Stop the War coalition Newsletter, 04/08/23

Newsletter – 04/08/23

Free Russian & Ukrainian Anti-War Dissidents!

The silencing of anti-war voices has been been a consistent feature of the war in Ukraine but two examples in recent weeks show that the authorities in both Russia and Ukraine are attempting to tighten their grip.

Boris Kagarlitsky, a well-known academic and anti-war voice, was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) towards the end of July on charges of ‘justifying terrorism’. Earlier this week Ukrainian peace activist, Yurii Sheliazhenko, who has spoken at many Stop the War rallies was charged with ‘justification of Russian aggression’ following an attempted break-in by security services at his Kiev apartment.

Stop the War Coalition would like to send our heartfelt solidarity to both of these brave individuals for taking a rightful stand for peace in incredibly difficult circumstances.

More widely, both of these incidents reflect the fact that the war has become a brutal and bloody stalemate which is losing support. Crackdowns on critical voices tend to occur when elites are worried that their war propaganda is no longer getting through. After 18 months of harrowing warfare and the loss of tens of thousands of lives it’s obvious to anyone with a clear-sighted view of the war that victory for either side is not plausible and that a ceasefire and negotiated settlement is the easiest way out of the bloodshed.

For now, we’re asking our supporters to sign both petitions in support of Boris and Yurii, calling for all charges against them to be dropped. We also ask that you sign our open letter to Rishi Sunak and the British government calling on them to support calls for a peace settlement.

Protest the Tory Party Conference

Sun 1 October, 12pm – Assemble: Oxford Road, Manchester

Last month, outgoing Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, bragged that “we will spend over £50 billion on defence for the first time in our history. That is nearly £12 billion of cash investment a year higher than 2019 – when I started.” Contrast that with the £5bn cost of the real terms pay cut being given to public sector workers.

If we want security it should start with a decent housing, health and education spending – not weapons of mass destruction. That’s why we’re organising a Wages Not War bloc at the People’s Assembly Tory Party Conference Protest in Manchester on 1st October, alongside CND. More details to follow.

Stop the War AGM