meet behind a security shield? When the G8 leaders say that they will make poverty history, they lie and millions die. As Martin Luther King said, a lie cannot last forever. I hope that the G8 cannot last forever. I hope that protest worldwide will expose the G8 and bring about its downfall, rather than the downfall of the planet.

I ask that members support the motion in my name, support the right to protest and reject the G8.


Scotsman Report

SSP Debate G8 in Parliament

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Ministers promise G8 demo rights Ministers have promised campaigners the right to protest at the forthcoming G8 summit as long as they do so within the bounds of the law.

MSPs discussed arrangements surrounding the Gleneagles event during a Holyrood debate on Thursday.

The Scottish Socialist Party leader, Colin Fox, sought assurances about the public's right to protest...

The SSP used its parliamentary time to stage the debate. During his first major speech as the SSP's new national convener, Mr Fox claimed people's right to protest was already being "eroded" by scare stories.

Over-zealous police preparations were also helping to create an atmosphere of "fortress Gleneagles" for the July event, he said.

He added: "As the G8 fails to deliver on promises to eradicate poverty and instead drives ahead with a naked imperialist agenda - especially in the third world and the middle east - they are behind them creating a huge worldwide movement of opposition."

Give pupils more pukka meals, MSP tells minister

Edinburgh Evening News DEPUTY education minister Euan Robson was today urged to act more like TV chef Jamie Oliver and deliver healthier school meals.

Scottish Socialist MSP Frances Curran said the Executive’s current policy had failed and called on the Scottish Parliament to back free school meals across Scotland.

"As a society we are supporting and condoning stuffing our kids full of over-processed food laden with salt, fat and sugar," she said during a parliamentary debate.

And she urged the Executive to take a lead from Oliver, whose current TV series, Jamie’s School Dinners, has tackled the poor state of food in some schools.

Mr Robson was today visiting Leith Primary School to promote healthy meals, but he rejected the SSP’s call for free meals for pupils.

He said: "Providing free school meals to all pupils will not improve their health if the food itself, as well as the atmosphere in which it is eaten, is not appetising and stimulating."

Tory MSP Brian Monteith said many pupils did not want nutritious meals. He recalled a visit to Leith Academy, where he said the canteen menu included pasta, baked potatoes and broccoli.

"Where were the pupils? They were outside the school. It was the teachers enjoying the broccoli."

But Ms Curran said: "If you accept the argument that kids won’t eat healthy food, then you’re accepting that multinational food companies will slowly poison a generation of Scottish children and that we will be bystanders."

Summit plans come under scrutiny

BBC NEWS MSPs are set to debate the arrangements for the G8 world leaders' summit in Gleneagles.

The Scottish Executive is keen to use the July event as a showcase and to stimulate discussion of the issues of climate change and poverty in Africa.

But the Scottish Socialist Party says the right of people to protest against the G8 leaders must also be guaranteed.

The Socialists say talk of high security and intensive policing is intimidating to potential protestors.

They believe police in riot gear may even provoke violence and feel the executive should be doing more to uphold the right of peaceful assembly.

Ministers will argue on Thursday that the police will facilitate peaceful protest but they have to be prepared for the minority who may use the occasion to engage in unlawful or violent behaviour.

Parliament to debate school meals & right to protest at Gleneagles

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 02/03/05

Parliament to debate school meals & right to protest at Gleneagles

The Scottish Socialist Party will use its business time in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to highlight the party's priorities ranging from socialist internationalism around the mobilisation for the G8 summit at Gleneagles to the fight to improve Scots children's health through free school meals. The SSP will highlight the inadequacy of the Scottish Executive in relation to the health of Scots schoolchildren by moving a motion congratulating Labour administrations which have taken radical measures in relation to school meals; the National Assembly for Wales and the city councils of Hull and Glasgow. The motion will be moved by West of Scotland MSP Frances Curran who said today; "Free school meals is an idea whose time has come. "It would be the biggest single anti-poverty and pro-health measure introduced in Scotland for generations. "Scotland's health crisis is notorious the world over. A man in parts in the East End of Glasgow can expect to die 25 years younger than a man in Dorset. "Poverty, combined with our junk food culture, is literally killing us. "We have to start the fight against ill health in our schools by ending the burger and chips culture. "Let's call a halt to the queue at the bakers for meat pies and doughnuts at lunchtime. "By far the best way to do that is to provide attractive, healthy, free school meals for all."

A motion in the name of Rosie Kane calls on the parliament to support the right to "freedom of peaceful assembly and association" under Article 20 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in respect of demonstrations around the G8 summit. The Scottish Socialist Party has been at the forefront a broad based movement building support for a massive show of opposition to the leaders of the G8 when they arrive in Scotland in July. SSP national convenor Colin Fox will move the motion. Colin said today; "The Godfathers of capitalism will be arriving in Scotland in July and the thousands of people who wish to make clear their opposition to world poverty, to the catastrophic policies of the industrialised nations in relation to the environment and over the Iraq war have the right to demonstrate at Gleneagles. "The SSP Group will be joining the demonstrators and we are determined that the right to peaceful protest should be upheld despite the fact that the UK now has one of the most authoritarian governments in Europe."

*S2M-2507 Frances Curran: School Meals and Our Children's Future "That the Parliament notes that all serious nutritionists are predicting that obesity will double in Scotland over the next 10 years, causing a health crisis which will dramatically increase demand for health services and lower average life expectancy; therefore endorses the principle that radical action is required to tackle Scotland's diet- related health problems; believes that there can be no better use of Scotland's resources than to invest in our children's future, and congratulates the National Assembly for Wales and the city councils of Hull and Glasgow for their action in providing free breakfasts for all primary children and the councils for their further commitment to extending free, nutritious school lunches to all their primary school pupils.

*S2M-2506 Rosie Kane: The Right to Protest at Gleneagles "That the Parliament puts on record its support for Article 20 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association"; notes that the G8 summit will be meeting in Gleneagles in July this year, and resolves to uphold and support the right to peaceful assembly and protest in Scotland, in particular in Edinburgh at the Make Poverty History demonstration and at the summit itself in Gleneagles.

Firebrand Brown fights for his life

Scotland on Sunday - Politics - Firebrand Brown fights for his life

All of Ron's comrades in the Scottish Socialist Party send their best wishes to a veteran class fighter, friend and comrade.

SSP call for peaceful protest at G8 Summit

Sunday Herald

EVERY Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) MSP is to undergo non-violent direct action training in preparation for demonstrations against the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July.

The party’s six MSPs will each pay around £100 to take part in a two-day training session, run in April or May, by the Scottish Centre for NonViolence in Dunblane. They also intend to call on SSP supporters and others planning to join in the protests to consider undergoing similar training.

