Mann: Refugees no! Murderers yes!

The idea that we should accommodate a few refugees from the Middle East recently caused major concerns and the fallout continues a Freedom of Information case is still being fought out in the UK to access Manx Government (and Channel Islands) correspondence on the issue (CDN link):

www.facebook.com/…/pho…/a.790761064278269/2247248078629553/…

Similarly last week IOM Newspapers reported unease (to say the least) when it was suggested some primary school pupils as part of multi denominational RE instruction might be exposed to the tenets of the Islamic faith.

However we are much more relaxed about allowing pilots from Saudi Arabia undergoing training at the RAF base at Valley, Anglesey, to ‘toddle’ about our skies. Under a long standing agreement with the RAF the Manx airport at Ronaldsway is used by RAF Hawk Trainers to undertake (none touch down) approach and take-offs.

A few months ago the Peace Group, Cymdeithas y Cymod, (the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales) whose work I have reported on before highlighted their objections to allowing Saudi Pilots from an air force that has murdered hundreds of innocent civilians in Yemen (and injured many thousands more) to train at RAF Valley

http://www.cymdeithasycymod.org.uk/pr-rafvalley-05-11-2018.…

Of course it's not the first time Ronaldsway has hosted such murderers over twenty years ago the Celtic League highlighted some years ago that Indonesian aircrew trained at Valley were involved in using British supplied Hawk trainers against the indigenous community in East Timor (timor has since freed itself from Indonesia). Hawk trainers whose pilots had honed their flying and bombing skills at bases in Wales and the Isle of Man used these to deadly effect against the Timorese people

When we challenged the MOD over their policies in 1996 they told us;

"all training that the UK provides is designed to give exposure to the ethos of reasonable military activity in a democratic society including a greater understanding of the responsibilities of service
personnel in human rights issues".

There is just a tinge of hypocrisy that we closed the door to a handful of Syrian refugee families but seem quite happy to make ‘a few pennies’ accommodating aircrew from the murderous Saudi regime!

Image: RSAF Hawk their personnel are trained on RAF aircraft based at Valley in Wales

Bernard Moffatt

Celtic League Military Monitoring