Left Weekend

This weekend I participated in the ‘Bring Troops home from Afghanistan’ march and also attended the Green Left general meeting on Sunday.

One thing that struck me about the march in the first instance was the size of it. When I was last at Hyde Park Corner the numbers marching were considerably larger. This smaller contingent could be for a number of reasons. One that was muttered about is the public becoming bored with the subject. One of my fellow comrades was saying how it was difficult to even hand out fliers at Stockwell tube during the week (a place where perhaps the war on terror would have resonance one would have thought)!

I think that seeing as the public conciousness is still very much switched on to the events that are going on this may not be the case.

There is however possibly a public scepticism as to whether anything can be done about the situation. All the major parties seem to collect around the notion that we must not leave until the job is done. Of course some of us would say that this is an open question, can the war be won? The answer regretfully has to be no.

As we continue to kill and mame others abroad so any chance of peace seems unlikely. Indeed the continuing occupation of Afghanistan has worked only to push the Taliban towards Pakistan and the potentially disasterous situation relating to that countries nuclear war-heads.

Here in Cambridge we have something called ‘Dispersal Zones’. Created by the City Council their basic role is to move on and “Disperse!” street drinkers. unfortunately for areas not within these ‘zones’, street drinking is concentrated. The response to this so far has been for the Council to extend these areas thus pushing those who they wish to disperse further and further out. This practice will presumably be passed onto South Cambs when we hit the city boundaries, meanwhile some have to suffer at the hands of anti-social drinkers while the rest of us are stigmatised for even drinking outside a pub! A solution this is not.

This like the American and British occupation of Afghanistan is a perfect example of what can happen when you apply the wrong solution to a problem. It can also as said have the effect of delighting a few while exacerbating the problem for most.

A withdrawal now from Afghanistan would take away the pressure we are asserting on the Taliban which justify their actions. Some would say their intentions are ones which are out to destroy the west. This may be the case and I wouldn’t necessarily agree with it. However our intentions could be seen to be exactly the same except towards them! The words from our leaders are not ones of understanding but of ignorance and superiority.

We must withdraw from Afghanistan now if only to show that we would be prepared to listen. Pushing the problem around until it has killed and destroyed as many lives as possible is not a solution.

The government, like my local authority must stop seeing confrontationalism towards those it doesn’t agree with as a way forward. We know the public cares about this war, we also know a majority agree with immediate withdrawal. Our New Labour and Tory politicians hid behind lies and deception for too long. My Party along with others on the left is the only one that has consistently opposed the occupation and war in Afghanistan. We see where the problem lies but believe the solution to be one of diplomacy and compromise.

I know a problem with street drinking cannot be compared with the scale of things going on in Afghanistan, but it does prove where small-minded quick fixes are the policies are concerned, all big three parties are guilty. Cambridge City Council is run by the Lib-Dems!

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