20th February 2023

Many people will be travelling to London on Saturday to join the march and rally called by the Stop the War Coalition and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. It was twenty years ago when two-million of us marched in London, alongside many millions more internationally, in an attempt to stop the start of the invasion of Iraq. 

Thousands travelled from Plymouth on that day. It is true that we didn’t stop what became recognised as an illegal invasion, but we did hold politicians to some account. Protests do have some effect, not least in helping those involved feel they are not alone in opposing the political decisions of governments.

What would have stopped the invasion of Iraq? Widespread strike action shutting down production of the necessary weapons of war is an obvious and powerful answer. That didn’t happen, despite more than twenty of our national trade unions supporting the Stop the War Coalition.

In time, the huge exposure of the lies around supposed “weapons of mass destruction”, never found, and the terrible destruction of an entire society, with over a million dead and war lords spreading terror amidst the rubble, proved us to be right.

Saturday’s protest will be calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. The current competition to see which western country can put the most arms into Ukraine represents an escalation that threatens World War Three and the very real use of nuclear weapons. 

Those in favour of war immediately charge us as “Putin apologists” if not supporters of his illegal invasion. We are nothing of the sort. Putin is on the far-Right of the political spectrum, governing a chaotic Capitalist economy in the interest of billionaire oligarchs, and seeking to compete as a regional military power on the global markets. We are not on his side.

But two wrongs don’t make a right. Pouring arms into Ukraine, a drive led by the UK and USA spearheading NATO expansion, has produced a “proxy war” between the USA and Russia, threatening world peace. The poor Ukrainians are suffering slaughter and economic destruction as their country is used as a battle field for global tensions between east and west. 

The best military strategists suggest it will go on for years. Some predict use of nuclear weapons in 2025. This must not be allowed. 

The hard truth is that wars throughout history generally end in a negotiated peace. And those negotiations should start now. 

The Russian economy is one-eighteenth the size of the combined economies of the USA and Europe. Russian people are already suffering, with huge losses of young men and women drafted into the armed forces. There is dissent and there are continuing protests against the war, despite western media portraying Russian people as solidly behind Putin. We can be the subject of pro-war propaganda from “our side”, too. 

The warmongers would have Russia defeated. But the sensible western political strategists know that the collapse of the Russian economy would deeply impact the entire global economy. Russia must not be destroyed. There are talks. For example, negotiations between the two-sides are happening this week to attempt to have Russia release food supplies in order to prevent widespread famine and the starvation of millions. They could talk about Peace, too.

What would “winning” in Ukraine look like? Indeed, what does “winning” a war look like anywhere? No-one won the First World War, hence the Second. 60 million died between 1939 and ‘45, thankfully preventing fascist dictatorship – are we expecting to go through that, and worse, again? Look at Burma, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria… and now Ukraine. The outcomes do not favour the civilian working classes of any of those countries, nor should we understate the environmental destruction. 

War makes money for the armaments manufacturers and associated corporations of the military-industrial complex. Wars do not benefit humanity. Every penny comes from our taxes, each one spent on more armaments is a penny less for health and social welfare everywhere. 

We have to talk. Putin can be pushed to the table by his people and out of economic necessity. Or NATO escalation can push China to defend the Russian alliance and push us further towards world war.

We have to protest against NATO escalation and for Peace. Now. 

Tony Staunton

Plymouth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament