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"Attempts spearheaded by Labour MSP John McAllion, to raise the
issue of an impending attack on Iraq were thwarted on procedural grounds
in the Scottish Parliament.
An anodyne Scottish Executive motion put down on September 11 noted links
between Scotland and the USA and expressed the wish that there were enhanced.
Two amendments were submitted. The first by the SNP which urged the US
administration “to publish incontrovertible evidence to justify any
offensive military action against Iraq and obtain a fresh United Nations
mandate before embarking on any such initiative.” The second was
a more forthright amendment by John McAllion. It opposed the planned invasion
and aerial bombardment of Iraq in recognition of the fact that “the
victims of such action will be thousands of ordinary men, women and children,
completely unconnected to the odious regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Clearly under pressure from the party managers the Presiding Officer,
David Steel, would only accept the SNP amendment. When a division was
forced four Labour MSPs, Bill Butler, John McAllion, Pauline McNeill and
Elaine Smith defied the Labour Party line by abstaining. They were joined
by two dissident SNP MSPs and the SSP member but perhaps more surprisingly
by all Liberal Democrats, who despite being coalition partners with Labour
in Scotland, could not simply deny the SNP position which is close to
their own.
Commenting on media coverage of his amendment John McAllion said in his
speech:
‘Presiding Officer, you were right to say that there was not much
difference between my amendment and the amendment that you selected, but
I heard my amendment described on the BBC as a more hardline amendment.
My amendment is more anti-war and more pro-peace than the SNP's amendment.
If those who argue for peace and against war are described as hardliners
and those who argue for war are described as the moderate and rational
voice of Scotland, we live in dangerous times. George Orwell's "1984"
is alive and living in Scotland in 2002.’"
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