![]() ![]() As I write these words, more than a million people have signed a petition for his knighthood to be revoked-a remarkable number given that the honor was only announced on New Year’s Eve. His actions have shamed our country – and this still weighs heavily in many of our hearts.Not so Sir Anthony, whose legacy is even more toxic now than the day he left office. In my opinion, awarding him a knighthood makes a mockery of the experience of everyone who remembers what happened. My generation grew up surrounded by this timeline of atrocities. I am 27 now, and the events that followed Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq are still very fresh in my mind. Afghanistan was left in disarray and in the hands of the Taliban. Then, on 30 August 2021, US president Joe Biden made the decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan – another country destroyed by the “war on terror”. This was another appalling consequence of the war, and part of the seemingly endless tragedies the Iraqi people have been forced to face. In the UK, we received harrowing news of hostages taken and sickening violence against innocent civilians. To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here Its members spread violence and fear throughout the region. Blair put our country at huge risk and we had to suffer the consequences.Īlthough Blair may believe that he left Iraq in a peaceful condition, the power vacuum that ensued allowed Isis – one of the most brutal terrorist groups – to capitalise on political and social disarray. I vividly remember the day it happened: my mother dropped me off at school, and as she walked back, she saw bodies being carried out of the station. A total of 52 people were killed and hundreds injured. I was 11 years old when the 7/7 bombings happened, and it feels like only yesterday – despite being 17 years ago. My generation saw clearly how these events were linked to each other like a chain reaction. The British public knew such a war would have devastating implications, and Blair appeared to me to ignore this, while our country became a fertile breeding ground for extremism and a prime target for terrorism. It seemed that our government wished to cause long-lasting chaos and destruction, all for a short-term sense of victory. ![]() We watched televised scenes of buildings falling, homes being bombed, and both military personnel and civilians being killed.Ĭases such as Abu Ghraib and Camp Bread Basket heaped disgrace upon western troops, and showed us the devastating horrors and inhumanity of war. The Iraqi people were robbed of their lives and livelihoods. The weeks, months and years that followed saw endless destruction and chaos in Iraq. We witnessed the people of the UK uniting against injustice, and marching because they feared what lay ahead. Although my peers and I were schoolchildren, we knew something was wrong. The demonstration in London on 15 February 2003 was the largest protest ever held in Britain. Up to 2 million people took part in Stop the War Coalition protests. In early 2003, I remember seeing news coverage of people marching in the streets, unfurling their white banners against the looming threat of a destructive war. In my opinion, he is thoroughly undeserving of this honour – it is an insult to the people of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as to the people of Britain.Īs a millennial, I am part of the generation that vividly recalls growing up in the shadow of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the news broke that Blair was to receive a knighthood, I had a distinct sense of disbelief and shock. Yet his name is a shuddering reminder to people like me of some of the most heinous war crimes committed in recent memory, and the devastating atrocities that continue to unfold in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. In the early hours of 2022, we learned that former prime minister Tony Blair was to be awarded a knighthood on the new year honours list. A petition calling for former prime minister Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood is approaching 500,000 signatures on (PA) ![]()
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