WE
CONDEMN THE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PEOPLE IN NEW YORK - continued
Short warns
against talk of bombing
By Andy McSmith, Chief Political Correspondent
(Filed:
18/09/2001)
CLARE SHORT, the International Development Secretary, warned yesterday against military action that would involve killing civilians.
Any response to terrorist attacks should be "proportionate, intelligent and informed", she said. Her words came soon after Tony Blair announced that Britain was "at war with terrorism", suggesting there is a rift in the Cabinet over the scale of any retaliation.
Miss Short said some of the comments made by public figures since the suicide attacks were "not helpful" and pleaded for a response that "would not make things worse".
She added: "All serious people do not want a lot of innocent people to be bombed and lose their lives. Everyone who's got any influence ought to use it to try to achieve that outcome."
Cabinet colleagues were careful not to attack Miss Short, pointing out that her choice of words did not conflict with Government policy, even if the tone was markedly different from theirs.
One Cabinet minister said: "I don't want innocent people to be killed, but some people do recognise that it may be necessary to take action which could have the result that innocent people are killed."
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "What Clare Short was saying is that nobody wants innocent casualties. That is right. But we do need to bring those responsible for last week to account, both because of the horrific deed that has been committed and also to prevent further atrocities. And that means that there will be a response."
Miss Short described the attacks on New York and Washington as "deeply evil" and called for "very serious international action". But she coupled these remarks with a plea for greater diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to resolve tensions in the Middle East and relieve the sufferings of Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan civilians.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour programme, she said: "I don't think some of the language is helpful but I think it's understandable, and what's really important is that we don't get strident action. It would be unbearable if the response was a lot more innocent people losing their lives and inflaming the atmosphere."
She said people in Afghanistan had not voted for the Taliban regime and had not been asked if they wanted to have Osama bin Laden living in their country, but they had been through years of conflict and four years of drought.
She also described the sufferings of the Palestinian people as "unbearable" and a result of the failure of Western policy. She called for a review of the sanctions imposed on Iraq.
Her words may have surprised Left-wing Labour MPs, who felt the full force of Miss Short's anger two years ago when they criticised Government policy in Kosovo. She called the veteran MP Tam Dalyell a "disgrace to the Labour Party" and said some party members were "equivalent to the people who appeased Hitler".
However, as an MP for an inner-city Birmingham seat, she has a long record of speaking up for Muslims in the Middle East and the Balkans. What may worry her Cabinet colleagues more is that she also has a personal following in the Labour Party and among aid agencies.
Ten years ago she was the main organiser of the "Supper Club" made up of more than 50 MPs critical of the role of America and Britian in the Gulf war. Its members included John Prescott and Margaret Beckett.
Her remarks drew public support from the charity Christian Aid. Chris Buckley, programme officer for Afghanistan, said: "At this time it's really important for Western governments to increase their aid and support for the people of Afghanistan, millions of whom will still be unaware of the tragic events in the US last week.
"By the end of November a quarter of the population of Afghanistan will be entirely dependent on food aid. But the World Food Programme says current stocks will only last for another two weeks. What will happen then?"
However, the British public overwhelmingly supports military strikes to punish the terrorists and the countries that harbour them, according to the latest opinion poll. The ICM poll for The Guardian today shows people are less enthusiastic about Britain going to war as a result of the terrorist atrocities, with only 49 per cent for and 31 per cent against.
Asked whether they would support military strikes against the terrorists responsible, 66 per cent said yes and 14 per cent were opposed and 20 per cent said they did not know. On military action against countries harbouring terrorists, the response was 59 per cent yes and 21 per cent opposed.
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