STOP THE TERRORISM, STOP THE WARS! – IAWM statement on the Manchester Atrocity

IAWM PRESS RELEASE 23 MAY 2017
The Manchester Atrocity
The horror and tragedy inflicted last night on the people of Manchester, especially the young people, will be condemned by all decent human beings. The Irish Anti-War Movement along with everyone with any sense of human solidarity will extend their sympathy and support to the victims, their families, friends and all the people of that city.
Anti-War activists, however, have a duty to say more than this – just as we had a duty after Paris or Nice or 9/11.
John Molyneux, Secretary of the IAWM said:
“If, as seems likely, this atrocity was the work of an Islamist suicide bomber our first duty is to raise our voices against any attempt to exploit the terrible event to stir up hatred, division or racism. Ordinary Muslims will be just as appalled at what has happened as everyone else – in some ways even more so.
Our second duty is to say, yet again, and despite the fact that some of our rulers won’t want to hear it, that these awful outrages have a political and historical context. They are a distorted and deranged aspect and consequence of the wars and dismemberment that have been visited on the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world by imperialism for many decades, indeed for a century going back to the infamous Sykes – Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration of a hundred years ago.”
He continued:
“It is necessary, even today, to remember that the horror of Manchester has been experienced not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of times by the people of Afghanistan, of Iraq, of Syria, of Libya, of Yemen and elsewhere.”
Ed Horgan of the IAWM Steering Committee also noted that:
“On 15 April 2017 up to 80 children were killed near Aleppo as they were lured to a car bomb while they were being evacuated from war-torn villages. These 80 Syrian children were no less precious or important that the children in Manchester”.

IAWM PRESS RELEASE 23 MAY 2017
The Manchester Atrocity
The horror and tragedy inflicted last night on the people of Manchester, especially the young people, will be condemned by all decent human beings. The Irish Anti-War Movement along with everyone with any sense of human solidarity will extend their sympathy and support to the victims, their families, friends and all the people of that city.
Anti-War activists, however, have a duty to say more than this – just as we had a duty after Paris or Nice or 9/11.
John Molyneux, Secretary of the IAWM said:
“If, as seems likely, this atrocity was the work of an Islamist suicide bomber our first duty is to raise our voices against any attempt to exploit the terrible event to stir up hatred, division or racism. Ordinary Muslims will be just as appalled at what has happened as everyone else – in some ways even more so.
Our second duty is to say, yet again, and despite the fact that some of our rulers won’t want to hear it, that these awful outrages have a political and historical context. They are a distorted and deranged aspect and consequence of the wars and dismemberment that have been visited on the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world by imperialism for many decades, indeed for a century going back to the infamous Sykes – Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration of a hundred years ago.”
He continued:
“It is necessary, even today, to remember that the horror of Manchester has been experienced not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of times by the people of Afghanistan, of Iraq, of Syria, of Libya, of Yemen and elsewhere.”
Ed Horgan of the IAWM Steering Committee also noted that:
“On 15 April 2017 up to 80 children were killed near Aleppo as they were lured to a car bomb while they were being evacuated from war-torn villages. These 80 Syrian children were no less precious or important that the children in Manchester”.
The Irish Anti-War Movement therefore notes that it is necessary to call again on the governments of Britain, US, France, Russia and the rest to break the vicious cycle of war and terrorism and end their wars, military interventions and arms trading. Only two days ago Donald Trump gleefully boasted of $110 billion arms deal with the tyrants of Saudi Arabia and then visited Israel as a friend and ally. How many Yemeni and Palestinian children and parents will suffer what the children and parents of Manchester suffered as a result?
Stop the Terrorism! Stop the Wars!
Contact:
John Molyneux, Secretary, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 735 6424
Edward Horgan, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 851 9623
Jim Roche, PRO, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 647 2737
Michael Youlton, Chair, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 815 9487
Glenda Cimino, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 124 9456
Memet Uludag, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 7919307
For more information on the IAWM see:
Website – www.irishantiwar.org
@IrishAntiWarMvt https://twitter.com/#!/IrishAntiWarMvt
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