SCOTTISH TRADES UNION CONGRESS NEWS RELEASE EMBARGO, 00.01 MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 2003
STUC GENERAL SECRETARY SAYS TONY BLAIR HAS SENT DEMORALISING MESSAGE TO BRITISH TROOPS
Addressing a special meeting of STUC officials following the colossal marches and rallies in Glasgow and London on Saturday 15 February, STUC General Secretary Bill Speirs said:
"The turnout at Saturday's rallies, and the cross section of people involved, sent a straightforward message to our Prime Minister.
The message is Britain's people know that the threat of war against Iraq has damn all to do with confronting injustice and terror, and everything to do with delivering profits for the US corporations who funded George Bush in his corrupt seizure of the US Presidency in 2001.
Tony Blair made a great effort at the Labour conference on Saturday to capture the moral high ground.
He failed. Not least, when by bringing forward the timing of his speech to the Labour Conference he sent a message to our troops, who may have to face a dictator's bullets and bombs, that he is not up to facing a democratic protest by his own people.
We don't think that Tony Blair is a bad person, and neither do most Scots trade unionists.
We do think that he is going down a dangerous and damaging road by falling in behind a US President who couldn't secure the votes of his own people, and could without meaning to, cause terrible damage to Britain, and to the ordinary people of Iraq."
ENDS
Comment: Bill Speirs