Frances Curran, the party’s enterprise spokeswoman, said: “Some of us have done the training before – including [MSPs] Carolyn Leckie and Rosie Kane – but we are all going to do it for the G8 because we are intent on having a peaceful protest. The training teaches you what to do when you’re facing riot police.

“It urges you to think why you are protesting and what are you trying to achieve.”

Thousands of protesters are expected to join demonstrations against the gathering, in Perthshire from July 6 to 8, of world leaders from the G7 group of wealthy nations plus Russia. Anti-capitalist and anti-war protesters are planning a week-long campaign of events around the summit, including a march of up to 200,000 people, in Edinburgh and associated events at Faslane nuclear submarine base on the Clyde (home of Britain’s Trident submarines) and Dungavel detention centre in Ayrshire, where asylum seekers are held.

Police are planning to draft in 10,000 officers, including hundreds from London, to deal with the threat of disruption to the summit.

In response, several groups, including Trident Plough shares and Seeds for Change, are now running courses on non-violent direct action in the run-up to the summit.

Curran added: “We will be calling on other SSP members and suggesting everybody goes through [training]. Most of our members have been on countless demonstrations across Scotland and there has never been one hint of trouble.”

Curran is to meet Tayside police in Perth on Tuesday, and on Thursday the SSP is using its allotted time in parliament for a debate on the summit.

Students to vote for a Coke boycott at unions

Edinburgh Evening News - Students to vote for a Coke boycott at unions STUDENTS are set to ban Coca-Cola from shops and bars at Edinburgh University over alleged human rights abuses at an overseas factory.

The Edinburgh University Students’ Association is next month expected to back a proposed boycott of the giant drinks firm.

The move would mean the company would lose its £120,000-a-year contract with EUSA and all advertising rights in buildings owned by the student union.

Eleven other universities worldwide - including four in England - have already introduced similar boycotts.

A global campaign was launched amid allegations that Colombian workers who attempted to unionise one of the firm’s factories were tortured, and another activist was murdered outside the plant’s gates.

Edinburgh Youth Against the War film wins award

Scotland Today: "With the Oscars taking place this weekend, on Wednesday February 23 all eyes were on on some young filmmakers from Scotland who were in London being honoured for their own work. Jude Law, Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen were among the judging panel who heaped praise on the pupils' short films.

The First Light film awards, celebrating films made by young people, was held at the Odeon West End in London's Leicester Square and it was a great day for Scotland and a group from Edinburgh.

Actor Colin Salmon announced: 'The winner of the first light award 2005 in the category of best documentary is - quite right too - Old Enough To Know Better.

Brian McLeod and Nick Erdly, John Cooper and Devon Simonsen are Pilton Video and they produced a documentary on the mass protest and school walkouts in Edinburgh in the days leading up to the Iraq war.

On had to lend their support to the proceedings were Lord Of The Rings star Sir Ian McKellen and Rupert Grint, famous, of course, as Harry Potter's mate Ron Weasley.

Rupert Grint said: 'It's wicked because I sort of started out quite young when I was 11 and it's such good experience, it's really good fun so it's good to see like younger ones as well getting into film as well.'

Sir Ian McKellen added: 'The films I've seen are quite extraordinary. I could have done nothing like that at their age or my own age.'"

SSP leader Fox accuses ministers of censorship

Edinburgh Evening News - Politics - SSP leader Fox accuses ministers of censorship

NEW Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox has accused the Scottish Executive of censoring debate on his Bill to scrap prescription charges.

A decision by the Scottish Parliament’s business bureau means the Bill will not be debated in the parliament until Christmas - a full two and a half years after it was first lodged.

Mr Fox, a list MSP for the Lothians, claimed the Executive parties, which have a majority of the votes in the bureau, were deliberately delaying the proposed legislation despite widespread public support.

"So much for the idea the parliament is ready to spring into action on new ideas," he said. "This suggests it has all the spring in its step of an extinct dinosaur.

"It means 75,000 people in Scotland will face another year when they will go without medicines they need because they don’t have the money."

Scottish Campaign to Remove All Prescription Charges

Free School Meals for All

The Herald Editorial

It is enough to have Gordon Brown choking on his bowl of rice. The chancellor, who is visiting China, is a firm advocate of targeting state benefits on the basis of need. He believes universal benefit, with the odd exception, is wasteful. The Scottish Executive is at one with Mr Brown on the matter of free school meals. More than two years ago, it opposed a private member's bill in the name of Tommy Sheridan of the Scottish Socialist Party to introduce universal free school meals for primary and secondary pupils, in place of the means-tested model. The bill was defeated in the Scottish Parliament. Ministers argued that, if introduced, it would be a costly and wasteful policy.

Much to the discomfort of ministers, universal free school meals will not disappear from the political menu. The Herald reports today that the policy has been endorsed by academics at Dundee University in a paper welcomed by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). One of the authors is an SSP activist who supports the policy. The other describes himself as the "departmental Conservative". This suggests that the collaborators' findings are balanced. They certainly deserve to be taken seriously by Scotland's political class.

The authors concede there would be a cost in extending free school meals to all Scottish children. However, they maintain that the price would be worth paying because it would have a disproportionately beneficial impact on poor families. Some 100,000 Scottish children live in poverty and, according to the CPAG, many are either ineligible for free school meals or do not claim them. Serving them a meal a day (perhaps the only one) would mitigate the effects of poverty. Providing nutritious, appetising food would also improve long-term health prospects; encourage the habit of healthy eating; and raise educational standards over time.

These are also the executive's aims. Ministers are, however, dead set against universal free meals because they say the cost would be some £200m a year and maintain that resources would be better targeted on those who would benefit most. But, according to the academics, many of those who could benefit most, do not. Universality would include them. Opponents argue that the policy flies in the face of common sense because better-off families do not need it. Including them is therefore seen as a waste of resources. The report's authors conclude that waste becomes a significant factor in the case of only the wealthiest 10% of families. Many probably send their children to private schools, where the policy would not apply.

But where is the waste if children take free school meals? The uptake in those Scandinavian countries where there is universality (around 100%) suggests the initiative would also be effective in Scotland. The academics say poor families would gain most. Universality would remove the stigma attached to receiving the benefit. It would also be more cost-effective to administer. The paper makes a compelling case for the policy. If ministers are serious about tackling poverty, they must pay it proper heed so that, when universal free meals next come before the parliament for debate, they do not merely write the policy off as the work of an irritating opposition party. There is too much at stake for that.

Defend the NHS

icWestlothian - New Socialist leader makes his first official visit to West Lothian

Feb 18 2005

THE new leader of a major Scottish political party is set to make his first public engagement as convenor in West Lothian.

Lothians MSP Colin Fox was recently elected convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) taking over the post from former leader Tommy Sheridan.

