Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has a long track record of being ‘on the right side of history’.
Whether that was in opposing apartheid South Africa, standing against war in Iraq and the bombing of Libya – or fighting austerity when most other politicians were afraid to contradict it – Corbyn has been proven again and again to have a far better grasp of international affairs and consequences than almost any other parliamentarian.
Now, with the news of a fresh gas attack in Syria, Corbyn’s record of integrity in standing against adventurism and for ordinary people has again put him on the right side of a difficult issue.
Here are just the parliamentary motions that Corbyn has signed or sponsored:
- Early day motion 1949, which ‘notes with concern the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Syria; is particularly concerned at the brutal crackdown by Bashar al–Assad‘s regime on innocent Syrians; expresses its concern at the 1,100 deaths and countless arrests by Syrian security forces‘
- Early day motion 2270 ‘notes with the gravest concern the growing escalation of the crisis in Syria and the ruthless repression of anti-government protesters‘
- Early day motion 2855 ‘believing that the International Criminal Courts prosecutor should begin investigations into the Syrian regime’s crimes against humanity‘
- Early day motion 453 ‘deplores the chemical weapons attacks and appalling loss of life in Syria‘
- Early day motion 503 ‘appalled that the Russian State Technology Corporation, Rostec, one of the main arms suppliers to President al Assad of Syria, is exhibiting at DSEi 2013; and calls on the Government to end the promotion and export of military equipment to all authoritarian regimes.’
- Early day motion 565 ‘regrets that the UK is not one of the 17 countries participating in the UN High Commissioner for Refugees {UNHCR) resettlement programme; notes that Germany has agreed to transfer 5,000 Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Germany‘
- Early day motion 855 ‘welcomes progress in diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East, both with Iran and Syria, to prevent the future development and eliminate existing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction‘
- Early day motion 904 ‘condemns the recent bombing of a mosque and school inside Yarmouk camp in south–west Damascus by forces loyal to the Assad regime, and notes the loss of more than 700 Palestinian lives since the uprising began‘
- Early day motion 1034 expresses ‘deep concern over the continued suffering of civilians in towns and suburbs in Syria such as Yarmouk and the Old City of Homs which are besieged by Syrian government‘
- Early day motion 1038 ‘notes the present conflict worsening considerably in Syria with the increasing numbers of people fleeing the country in search of safety now reaching epidemic proportions, 52 per cent of whom are children‘
When many other MPs were keen to drop bombs that were only likely to worsen the situation in Syria, Jeremy Corbyn was calling on the government to take steps to accelerate an end to the violence and curb the cost in human lives and misery.
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