UK ready to scrap killer cluster bombs
After offering initial resistance to the scheme, it now appears as if Gordon Brown's Labour government is going to do the decent thing and apply a ban to cluster bombs, including scrapping Britain's entire arsenal, in a move which will cost millions of pounds.
Officials are paving the way for the unexpected and radical step at talks in Dublin on an international treaty aimed at a worldwide ban on the bombs.
Well-placed sources made clear yesterday that despite opposition from the military, the government is prepared to get rid of the cluster munitions in Britain's armoury: the lsraeli-designed M85 artillery weapon used during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and in attacks on Lebanon two years ago; and the M73, part of a weapons system for Apache helicopters.
"The prime minister is very much behind this process and wants us to sign [the treaty]", a senior Foreign Office source said yesterday.
It might not be enough to differentiate a clear distinction between Brown's Labour government and the Tories but I certainly applaud this move by Brown to do the right thing and recognise it as a move in the right direction.
Cluster bombs have long been known as a weapon which maims civilians, often long after conflict is over, and any treaty which bans them is to be welcomed. It is a brave Prime Minister who removes them from our arsenal, especially as he has to do so against the advice of the military, and especially as our banning of them will put pressure on the US not to use them during any joint military operations with the UK in future.
If this brings Brown into direct conflict with the US over this then so be it. It is long overdue that Brown made some stance against the Bush regime on a moral issue and the use of cluster bombs is, indeed, a most moral issue.Human rights groups campaigning for a ban on all cluster bombs said yesterday the planned treaty was being threatened by the refusal of the US to remove stocks from its airforce bases on UK territory.
Simon Conway, a former soldier and the director of Landmine Action UK, said: "Gordon Brown has pushed the Dublin negotiations in the right direction. Now is the time for him to have the courage of his convictions and tell the US that it cannot store these outdated and indiscriminate weapons on UK soil."
Article 1 of the planned treaty, due to be signed in Oslo in early December, prohibits assistance with the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. The US, Israel, Russia, China, India and Pakistan are not taking part in the talks.
Indeed, Brown - if he even remembers - can claim to be honouring the death of Princess Diana, who controversially campaigned for an end to the use of cluster bombs before her death.I have been arguing that Brown must make a distinction between his government and the Tories and, although I am not sure that this is the place to do it as I am unsure of how deeply this will resonate with the general public, I nevertheless wholeheartedly support this as the right thing to do and applaud Brown for having the moral courage to make this principled stance.
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