Mr Fox will speak at a public meeting on the NHS in St Margaret’s Academy, Livingston, on Monday, February 21, ay 7.30pm.

The new convenor explained: “I am looking forward to the public meeting on Monday night and it isgreat that my first task as convener will be to speak in Livingston.

“Under New Labour our NHS has got worse – prescription charges have risen, we’ve seen the influx of the private sector which means that a journey to hospital means people now have to pay £10 to park their car.

“Now key services are being taken from our excellent publicly owned hospitals like St John’s and moved to the privately owned such as New Royal.

“At this public meeting we’ll be asking the people of West Lothian not to give up the fight, to get involved in the broad campaign and push for all services to be returned to St John’s.”

Steven Nimmo, SSP candidate for Livingston, who will also speak at the meeting, added: “Whilst the SSP has been actively campaigning on behalf of the broad campaign to save services at St John’s, we also want to speak to people about why we think there are the current problems in the NHS and how we would change them for the better.

“The SSP is an advocate and defender of universal benefits for all, the NHS being the prime example of a service that should be available locally and free at the point of need.”

Youth Anti-War Film up for Prize

Edinburgh Evening News

YOUNG filmmakers from the Capital are to rub shoulders with the UK’s biggest movie stars after being nominated for a national award.

A programme highlighting the city’s youth anti-war movement in 2003 is in line for Best Documentary at the First Light Film Awards for films made by young people between the ages of five and 18.

The young filmmakers will be guests at the glittering "mini Oscar" ceremony in London’s Leicester Square next week.

Alfie star Jude Law, filmmaker Stephen Fry and Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint are among the panel of celebrities judging the films.

Made by Edinburgh Youth Against The War, Old Enough to Know Better documents the mass school walkouts staged by thousands of schoolchildren in protest against the Iraq war.

The documentary, produced by Pilton Video, was part of a four-film project with an overall budget of £48,000, and has already received critical acclaim and a host of awards after being shown at film festivals around the world.

Solidarity with Iraqi workers

Public Meeting

Solidarity with the Iraqi workers

Speakers

• Hassan Jumaa Awad, president of the General Union of Oil Employees, Basra, Iraq


• Frances Curran MSP, Scottish Socialist Party


• Rose Gentle, Justice4gordongentle.

7-30pm Wednesday 16th February 2005
Partick Burgh Halls, Burgh Hall Street, Glasgow.

Nearest Underground and train station Partick, Buses 9, 16, 16a, 62, 89, 90

SSP's Best Days Are Ahead Of Us

Statement by new SSP National Convenor Colin Fox.

I am thrilled and honoured to have been elected as National Convenor.
The SSP has come through a difficult few months. Alan McCombes and I both agree that the real winner from this weekend is the party itself. We are united and strengthened by our experiences.
I have known Alan for more than 25 years. He is a friend of mine. He is an enormous political asset to the SSP. He was the first person I told I would stand for the post and he was the first person I spoke to after I heard the result on Sunday.
We intend to work closely over the next few months to bolster the confidence of the 130,000 people who voted SSP in May 2003.
I want to assure SSP members that we share a commitment to an Independent Socialist Republic in Scotland. We also share a vision of a party based on rank and file democracy and rooted in the politics of the streets, communities, workplaces and colleges. We will work together outside and inside Parliament.
Where do we go from here?
* Our first priority is to get back to what we are good at - taking the fight to New Labour and New SNP.
* The General Election is around the corner. The SSP will be standing candidates in every seat in Scotland and we will be campaigning on the issues which are important to people - health, education, jobs, pensions and of course Labour's murderous deceit in Iraq.
* And with the huge G8 protests set for Edinburgh in July we get a golden opportunity to present our unique anti-capitalist message to an audience at home and abroad.
There is much for the SSP to look forward to in the next couple of months and beyond. The best days of the SSP are ahead of us.

SSP News apologises for the display problem which affected this site for users on Windows Internet Explorer. The issue should now be resolved.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Fox elected as new leader of SSP

SSP Elect Colin Fox to convenorship

Colin Fox was today elected to the convenorship of the Scottish Socialist Party at our annual conference in Perth.

The results of the elections were Colin Fox 252 votes (62%), Alan McCombes 154 votes (38%).

Alan and Colin both took to the stage following the announcement in a show of friendship and unity. To a standing ovation from the conference Lothians MSP Colin pledged to continue the party's implacable opposition to war and poverty and to bring that message to the general election and to the protests at the G8 summit later this year.

SSP Conference Preview

Scotsman.com

Our Commiserations

Edinburgh Evening News

TOMMY SHERIDAN wants the Scottish Parliament to congratulate Prince Charles for making an honest woman of his "bidie-in" - but extend its sympathy to Camilla Parker Bowles on marrying into a "dysfunctional" family.

The former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party - which believes in an independent, republican Scotland - has tabled a motion on the forthcoming Royal nuptials, which he hopes will be called for debate.

Iraq elections

The Scottish Socialist Party today warned that many more Scottish soldiers of the British Army would face being killed in the illegal occupation of Iraq and that the thousands of Iraqis who had voted in the elections would be desperately disappointed if they believed that by voting they would be able to free Iraq of the occupiers.

An SSP spokesperson said today;

"The SSP does not believe that elections imposed by an illegal military occupation can be regarded as legitimate. "The elections that have just been staged by the occupiers cannot be regarded as legitimate as they were deliberately manipulated using national rather than provincial voting rolls in order to reduce Sunni representation and to anoint US-supported groups who will allow this occupation to continue.

"The SSP does recognise that after decades of dictatorship under Saddam there is very real desire amongst many Iraqis to express themselves at the ballot box with tens of thousands voting for party's that are opposed to the occupation.

"The SSP also recognises that an enormous propaganda and news manipulation exercise was orchestrated by the occupiers in order to convince Western public opinion that these elections were legitimate. "Those Iraqis who voted in the election in the hope that the occupiers will leave if the Iraqi people wish them to will be desperately disappointed.

"The US invaded Iraq not to bring democracy to the people but to plunder the oil and resources of the country and to alter the military balance of power in the region.

"Military experts estimate that the US is in the process of constructing 12 permanent military bases in Iraq as an extension of US power and influence in the Middle East.

"The occupiers will not leave Iraq unless forced to do so by a united movement of the Iraqi people, crossing ethnic and religious divide. "To that end the Scottish Socialist Party offers support and solidarity to all those independent and free trades unionists in Iraq who oppose the occupation and have no links to the puppet regime of Iyad Allawi and to all those Iraqis who wish to see an independent and free Iraq.

"The Scottish Socialist Party warns that many more soldiers of the occupying armies will be killed if the occupation continues and that the only solution is for the immediate withdrawal of all occupation troops.

