EDM 1269: Bangladesh and democracy
March 26, 2008
That this House notes the 37th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh; expresses deep concern at the present political situation in Bangladesh where the caretaker administration, supported by the military, has already been in office for 15 months; therefore calls for an end to the state of emergency, resumption of normal political activities, and that all political prisoners should have immediate access to independent legal representation and their cases heard in independent civilian courts; and furthermore expresses deep concern at the denial of medical care to any prisoner including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
EDM 1165: Nuclear warhead construction at the Atomic Weapons Establishment
March 11, 2008
That this House notes that the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Berkshire has been building nuclear warheads for more than 50 years; also notes that on 24th March 2008 the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will hold a peaceful demonstration at Aldermaston, not only to protest about its manufacture of nuclear bombs, but also to celebrate 50 years of anti-nuclear protest in the UK; congratulates Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camps, established in 1985, for their steadfast on-site resistance to the role of AWE in developing nuclear warheads; recalls that in 2002, AWE Management Ltd published a plan to develop new facilities worth £5 billion, including state-of-the-art computers, which could support the development of new nuclear weapons without the need for a nuclear weapon test explosion, banned under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and expresses support for CND’s protest at AWE on 24th March 2008.
March against this madness
March 11, 2008
Next Tuesday, March 18, marks the fifth anniversary of the momentous parliamentary debate, the first ever in British history, which voted to take this country to war.
Tony Blair declared that we would go to Iraq to disarm Saddam Hussein and dismissed all suggestions that this was a dangerous folly based on misinformation. He raised himself to a cacophony of spleen in asserting that the world would be made a safer place for the defeat of the Ba’athist regime and that the danger of expanded wars in other countries would be removed by this single decision. He also didn’t see any danger of Turkey invading Iraq as a result of the uprising of Kurdish people. Read more
Why MPs must vote for a referendum
March 5, 2008
Later on Wednesday, Parliament will finally vote on whether there should be a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which concerns changing the structure of the European Union. It is unclear what outcome can be expected.
The Liberal Democrats have hitherto supported all aspects of the treaty in debates in the House and delivered their 65 MPs loyally through the lobbies in every division. For some curious reason, they have decided that there ought to be a referendum on EU membership itself, rather than on the huge changes that the treaty proposes. Following their highly choreographed walkout last week, it could be that they are thinking of finally supporting a referendum. Read more
EDM 1091: Recent arrest and detention of ethnic Indian human rights defenders in Malaysia
March 3, 2008
That this House notes with concern the recent arrest and detention without trial in Malaysia of five ethnic Indian human rights defenders from the organisation Hindraf following a peaceful gathering demanding basic rights; further notes that these men are being held by the Internal Security Act which allows detention without trial for an unspecified period; further notes that these arrests come on top of other actions taken by the Malaysian government to curtail the human rights of the minority Indian community in Malaysia including the freedom of religion; calls on the Government to make representations to the government of Malaysia on serious human rights violations against the ethnic minority Indian community; calls on Malaysia to ensure that the internationally protected rights of ethnic minority community, to peaceful assembly, expression and freedom of thought, conscience and religion are protected in accordance with international standards; and calls for the immediate release of the five held without trial.
