In his Facebook page Jeremy Corbyn expresses solidarity with the Afghan people and calls for a quick response to the refugee emergency in the region.
“All our thoughts today should be with the Afghan people who have endured decades of violence, with no end to the uncertainty and danger in sight.
There is now a serious refugee emergency in the region. We must play our part in welcoming people seeking safety, and work with our neighbours to develop a multinational plan to help refugees, rather than tightening borders as is currently taking place across Europe. We should also support Afghanistan’s neighbours in receiving refugees; a comprehensive relief effort now will save lives and safeguard futures for a tiny fraction of the cost of war.
We must learn the lessons of a two-decade war which cost nearly a quarter of a million lives and failed to achieve security for the Afghan people or prevent the spread of terrorism. The War on Terror and its architects’ reckless use of force to deal with complex political issues has had profound, uncountable, and unacceptable human costs – whether to British and allied servicemen and women or to the civilian populations of Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Invasions and occupations are not only wrong and violate the right to sovereignty, they also do not deliver viable and sustainable political settlements. We cannot allow ourselves to be led down such a disastrous road again.
Too often rejecting military intervention is conflated with taking no action at all. As well as resettling refugees, I will be making the case in Parliament this week for the UK to play its part in a robust diplomatic effort that engages regional powers to ensure stability. This will need to cover humanitarian support, a response to rising extreme poverty, respect for human and civil rights, especially those of women and girls, and real self-determination for Afghanistan”.