"The SSP unreservedly condemns all atrocities committed against the civilian population of Iraq committed by both by the occupying armies and religious extremists with statistics showing that the vast majority of civilian deaths have been perpetrated by the occupying military forces." [ends]

MSP says half the cost of axing pills charge would be recouped

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Colin Fox said the estimated £45 million that would be lost through introducing free prescriptions would be offset by up to £20m of savings, mostly as a result of fewer people needing hospital treatment.

The Lothians list MSP was today formally unveiling his Bill to abolish prescription charges, following the example of the Welsh Assembly, which voted to scrap the charges last year.

Mr Fox said: "Prescription charges are a lie to the promise the health service gave in the 1940s that it would provide universal healthcare free at the point of need.

"It’s not free and 75,000 people in Scotland have gone without the medicines they needed because they did not have the £6.40 per item for the prescription."

Mr Fox branded the current charges a tax on the sick. But he said an analysis of the financial impact of abolishing the charges, carried out by parliament officials, had shown large savings could be made through lifting the cash barrier to people getting medicine.

Scrap Prescription Charges website

MSP jailed after nuclear protest

BBC NEWS | Scotland | MSP jailed after nuclear protest

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie jailed for nuclear protest

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie jailed for nuclear protest

Scottish Socialist Party MSP for Central Region Carolyn Leckie has been jailed for seven days for non payment of a fine after being arrested at Faslane nuclear submarine base. Carolyn appeared at East Kilbride District Court on Thursday and after making it clear that she would not pay the fine in protest at the continuing presence of weapons of mass destruction in Scotland. Carolyn had said previously; "I won't be paying the fine, to do so would be an indication that I had done something wrong. "I was protesting against Britain's weapons of mass destruction, I regard that as a duty not a crime."

Carolyn faces the possibility of losing her ability to practise as a midwife after the Nursing and Midwifery Council wrote to her advising that she was being investigated for "misconduct" in relation to the court case.

Fellow SSP MSP Frances Curran has also been arrested at Faslane and said this afternoon; "The Scottish Socialist Party is proud that we have representatives who are prepared to take a stand on issues of principle. "Carolyn is a woman in public life with principles who is prepared to risk her livelihood in order to take a stand against nuclear weapons. "I am outraged that Carolyn has been jailed for taking a stand in the best democratic traditions. "Carolyn has been criminalised for dissent and that is an outrage."

MSP Leckie: Redeploy Iraq medical troops to disaster zones

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 28/12/04

MSP Leckie: Redeploy Iraq medical troops to disaster zones.

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Carolyn Leckie today bitterly condemned the amount of money being given by the advanced industrialised countries in aid relief to the victims of the tsunamis that swept across the Indian Ocean from Thailand to Somalia.

Carolyn called for troops to be re-deployed from Iraq to the disaster zones, specifically the 150 Scottish health service staff who have been called up for military duty in Iraq.

So far the US has announced a package of just $15 million while the European Union has managed just 4 million Euro’s.
Carolyn said that Europe seemed more concerned that shares in travel companies and the holiday industry would suffer as a consequence of the disaster.

Carolyn said;
“This is a disaster of horrific proportions and it is not over yet.
“Countries already living in poverty and squalor have been visited by catastrophe and now face the prospect of populations devastated by disease and thousands made homeless.
“It is an affront to humanity that the worlds richest nations can only bring themselves to provide a pittance in disaster relief.
“The US has spent $147 Billion to reduce Iraq to rubble while Britain is spending £1.5 Billion a year to keep troops in Iraq.
“The response of the Western governments to this disaster for humanity tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.
“At the very least the British government must immediately re-deploy troops from Iraq to assist in this humanitarian disaster and more particularly the 150 health service staff that have been called up for military service must be sent to the disaster zones.
“I’m sure Scottish people will be as disgusted as I am that Europe’s stock brokers are more concerned that shares in travel companies and the holiday industry will suffer rather than how companies can do something to aid the relief work.
“Those companies who profit directly from this area of the world should turn over those profits to the disaster relief effort.”
[ends]

Rosie Kane applauds Glasgow students over Vanunu win

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane tonight congratulated the students of Glasgow University for electing Mordechai Vanunu as their rector.

Members of the Scottish Socialist Party at Glasgow University have been campaigning hard to get Vanunu elected over the past few weeks.

Rosie said tonight; "This is fantastic news and I applaud the students of Glasgow University for their achievement in electing Mordechai Vanunu as rector.

"I am glad to see that the students of Glasgow refused to be hypnotised by a New Labour soap opera star but instead have shown the internationalist outlook of young people in Glasgow and a determination to recognise the courage and determination of a man who is the Nelson Mandela of the Middle East.

"This is also a victory for the Palestinians, whose cause Vanunu supports."

SSP National Council Reports

SSP votes to stay with a single leader - The Herald

SSP Reaffirms Unity - Green Left Weekly

Transcript of SSP Debate on Iraq in Scottish Parliament

S2M-2132 Carolyn Leckie: Iraq—That the Parliament notes with grave concern that Iraqi civilians have reported the use of napalm and/or phosphorous cluster bombs by US forces in their attack on the city of Fallujah, that the use of such weapons is banned by United Nations international treaty to which the United Kingdom is a signatory and therefore utterly condemns any failure of the United States to abide by international treaties and the use of such weapons of mass destruction; notes the International Committee of the Red Cross's recent call to both parties to the conflict in Iraq which stated that it is prohibited to torture participants or to subject them to any form of inhuman, humiliating or degrading treatment and that both sides must do everything possible to help civilians caught up in the fighting obtain the basics of survival such as food, water and health care, notes that there were reliable reports of US forces cutting off water supplies to Fallujah prior to the assault and therefore, along with the Red Cross, believes that "for the parties to this conflict, complying with international humanitarian law is an obligation, not an option"; believes that the war in Iraq was based on deceit and lies and that far from ending terrorism "American actions have instead elevated the authority of the jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims" and that most Muslims think that "the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering", as stated by the Defence Science Board, notes that the war has resulted in a humanitarian disaster with as many as 100,000 Iraqis having lost their lives and malnutrition amongst Iraqi children having almost doubled and that British and US troops are seen by most Iraqis as occupiers rather than liberators and therefore believes that it is in the best interests of all for all troops to be brought home for Christmas.

Supported by: Frances Curran*, Ms Rosemary Byrne*, Colin Fox*, Rosie Kane*, Tommy Sheridan*


Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): This debate is long overdue, as we are facing a humanitarian disaster in Iraq. We have witnessed the destruction of the infrastructure of an entire country. Its food supply and water supply have been affected and we are now seeing an increase in the incidence of malnutrition, especially among children. Parts of Iraq have been bombed out and reduced to rubble. The Lancet reports that in excess of 100,000 civilians—mainly women and children— have been killed in violent deaths. On March 13 2003, we, as MSPs—or, rather, you, as MSPs—had the opportunity to register the Parliament's opposition to that action. You had a chance to put down your opposition and say "Not in my name."

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): Some of us did that.

Frances Curran: Okay; some MSPs did, and I am coming to that. MSPs had the chance to register their opposition by supporting a motion in the name of John Swinney. However, 62 members decided not to take that view and backed the action that we have seen over the past 19 months. Ignorance is absolutely no defence. Many voices across the world—including that of the Scottish Socialist Party— warned about the situation that we would find ourselves in. For us, where we are today in Iraq is absolutely no surprise. Millions took to the streets across the world and across Europe, yet there are MSPs in this building who took absolutely no heed. They slavishly put up their hands in support of the warmongers, Bush and Blair. Now we know that those who supported the war did so on the basis of lies and deceit—that is the basis of the occupation of Iraq. There are no weapons of mass destruction and there are no links with al- Qa'ida—or, at least, there were not before the invasion. The only line that people can cling to is the fig leaf of regime change. I presume that the regime-change argument expects us to believe that the invasion by United States and United Kingdom troops was doing the Iraqi people a favour. Well, I wonder how the children of Baghdad—the ones who were playing in the parks and playgrounds—see it. We saw those children days before the bombs dropped, in Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11". Did we do them a favour? Did we do civilians a favour? Did we do the people of Fallujah a favour? Is what we did a favour in the name of regime change?

Let us make no bones about it: those who supported the war—those who put up their hands in Parliament—voted to drop bombs on the playgrounds, schools and homes of those children. Ignorance is not an excuse. How could they use napalm? Given all that we know about Vietnam, how could you support the use of napalm? Now that the US has admitted that it used napalm last year and now that the information is coming out about Fallujah, what are people trying to do? They are trying to cover it up and pretend that it did not happen. That is exactly what the amendments from Labour, the Liberals and the Tories do—they take out every reference in the motion to the use of napalm. That is an absolute disgrace, and you should be ashamed of yourselves. In this debate, I would like to hear some defence of that. If members do not think that napalm should have been used, they should condemn it openly. They should support our motion and not the amendments that attempt to take those references out. Let me make it clear: US and UK troops are not liberators; they are an occupying army in a sovereign country. They broke international law by invading Iraq, so we should not be surprised that, throughout the 19-month occupation, they have continued to breach international law on human rights in prisons and in relation to utilities. They now stand condemned by the International Committee of the Red Cross of further breaches of human rights.

The incidence of malnutrition among children in Iraq has increased dramatically. One of the main reasons for that is the lack of clean water in which to cook food, yet in Fallujah, Samarra and Tell Afar— those are only the places that we know about; journalists are not allowed into large parts of Iraq—750,000 people have had their water supply cut by occupying forces as a means of war. The civilian population has to pay for what is a complete breach of the Geneva convention, which specifically forbids the denial of water to civilians during conflict. That will really win hearts and minds. It will have a dramatic effect on the people of Iraq.

This week, we have heard that the battle for hearts and minds has been lost and is being lost for good. We have read in the papers this week quotes from the report of the Defense Science Board—one of the top security advisory bodies in the US—which states: "in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering." Has the occupation made the world a safer place? Is that what direct intervention in the Muslim world has achieved? The report makes the point:

"American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States".

That is no surprise to those of us who were on the anti-war campaign and spoke at meetings up and down the country. It was always clear— even Douglas Hurd made the point—that an American and British invasion force would never be seen as liberators and would always be seen as an occupying army. The Defense Science Board's report continues:

"American efforts have not only failed ... they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended."

The conclusion that we must draw is that the world is a less safe place. After so much money has been spent on the war, after the civilian tragedy and the humanitarian disaster, nobody has benefited and the world is not a safer place. Those are not my words; they are the words of the advisers to Donald Rumsfeld. The report concludes that the actions of the US in Iraq have played right into the hands of al-Qa'ida.

Given the amendments from the Liberals, the Tories and Labour, I want to pose a question. They are all cheering on the sidelines for elections, and they probably hope that the elections will come along in January and save us from the quagmire.

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): We have heard many minutes of Frances Curran's speech. When is she going to come to the main point of the motion, on withdrawing troops by Christmas? How on earth will that help the situation and the suffering in Iraq?

Frances Curran: First of all, there are three main parts to the motion, and we are about to address all of them.

Mr Raffan: Will she address that point?

Frances Curran: I am about to do that, if Mr Raffan will have a little bit of patience.

The key issue now is the elections, which Mr Raffan's party hopes will bolster support for the war, but how on earth are we going to see free and fair elections in Iraq next month? Such is the lack of stability that the US is having to pour in more troops to try to hold the position in order to attempt elections. There will be the largest number of troops in Iraq since the invasion. Fifteen Sunni political parties and two Kurdish parties have banded together and said that the elections should be postponed. How can voter registration in Fallujah be carried out when 200,000 people have been displaced and are living in camps on the edge of civilisation, with temperatures going below zero and without proper food, water or sanitation? Where do we set up the ballot boxes?

The Association of Muslim Scholars, Iraq's highest Sunni religious authority, has demanded that all Sunnis boycott the electoral process. If that happens, the elections can in no way be seen as viable, fair or representative, no matter how much public relations effort is thrown at them—and the Americans and Blair will try to do that. There is no way that that can happen. If the Sunni population does not take part, nobody—unless they think that they are in the Ukraine—will be able to claim that the elections are democratic and representative.

The truth of the matter is that it is a mess, a disaster and a quagmire, and it is of Bush and Blair's making. All the time that the situation continues, civilian and military casualties are increasing. More than 25,000 troops have now been injured. The death rate in November was 140. That is the highest increase in the death rate among US or British troops since the invasion began 19 months ago, and it is set to escalate. As we go in deeper and deeper and throw more and more troops into Iraq, higher and higher casualties are what is in prospect for the invasion.

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): Continuing on the point that Keith Raffan made, I ask Frances Curran to tell us how her proposal that all troops be withdrawn in two weeks' time would help the people of Iraq.

Frances Curran: I am coming to that. The only option now is to withdraw British and US troops. The reason is that the existence of those troops is causing more and more damage. They are contributing more and more to the break-up of the country. They are causing greater problems, creating a bigger opposition movement and taking the country further towards civil war. They will not be able to deliver peace. We will be in there for a long time and nobody on Mr Rumbles's side of the argument has a clue about how to get out. The only solution—for which there are historical parallels—is to withdraw the troops as soon as possible. There are many sections of the troops who are demoralised, but it is not our arguments that are demoralising the troops in Iraq. What is demoralising them is the fact that they are there to fight a war based on lies and deceit. They are bombing and killing innocent civilians. They are involved in abuse of human rights and cutting off water. They were promised that they would be liberators, welcomed with flags in the streets, but they have been treated as an army of occupation and as a hostile force. The longer we keep them there, the bigger the mess is going to get, and it will be much more difficult to withdraw in the long term. This was never about democracy. It was never about the people of Iraq. It was always about oil. Some people have benefited, but the world is not a safer place. We were right in our analysis of the invasion and, 19 months later, we will be right in our analysis that there will be a quagmire of civil war and the break-up of Iraq if we do not withdraw the troops now. We will also give massive support to al-Qa'ida and to the Islamic revolution. That is where Mr Rumbles and his colleagues have got us. At least they support us getting out of there now, but they should put up their hands and admit that they are ashamed of themselves for voting for the invasion in the first place.



Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): It is, to say the least, unfortunate that our Scottish Parliament does not have the power to respect the wishes of the majority of people in Scotland on the invasion and occupation of Iraq. If the Parliament had those powers, we would surely have listened to the people long ago and voted to have no part in the Blair-Bush project. We do not have that power, and therefore we have been dragged into a bloody, evil and illegal massacre. The war and occupation are a massacre. The picture in Iraq today is extremely bleak. Some members have painted Iraq as some kind of wonderland, with books, schools and many other things. I do not know in which parallel universe that vision exists, but it is not my understanding—or that of many millions of people—of what is really happening in Iraq.

Frances Curran and other members mentioned the report in The Lancet that estimated that there have been 100,000 excess deaths due to the war and occupation. That figure is bad enough, but it would have been greater if Fallujah had been included in the sample. However, it was not, so there are many more than that. About 17,000 of those deaths are Iraqi civilians who were killed as a direct result of bombing and shooting. Of course, those include children, who are the most innocent—so much for smart bombs. The remaining numbers of dead are attributed to disruption caused by war, including disease, starvation and an inability to access care, all of which we are a part of. The United Nations Children's Fund reports that malnutrition among Iraqi children has doubled since the invasion. It is not the SSP that reports that, but UNICEF. Do we want to be part of that? Do we want to be part of the breaches of the Geneva convention, such as wounded Iraqis being executed rather than taken prisoner, or the routine shelling and bombing of civilians? I say to Karen Gillon that civilians on both sides are being bombed. We do not condone suicide bombing, but it must be said that Bush and Blair have been the biggest recruiters imaginable for al-Qa'ida, which was not in Iraq previous to the invasion. [Interruption.]


The Deputy Presiding Officer: Excuse me; it is not appropriate for those in the public gallery to applaud.

Rosie Kane: I thank them anyway.

I ask Karen Gillon to bear in mind what I said. I have said it many times; I have said it on television and I have now said it in the Parliament.

Little or no distinction is made between civilians and insurgents. Frances Curran mentioned napalm, and we must concern ourselves with that. The Pentagon says that it has destroyed its stocks of napalm. Perhaps that is another lie, but it will admit to using MK-77 bombs, which are firebombs that include kerosene. The Pentagon says that the MK-77 is environmental friendly, but it is napalm by another name. It is a body-melting bomb, and there are melted bodies on the streets of Iraq. They have been seen and pictured; it is a fact. Do we really want to be a part of that?

Human rights abuses are there for all to see. In fact, the International Committee of the Red Cross, which does not normally publish reports on human rights abuses but chooses instead to deal directly with Governments in order to remain neutral, has felt compelled to release the fact that it has concerns about breaches of the Geneva convention in Iraq. Water and medical attention have been denied, and ambulances have been shot at in Fallujah. Who said that there is nothing wrong in Fallujah? Doctors have been killed and arrested there. Civilian areas are being bombed, and 50 of those bombings were approved by Donald Rumsfeld himself. Do we really want to be part of that?

The SSP is worried about Iraq and about our troops. Troops out! Too right, troops out. Those troops have been forced into an illegal and brutal war. We have heard about the losses of coalition troops. I believe that there were 140 losses during November and 1,100 wounded in that same period.

The Deputy Presiding Officer: You have one minute.

Rosie Kane: To date, 73 soldiers from Britain have died; Gordon Gentle was one of them. Some folk might say that soldiers step into a uniform and know what they are getting into, but they do not. Our young people are scooped up in training centres, schools and job centres and promised training, driving licences, a future and a wage, but they end up on the streets of Basra and end up dead. Those who joined the Army with the intention of fighting are now in an illegal and brutal war into which they have been dragged by so-called leaders. The Scottish Socialist Party is calling for the troops to come home. We want them to come home in planes, helicopters and ships; we want them home in anything other than body bags.

The war is about greed and resources, and the main winners are Halliburton, which will get contracts worth $6 billion to rebuild Iraq after its ex-chief executive ordered the country's destruction; the Bechtel corporation, which has been awarded contracts worth $680 million; DynCorp International, which has been awarded contracts worth $50 million; and Lockheed Martin, which has been awarded contracts worth uncountable millions. The same goes for Boeing and Raytheon, which supply the weapons of mass destruction. The list goes on. To any member who says that the socialists are not using their time to attack poverty, I say: oh yes, we are. We are attacking poverty of humanity, of justice and of decency. If we were not involved in a mega-expensive illegal war, we could use that money to address poverty in Scotland.

The Deputy Presiding Officer: You must finish now.

Rosie Kane: I say to Duncan McNeil: what are you on about, mate? I finish on that. [Interruption.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer: I will not tell the public gallery again: it is inappropriate to applaud. If people applaud again, I will have to ask for them to be removed.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): I am glad to see that two Executive ministers have turned up, albeit belatedly.

I start with the attempts by the Tories, Labour and the Liberal Democrats to remove reality from our motion. They deny the use of napalm and phosphorous weapons of mass destruction, which were the only weapons of mass destruction that were used in Iraq. They deny the sight of melted bodies on the streets of Fallujah but they forget that the United States of America admitted in August 2003 that it used napalm and phosphorous bombs in the blitz of Baghdad, so the idea that it used them in Fallujah is not too far to travel. ITN briefly reported that napalm had been used in Fallujah but the story was quickly removed. I wonder whether a defence advisory notice was issued to avoid that uncomfortable fact. Do the Executive parties have absolutely nothing to say? Will they not condemn the use of napalm and phosphorous bombs?

Normally, the International Committee of the Red Cross does not state its concerns publicly. When it does so, that means that it has evidence that the Geneva convention and other international humanitarian treaties have been breached. We should remind ourselves of those treaties, which three parties in the chamber wish to delete from history.

