Tuesday, May 24, 2005
QUESTION TIME LIE
Last Thursday Matthew Taylor Lib Dem said on Question Time (a weekly TV programme where 5 politically active types including 1 each from the main parties answer semi-spontaneous questions from the public) that the war against Yugoslavia was legal. The party have made rather a name for themselves by opposing the invasion of Iraq on the grounds that it was illegal but VERY strongly supported all the attacks on Yugoslavia despite the fact that they clearly breached international law. The reason for doing so appears to be that the then leader Paddy Ashdown, a former(?) government secret service operative (officially a former diplomat with no diplomatic experience but SAS experience) told them to.
By any objective standard the Iraq invasion, criminal as it was, was vastly more lawful than bombing democratic Belgrade to assist in genocide of a nation to whom we were & are legally committed to "take no action against the territorial integrity & unity of"(Helsinki Treaty). It should be a matter of the deepest shame to any Lib Dem politician that they violated every principle liberalism is supposed to represent merely because they were following orders.
Instead Mr Taylor has deliberately lied on national TV. I have sent this email to him & subsequently to the party & its leaders. Should any of them, or indeed anybody in the world wish to defend Taylor or the Lib Dems I will let you know:
By any objective standard the Iraq invasion, criminal as it was, was vastly more lawful than bombing democratic Belgrade to assist in genocide of a nation to whom we were & are legally committed to "take no action against the territorial integrity & unity of"(Helsinki Treaty). It should be a matter of the deepest shame to any Lib Dem politician that they violated every principle liberalism is supposed to represent merely because they were following orders.
Instead Mr Taylor has deliberately lied on national TV. I have sent this email to him & subsequently to the party & its leaders. Should any of them, or indeed anybody in the world wish to defend Taylor or the Lib Dems I will let you know:
copy of letter sent to Matthew Taylor MP. The party may wish either to justify his statement or to dissociate yourselves from it.
Matthew Taylor MP (Lib Dem)
Last night on Question Time (19th May). You stated that NATO's KLA Genocide War was, unlike the invasion of Iraq, a legal act. While I accept that that statement represents the very highest standard of honesty or indeed decency of which you, acting as a spokesman for you party, or as an individual, are capable, it appears to be a complete, deliberate & absolute lie.
You knew that particular war was fought knowingly & deliberately to assist your KLA hirelings to commit genocide. The desire to commit genocide is not a lawful reason for war. Whether you knew in advance that you would also be asisting in the kidnap, rape & sale of thousands of schoolchildren, I cannot say, though obviously you have expressed no current objection to doing so.
I intend to publish this letter on my blog & thus will obviously do you the courtesy of including your reply, or failing that any from your party which is equally implicated in your pro-Nazi lie, detailing why you claimed to believe that that particular illegal war was legal.
Faithfully
Neil Craig
