October 2001
WAR AND PEACE

Disbelief, astonishment, grief, anger, revenge, doubt, clarity, certainty, action, justice. Where have you got to on the ladder of reaction? It has been a long journey for all of us since the mass-murders in the USA on September 11th. The problems of daily life in Salisbury pale into insignificance - yet we must not be deflected from the concerns and trivia of our everyday lives - or the men of terror will have won. Life must go on as normal. Justice must be done.

Is war too strong a word? If armed terrorists, under the protection of a government, are organised in training camps calmly planning the destruction of our people and our cities, that is war. These people care nothing for international law. Like the Nazis before them they play by different rules. In 1939 it took the USA two years to join us in the fight for justice. No-one can wait that long this time.

This is not a war of religion. To be against Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda network is not to be anti-Islam or pro-Christian - but against evil. To be against the barbaric Talibans is not to be against the people of Afghanistan, but to condemn a wicked regime who use modern methods and equipment to inflict medieval brutality, who massacre, rape and deliberately starve people while their ruling theologians bar women from education and any form of public life or service.

If you waver in your determination to bring these evil men to justice, in the last resort by force, remember that the poverty, sickness and oppression of the starving refugees (who we must help) was caused by their unelected, unrecognised government which harbours bin Laden. He is the leader of the death squads who launched missiles full of people and fuel against thousands of innocent civilians who believed in liberty, tolerance and hard work; who paid their taxes and shouldered their civic responsibilities. These victims were people of many lands who shared our common roots and values and who chose to work in the land of liberty which, taking in the world's poor and oppressed, has become the greatest nation on earth.

If you are tempted to forgive and forget terrorism, recall the World Trade Centre, think of the Omagh bombing, remember the tears of the children of Northern Ireland, forced to run the gauntlet of crazy, jeering adults on their way to school.

Living peaceably in the valleys of south Wiltshire it is hard for us to understand the depth of the anguish of the American people. Nor are we the best judges of the reaction of their leaders. After all, our island's history is one of war and strife, in our homeland as well as in foreign parts. We are numbed, too, by the horror of terrorism in our land. Yet, the sheer effrontery of the assault on America creates a yearning for justice we can understand and share.

Future generations will not forgive us if we abdicate responsibility for upholding the freedom, democracy and rule of law for which our forbears fought and died. But, living as we do in a Magna Carta city, we should not hastily nor lightly surrender our civil liberties in the hope of catching criminals at the expense of our own freedom.

Many in our community will be in the front-line, military response to this outrage. Many will have been working patiently for years at CAMR or CBD Porton Down to protect both military and civilians from chemical and biological threats. But there are two things all of us must do.

First, we should respond generously to the massive needs of the innocent, starving, sick refugees from the Talibans - and pledge to help them rebuild their shattered lives and country.

Secondly, we should carry on as normal with our daily lives. That will underline our self-confidence as a community and as a nation.

From a position of strength and confidence we should also lead international opinion to accept the need to help build up the prosperity of the poorest nations and reduce their intellectual poverty, too. That is easier said than done in a world shaped by nineteenth-century empires and slow to throw off nineteenth-century political ideas, suspicious of economic imperialism and confused by globalisation. But that is the challenge I believe we should embrace.

If we find justice and build a new future, the sacrifice will not have been in vain.

ROBERT KEY MP

November 2001
ROBUST DEMOCRACY - PLEASE USE IT !

I remain resolutely convinced of the moral and practical justification for military action against the Taleban in Afghanistan. It was encouraging for many local people that on his recent visit to the Middle East, the Archbishop of Canterbury also said there was really no alternative. I believe in justice, not revenge. It is our duty to help the hungry, sick and destitute Afghan refugees, most of whom left their country before 11th September. A measure of success will be how many of them we can help to return home to rebuild their lives and their country under a broad government representative of their own people.

I will continue to listen carefully and to take into account the voices of dissent in this country and elsewhere. This is a privilege and a duty in our robust democracy - and represents all those decent values, rights and responsibilities which have been denied to the wretched people of Afghanistan for years.

The more the aid agencies squabble and the more front-line journalists vie with armchair generals to second-guess our political and military strategy and tactics, the more thankful I am for the quiet dedication of Her Majesty's forces and that other army of scientists, technologists, civil servants and defence industry personnel who support them.

My gratitude extends to all those who work in our emergency services and the local authorities who are working on high alert to protect the public from terrorism and its consequences. We are all in this together. How appropriate that this is the season of red poppies - lest we forget those who died for the freedom we are now defending.

Meanwhile, ordinary life must go on. In Parliament I was the first to raise with the Home Secretary the whole question of young British citizens becoming mercenaries for the Taleban.

I moved an Amendment to the Export Control Bill to give our Government new powers to control such activity. The Government was caught on the hop. They didn't like my Amendment - but they have promised a new Bill shortly.

Last month was the warmest October for over 300 years. What might that mean for the coming winter? Will it be warm and wet, or cold and dry? I suspect I know what the good people of Downton would prefer - and I am pleased that a lot of work has been done this summer to reduce the risk of flooding. There is, however, still a mismatch between statutory and ancient common law responsibilities and the need for action to clear waterways and ditches in our brave new world without either traditional water bailiffs or abundant farm labour. I am pursuing that, too.

May I draw your attention to two local issues, which, above all others, need not just public consultation, but lively debate in the community? If you think they are boring, please don't complain in five years time when you decide to disagree with them.

First, Salisbury District Council has received the Inspector's Report on the Local Plan - which will set the framework for local domestic and industrial development for years ahead. This is a process which seeks to empower you - the citizen. Have you responded? Or are you quite content to leave it to your councillors? Do you even know what development is planned in your neighbourhood? Check it out! And what should be in the next local plan?

Secondly, Wiltshire County Council has published its Draft Waste Local Plan to 2011. If you have any concerns about refuse, recycling, landfill sites, incineration, green energy or related issues - now is your big opportunity. I think the County Council has done a very good job in preparing this plan. Do you agree with it? Perhaps, like me, you would like to see even more emphasis on recycling - preferably doorstep sorting and recycling.

In our democracy, whether the issue is defence against terrorism or where the dustbins go, the ultimate power is in the hands of the voters. Do not underestimate the consequences when the voters no longer bother to vote.

ROBERT KEY MP