The Lancet estimates that there have been more than 100,000 civilian deaths, most of which are attributed to bombing. No wonder General Tommy Franks says, "We don't do civilian body counts." Actually, he is lying. The Pentagon collects and collates that information but it keeps it secret. However, it cannot hide everything. The truth has a habit of getting out. Children burned, bombed and torn apart limb from limb—that is the reality that the Executive parties want to delete from the public record. Children have been bombed and butchered in our name, and members of the Executive parties voted for that—that is the reality.

Mr Raffan: Never.

Carolyn Leckie: The member is supporting the continuation. The photos that I have here are from last week, not last year.

There have been further breaches, with water supplies to civilian populations being cut off, wounded insurgents being executed, hospitals being occupied and bombed and aid agencies being denied access to Fallujah. I would have more respect for the Executive parties' arguments if they were prepared to base them on an acknowledgment of the truth and the facts, but instead they seek to remove the truth from the motion. Their amendments even remove the quotes from the Pentagon report, which acknowledges that the occupation has lost the battle for hearts and minds and has acted as a recruitment campaign for terrorists and extreme fundamentalist organisations.

The Executive parties do exactly what the report concludes needs to be done: they cover the truth with more effective propaganda. According to the Pentagon, the invasion and occupation have made Iraq and the world more dangerous, but the answer is to increase the amount of propaganda. The Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems accepted the Pentagon's orders and are acting as its propagandists by seeking to remove the truth from the motion.

I will deal with the ruse of the Labour amendment. Labour members delude themselves that the invasion and occupation of Iraq has aided, or will aid, the cause of the Palestinians, but the Palestinian road map to peace is a fiction. It is a fig leaf that President Bush cast to Tony Blair so that Labour representatives can cover themselves and support the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. The truth is that the Iraq war has been a disaster for the Palestinians. The Israelis used the cover of the Iraq war to build an apartheid wall and annex yet more land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians. Perhaps we can excuse Labour members for having been duped 18 months ago but now there is absolutely no excuse.

The arguments that were made today against the withdrawal of troops have been made before to justify imperialist adventures in retrospect. They were made in relation to Vietnam and to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan but history shows that they are wrong. Some Labour members argued that although the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was wrong, troops should remain in Iraq to avoid descent into barbarism, but that is exactly what happened in Afghanistan: the Soviet invasion led to the Taliban and to barbarism. That might be Iraq's fate because of the actions of the USA and Britain—but of no other country.

The United States is sustaining more and more casualties. November alone cost the US 10 per cent of its total losses in a war that was supposed to have been won on 1 May 2003. In November, the coalition lost double the average monthly number of casualties. Since the invasion, terrorism has increased in Iraq and around the world. The number of deaths due to war has increased, not decreased, and so have starvation, homelessness and insecurity. Some 200,000 refugees were created by the bombardment of Fallujah and there are melted bodies on the streets. The occupation is the cause of the chaos and the increased risk of civil war. Troops are part of the problem—they are not part of the solution. The idea that invaders can be the salvation of the invaded is ignorance and delusion beyond comprehension. [Interruption.] Presiding Officer, I got into trouble earlier and I would like a bit of consistency.

The idea that invaders can be the salvation of the invaded is ignorance and delusion beyond comprehension—I repeat that in case members did not hear it the first time. The invaders are having to pile more and more forces into a war that they are not winning. Bush promised that they would be home by last Christmas. Would the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems advise a failing business to borrow more and more money to prop up a venture that is clearly failing? Would they advise a gambler who has lost a month's wages in a casino to pile more and more chips on the roulette table? No, they would not, yet they support the piling in of more troops and the piling up of more bodies.

The war was wrong, illegal and unjust. It should not have started, and it should stop. The waste of lives and the hanging on to the coat tails of the neo-Cons in the White House must stop. The waging of a war that is based on lies must stop. Not another drop of blood should be spilled for George W Bush. Saddam Hussein has been removed, but are members clear that they have argued that the capture of one guilty man is worth 100,000 civilian lives? If all the dictators in the world who have been propped up and supplied and supported with arms by the US and Britain were removed at the same cost, there would be millions of corpses throughout the world. Members talk about Saddam Hussein, but what about Pinochet, Suharto or Ariel Sharon? Not a bloody word. [Interruption.]

The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid): Order.

Carolyn Leckie: The occupation was never about the Iraqi people and it is not about them now. It is about Halliburton's profits—Rosie Kane referred to the millions and billions of pounds that it has gained and benefited from because of the war. It is that company that has won, not the Iraqi people.

Keith Raffan mentioned the brotherhood of man—I notice that he left out women and children, but that is no surprise. Are bombing, starving and burning his idea of solidarity? We should make no mistake: the Liberal Democrats are the phoney anti-war party. [Interruption.] They are fakes.

Is the SNP serious about the recruitment of troops from Arab nations? Iraqis are being blown up in queues to join security forces. Is the SNP suggesting that recruits from Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Iran would be safe while queueing up to volunteer?

I am sure that the refugees outside Fallujah—all 200,000 of them—will be grateful for a ballot paper. We did not cause this mess. Elections do not create democracy—democracy creates elections. It is time to stop the patronising piffle and time to stop the bombing and the human rights abuses. That is what members should be talking about. It is time to pile in aid and money but bring the troops out now. Iraq belongs to the Iraqis and the future of Iraq is up to them. The troops must come home now for their sake as well as that of the Iraqis.

As Jack McConnell is now in the chamber, I say to him that the blood of Iraqi children is on his hands. I challenge him to look at the document that I am holding because if the children can suffer what they suffer, he should be able to look them in the eye. He is not prepared to do that because he does not have the courage to face up to the photographs, to face up to his complicity or to face up to George W Bush in the White House. Jack McConnell is prepared to murder and cause mayhem on his behalf.

The Presiding Officer: I think that that is over the top.

SSP Debate Iraq in Parliament

BBC NEWS

A Scottish Socialist Party call to pull all troops out of Iraq by Christmas has been defeated in parliament.

The SSP's Frances Curran urged Scottish politicians to back the party's motion during a debate on Thursday.

She also attacked MSPs for refusing to oppose last year's invasion, which she labelled a 'humanitarian disaster'.

Instead, they passed a Labour motion by 65 votes to 32 supporting those working for peace in Iraq and offering sympathy to those killed while serving there.

During her speech, Ms Curran said: 'Those who supported the war did so on the basis of lies and deceit.

'There are no weapons of mass destruction, there are no links with al Qaeda - at least there wasn't before the invasion.

'Those who supported this war, those who put their hands up in this chamber - you voted to drop bombs on the playgrounds, the schools and the homes of those children.'

She added that coalition troops were not liberators but an occupying army who had broken international law by invading Iraq."

