Op Ed: UK Government and Terrorism – Double Standard

On 22nd May 2013, the UK was shocked by the murder of Lee Rigby by Islamic extremist Michael Adebowale. Prime Minister David Cameron declared the UK would be “absolutely resolute in its stand against violent extremism and terror”. However, his government’s decision to make the EU lift its arms embargo on a fractious Syrian opposition just 6 days after the Woolwich incident, and its ongoing support for radical Islamic governments, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, suggests that Cameron may need to reconsider his statement. 

Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have been adamant to ensure that Bashar al-Assad will be removed as part of a transition of power in Syria. This means the UK will now be able to supply arms to Syrian rebels, despite the presence of sectarian thugs and Islamist extremists amongst the opposition. Human rights groups have documented Syrian rebels using child soldiers, endorsing beheadings and torturing and executing detainees. There are also fears that if radical Sunnis were to seize control of Syria’s political system, they would oppress Alawites. 

The UK government also continues to approve arms export licenses to the Saudi Arabian royal family, which has been used to guard their power and wealth, while denying women the right to drive and sentencing apostates of Islam to death. Similar concerns exist over the UK’s granting of arms export licenses to the Bahraini government, which has violently suppressed protestors.

In light of this, it is clear that if the UK is to take a stand against terrorism in all its forms, as the Prime Minister declared, then the government must address its foreign policy and political alliances with far greater regard for the people it could be and is helping to terrorise.

Sam Sholli is a law student at Bristol University in the United Kingdom.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/syrian-child-soldiers-rebels_n_2210427.html

[2] http://humanrightsinvestigations.org/2012/12/10/syrian-rebels-use-a-child-to-behead-a-prisoner/

[3] http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-syria-crisis-rights-idUSBRE88G0HN20120917

[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22095099

[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/04/syria-un-investigators-chemical-weapons

[6] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EL4fgguGZo

[7] http://middleeast.about.com/od/syria/tp/The-Difference-Between-Alawites-And-Sunnis-In-Syria.html

[8] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/20/uk-approved-arms-exports-saudi-arabia

[9] http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/saudi-arabia/report-2012

[10] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/14/bahrain-military-equipment-u

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