Outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed a 'No war on Iran' protest in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, condemning the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran as an 'appalling act' with 'no excuses'. The disaster, which killed 176 people, was admitted by Iran as an accidental military strike amid heightened tensions with the United States.
Corbyn told the crowd of about a thousand demonstrators that the incident was 'part of a whole pattern of appalling acts across the region'. He stated: 'There's no excuse for shooting down an airliner, there's no excuse for a targeted assassination by one state against another.'
The rally, organised by the Stop the War coalition, saw Corbyn urge the British government to 'pause for a moment, take stock and stop pumping British arms in every conflict in the region'. He promised to hold Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his 'unconditional support of the US' to account.
Demonstrators expressed anxiety and fear. Lawyer Anam Bajwa said: 'We don't want another Syria, we don't want people to die, nobody wants war.' Graphic designer Mahvish Haroon questioned: 'In 2020, how is it possible for a new war to still be a viable route to anything?'
Other speakers included comedian Tez Ilyas, who called for troops to be removed from Iraq. Sudanese postgraduate Winnie Omer waved a banner reading 'Iraq is not a battlefield for your dirty wars', denouncing western imperialism. Trade unionist John Usher, marching with his daughter despite illness, said: 'I am in pain but it doesn't stop me from wanting to draw attention to the problems of our world.'