Poster ban slapped on offices at Holyrood

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Poster ban slapped on offices at Holyrood

MSPs have been banned from putting up posters in the windows of their offices at the new Holyrood parliament.

The cross-party corporate body has ruled politicians must not display any items in any of the windows in the MSP block - including those facing into the corridors - in case they cause offence.

The move was prompted by complaints from Labour researchers in the parliament about posters in the window of the Scottish Socialist Party research room which mock President George Bush and highlight the human toll of the war in Iraq.

But today Lothians SSP MSP Colin Fox condemned the ban as censorship and vowed to defy it.

"We do not intend to comply," he said.

"There’s no intention of causing offence, but the members of the public who voted for us want to see the SSP wear its colours on its sleeve.

"This is our corridor. This is where the SSP is to be found and if people are made aware of that, it’s no bad thing.

"We’re not going to hide our light under a bushel just because Labour researchers don’t like the fact we remind them our country is involved in an illegal occupation of a foreign land."

The SSP’s offending material includes a mock front page of a newspaper poking fun at President Bush over his alleged difficulty with language.

Nearby, another sign carries images of victims in the war in Iraq.

It reads: "Collateral damage - the casualties of ‘precision bombing’ in Fallujah," and has photographs copied from the internet.

The SSP room opens on to the parliament’s garden lobby. Tourists and members of the public pass by on their conducted tours of the building.

And on the day of the official opening, when the Queen was being shown round, her route took her past Mr Fox’s office whose windows were decorated with flyers for the alternative republican rally on Calton Hill and a poster bearing the message "No Foxhunters".

An insider said that when Presiding Officer George Reid was showing some of the royal staff around in preparation for the visit, one official requested they should "go a bit quicker" when the Queen came to that stretch of corridor.

A Labour source confirmed party staff had complained to parliament chief executive Paul Grice about the SSP posters after visitors had commented on them.

But he said others working in the building were also unhappy about the posters. "The garden lobby is like an open street and people don’t want to see this stuff every morning when they come in. It’s just juvenile politics.

"People come in here who think what we are doing in Iraq is necessary. We know it’s a sad and unpleasant situation. We don’t need to be constantly reminded of it. This is a parliament, not a university bar.

SNP moves to expel left-wing republicans

Scotsman.com News - Politics - SNP moves to expel left-wing republicans: "SCOTTISH Nationalists are set to reopen old divisions by expelling left-wing republicans from the party...

...Mr Middleton - who was threatened with disciplinary action last year after advocating republicanism in an article in the Evening News - said the party’s new stance sent out the wrong message.

"It’s telling people you can be a republican and a socialist in the SNP if you want, but you’re not supposed to shout about it. It’s going to annoy a lot of people. Do they want people to go and join the SSP?"

SSP attacks Galloway for attempting to split left in Scotland

The Scottish Socialist Party today angrily condemned George Galloway for coming to the aid of New Labour with a threat to split the left vote in Scotland. In an article in The Mail on Sunday George Galloway raises the prospect of Tommy Sheridan standing as a Respect Unity Coalition candidate at the next Scottish Parliament elections.

Today Tommy Sheridan categorically ruled out any such move. Tommy said; "I don't know why George is raising this idea. "I am absolutely committed to the Scottish Socialist Party and expect to be a leading candidate for the party in the 2007 Holyrood election. "Respect is doing a good job in England of campaigning against the Iraq war and raising basic socialist policies but there is already a socialist party in Scotland, it is called the SSP. "I have no plans to be anything other than a representative of the Scottish Socialist Party and if George wants to stand for the same list as me he will have to join the SSP before the next Scottish Parliament elections."

An SSP spokesperson condemned George Galloway's comments outright and accused him of coming to the aid of New Labour by threatening to split the left vote in Scotland.

The spokesperson said; "We are disappointed that George Galloway has launched this astonishing attack on the SSP, based on ignorance and misinformation. We are angry that George Galloway has launched this attack in a right wing newspaper with a tawdry track record of promoting racism and virulent anti-trade unionism. "George Galloway has made no attempt to contact any member of the SSP executive to clarify the facts behind Tommy Sheridan's resignation. "The Scottish Socialist Party has assisted and supported the development of the Respect Coalition in England. Unfortunately, it appears that George is prepared to cynically exploit the short term difficulties faced by the SSP to further his own parliamentary ambitions. "The SSP has united the left in Scotland and was campaigning for peace and socialism years before George Galloway finally broke with New Labour. "The only people who could benefit from a divided left in Scotland would be the British establishment and New Labour on both sides of the border. "The Scottish Socialist Party will be writing to the Respect Unity Coalition in England to call upon the party to dissociate from George Galloway's divisive outburst."

Celebrating International Day of Disabled People

The Scottish Socialist Party is holding a day school
on the issues facing people with disabilities.

Celebrating International Day of Disabled People

Saturday 4 December 2004
Room G8, Tower Building, University of Dundee,
Perth Rd, Dundee


Programme

10.30 Registration

11.00 Introductions - John Sangster (SSP Disability
Spokesperson)

11.30 Opression, resistance and revolution - a
history of disabled people. - Sasha Callaghan

12.30 Questions/discussion

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Group activities - facilitated by Paul Brown,
Roddy Slorach and Steve West

15.30 Feedback

15.45 Plenary and closing remarks

Breastfeeding Bill needs resources

Scotsman

The Scottish Socialist Party’s health spokeswoman, Carolyn Leckie, supported the bill for addressing "prejudice and stigma" against breastfeeding.

However, she warned it was not a "panacea" to improve breastfeeding rates and called for more resources to support and encourage new mothers breastfeeding, "otherwise it is just a piece of paper".

The bill commits ministers to take all reasonable steps to support and encourage breastfeeding, including information campaigns.

Troops killed in Iraq for Bush and Blair - Time to Bring them Home

BBC NEWS: "The Scottish Socialist Party also paid its respects and repeated the call for the troops to be home for Christmas.

Party leader Tommy Sheridan said: 'Our condolences go out to the parents of those Black Watch soldiers killed in Iraq.

'Yet more parents and loved ones are going to go through the nightmare of losing family members because of an illegal occupation which is about oil and world domination and has nothing to do with freedom.

'All the troops must be withdrawn from Iraq by Christmas or yet more tears will be shed and blood spilled on the alter of Bush and Blair's war for oil.'"

Royal Victoria faces Axe

Evening News: "Scottish Socialist Mr Fox said the move would give a 'raw deal' to elderly patients. He added: 'We have already seen the closure of the Northern General Hospital and the Eastern General when we were told it would improve services.

'Now NHS Lothian are telling us the closure of the Royal Victoria will mean things get better. But this is a deterioration of services. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary is like a Hoover, sucking everything in.'
"