Details in brief
Date: Tuesday 2nd March 2010
Time: Meeting to start 7.30 pm
Location: Bramwell lounge, Cambridge University Sports and Social Club, Mill lane

Nato’s current escalation of the war in Afghanistan will not increase security for Afghans, it won’t turn Afghanistan into a democracy, and it won’t make the UK safer. The war killed more people in Afghanistan last year than the year before - 40 percent more civilians, according to the United Nations. And the body count this year is already shaping up to be higher than last year. In spite of assurances from US commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal that "We are here to protect the Afghan people" Nato continues to make a major contribution to the death toll of innocent Afghans. In just over a week Nato airstrikes alone have killed five Afghan civilians in Kandahar province, twelve in neighbouring Helmand province, and on Sunday at least 27 in the province of Uruzgan.

The number of UK soldiers killed now stands at 263, greater than the total number of fatalities in the Falklands war.

Across Europe, the war in Afghanistan is so unpopular that support for it is becoming a dangerous political gamble for European governments. Recent attempts by the Dutch prime minister, Jan-Peter Balkenende, to extend the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan, under strong pressure from Nato allies and Washington, was vehemently opposed by his Labour party coalition partners leading to collapse of the government at the weekend, making it the first European and Nato administration to fall because of the war in Afghanistan.

Here in Britain, the government and armed forces have been accused of exploiting the economic hardship suffered by an increasing number of young people due to the recession by targeting recruitment to schools with the most disadvantaged students.

With the general election just a few months away, and British public opinion against the war in Afghanistan intensifying, now is the time to ensure a change in our government’s policy in Afghanistan, and to bring the troops home.

Guest speakers at the event:

John Tipple (Solicitor for soldiers Joe Glenton and Danny Fitzpatrick)

Joe Glenton is a British soldier who has refused to go back to fight in Afghanistan and now risks two years imprisonment. He has spoken out publicly against the war and has been arrested and charged under the anti-terror laws. Danny Fitzpatrick is on death row in Iraq; he is a former British soldier.

Sarah Chapman (Military Families)

Sarah lives just outside Cambridge. Her brother was killed in the Hercules plane crash in Iraq in 2005 and she has consistently spoken out in order to hold to account those responsible for his death.

Ends

Notes to the editor:

1. For more information contact: Douglas Griffith, email:  dag30@gen.cam.ac.uk, tel / text 07596 978184.

2. John Tipple can be contacted for interviews on 07879 471767.

3. For more information on Stop the War Coalition visit website,  http://www.stopwar.org.uk/.