The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament confirmed it will be jointly organising a demonstration outside the Iraq Inquiry when Tony Blair is recalled to give evidence. The demonstration is planned to commence from 8am and will continue through the day of Friday 21st January. On Blair’s last unsatisfactory appearance before the Inquiry many hundreds demonstrated outside, including members of military families who lost relatives in the war who read the names of the 179 UK casualties.
Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said “Tony Blair’s previous appearance before the Inquiry was clearly inadequate, with subsequent evidence raising questions about his earlier statements. The more evidence we see, the clearer it becomes that Tony Blair took us to war on a lie, causing the deaths of over a million Iraqis as well as 179 British troops. We call on Blair to reveal the truth behind the process which caused the Attorney General to reverse his earlier view that the UN had not authorised military action. He should also take this opportunity to apologise to the British and Iraqi publics alike.”
“Truthful answers from Blair, admitting that he committed Britain to war regardless of the UN process, would make it clear that he was prepared to wage a war of aggression – one of the highest crimes under international law. Blair took the country into an illegal war and should be held to account for his criminal decision.”
In 2003 CND worked with leading international law experts and the group Peacerights to submit a report to the International Criminal Court recommending that Blair and other senior ministers responsible should be investigated for war crimes in Iraq . The Attorney General was also asked to investigate, but rejected the proposal. CND believes the evidence already submitted for the Iraq Inquiry has strengthened the case for such a case to proceed and will be considering further legal avenues once the full report is published.
Further details of the demonstration will be announced in due course.For further information and interviews please contact CND’s Press Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere.