Time RAF murderers stopped using our air space

I don’t watch UK news much these days but was glad I tuned into Channel 4 News last night to watch Michael Crick slaughter Theresa May over her visit to Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island:

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/journalist-decimates-theresa-mays-record-on-s...

Crick repeatedly asked her what she had been doing to oppose the apartheid regime much to her discomfort. I did my bit I thought exposing the shenanigans of this sleazy Island in helping sanctions busting and in addition disrupting the odd ‘Friends of Rhodesia’ meeting. I mean who recalls now their were meetings between the Manx government and South African business interests in 1987 - I wonder have the minutes of those meetings been kept? The Crick interview showed that inertia over an issue can catch up on you.

Of course in the great scheme of things the Isle of Man can do little to influence world events but a failure to act can catch up on you. For example its apparent now that the unwillingness to take a few Syria refugee families may undermine the good work that the Isle of Man has done via its International aid programme.

Also on Channel Four News there was a report on the wholesale murder of civilians in Yemen by so called coalition airstrikes. I have to declare an interest here having stumped up a bit of cash for the High Court challenge to UK arms trading with Saudi Arabia mounted by anti arms trade activists.

The UK government allows personnel including RAF personnel to assist the Saudis in the control room from which they direct attacks on markets, schools and civilian buses such as the one last month that killed and injured score of children on a school trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmnVtjSV2xY

The Manx government could easily take a stand over this by saying to the UK you can’t use our airspace or indeed the Civil airport at Ronaldsway for your training purposes. For many year now Hawk trainers have used the airfield at Ronaldsway for simulated (non touch down landings) in money terms this generates ‘buttons’ to the Manx government. They could also keep Typhoon aircraft flying from the BAe factory on the Ribble out of Manx controlled airspace. BAe supply the Typhoons bombers and critically maintain them because the Saudis are to ‘thick’ to do it themselves. We should give the UK notice and if they ask why say: ‘Because you assist in the murder of children - is that good enough!’

Bernard Moffatt