{"id":1137,"date":"2021-02-22T08:41:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T08:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/undod.cymru\/?p=1137"},"modified":"2021-02-22T16:57:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T16:57:40","slug":"militariaeth-yng-nghymru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/undod.cymru\/en\/2021\/02\/22\/militariaeth-yng-nghymru\/","title":{"rendered":"Militarism in Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"

An article that first appeared in Welsh on the Cymdeithas y Cymod website in January 2021 to note that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has come into force, and that there was a day of campaigning against the War in Yemen.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Dydd
Dydd y Lluoedd Arfog 2018, Llandudno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Militarism. A crucial subject, but one that is barely discussed in public in Wales. Why, I wonder? It is imperative to do so if we are to seek a better future for our country, and indeed for other countries.<\/p>\n

In January 2021 the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into force on the 22nd, and there was an international day calling for an end to the war in Yemen on the 25th. A good time therefore to consider Wales and militarism.<\/p>\n

Why is it on the rise? What can be done to counteract it? What suits a small country on the periphery of Europe in an uncertain world? We should also consider the honourable tradition of Pacifism in Wales, and how it can be of influence today and tomorrow.<\/p>\n

…………………………………………………………….<\/p>\n

Violence is an inextricable part of the human condition. Our tragedy is the inability to voluntarily control violence as a society. A much greater tragedy is the use of state power for organised violence. Violence, or the threat of violence, is used by the state in order to control its own citizens. Other countries are oppressed and warred against. The insatiable thirst for weapons is exploited by the capitalist arms industry – arms which become more and more destructive every year.<\/p>\n

Extreme violence is the foundation of the UK state\u2019s power.<\/b><\/p>\n

This truth remains despite the fact that most of us do not see its effects directly.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s Armed Forces have been fighting somewhere in the world every year since the end of the Second World War in 1945<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More weapons are exported by the United Kingdom<\/a> than by any country in the world except the United States.<\/p>\n

The UN-supervised Treaty<\/a> on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into force on 22nd January 2021.\u00a0 The United Kingdom did not take part in the negotiations leading up to the Agreement, and has said that it will never sign up to it. The UK has nuclear weapons, and intends to renew Trident<\/a> at the huge cost of \u00a3205billion.<\/p>\n

Conditioning a population to accept and support a distorted and selective version of militarism is a political process.<\/b><\/p>\n

Everything possible is done by the Westminster Government to promote militarism \u2013 and Wales is no exception from this. Unfortunately, the Welsh Government is facilitating the contemporary manifestation of the system.<\/p>\n

The Westminster Welsh Affairs Committee’s report<\/a> states: “We are pleased that the MOD spend on the defence industry in Wales was higher than in many other areas in the UK. We were impressed by the contribution of the industry to the Welsh economy and society and by the strong support provided by the Welsh Government to develop the industry.” <\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And this<\/a> is what Alun Davies said in December 2018, when he was in the Welsh Government Cabinet:\u00a0 “The Welsh Identity within the Armed Forces is an essential part of our national identity.<\/i>” And further: “I want to see the military presence in Wales not simply preserved at current levels but expanded and grown.<\/i>” \u00a0 We also remember that Carwyn Jones was willing to welcome Trident submarines<\/a> to Wales back in 2012.<\/p>\n

The high tide mark of England’s violence was the British Empire.<\/b><\/p>\n

It was here in Wales that the model was established by Edward 1st with his draconian wars and his series of castles to establish control through fear. The lesson for the Welsh people, themselves so warlike and willing to practice internecine cruelty, was in effect \u2018survival of the fittest\u2019. As a result some of the Welsh were more than willing to work and fight for the Crown, both here and abroad. A contemporary example of this inferiority complex was a plan to build a huge sculpture in Flint, dubbed ‘The Ring of Steel’, to celebrate Edward’s castles in 2017. This scheme by CADW which was presented to the public by Ken Skates, Labour Welsh Government Minister, was only stopped by public protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The British Empire has been disastrous for so many countries. Cultures decimated, economies undermined, racism institutionalised, countries formed by drawing lines on a map \u2013 and millions lost their lives, as in India<\/a>.\u00a0 Wales must recognise its part in supporting, serving and profiting from the Empire. And in order to defend its Empire, Britain went to war twice in the twentieth century, with all the suffering that ensued.<\/p>\n

The legacy of the Empire largely informs the thinking of the British State, regardless of which party is in power in Westminster. The British Left and its representatives in Wales are guilty of believing that centralising power in London is still the best way of organising society in Britain and Northern Ireland, as it was in the days when Britain controlled the seas. In fact this is not in the interests of English residents either \u2013 to think that the British state has the moral right to dominate is so far from the contemporary truth that it is ludicrous.<\/p>\n

Money, resources and people are therefore lavished on militarism instead of providing the building blocks of a civilized society. Johnson recently announced an extra \u00a316.5billion to spend on ‘defence<\/a>‘.\u00a0 A little later it was announced that there was to be a cut in the aid budget for poor countries. And Britain<\/a> cunningly considers some military projects to be part of overseas aid.<\/p>\n

How is Britain to be influential on the global stage in today\u2019s world? One way is by the use of different aspects of military force. By going to war, more often than not as a partner of the United States as in Iraq and Afghanistan. By providing and selling weapons to ‘friendly’ states. By training other states\u2019 forces in human control techniques. By remaining a nuclear power and thereby retaining a seat on the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

To make extreme violence acceptable to the populace the truth is concealed and diluted in several ways.<\/b><\/p>\n

How is this done so successfully? By changing Remembrance Sunday to the Sunday for Celebrating War, and VE day into a jingoistic carnival<\/a>. By romanticising militarism. By establishing ‘Armed Forces Day<\/a>‘ and having ‘Armed Forces Champions<\/a>‘ in Local Councils. By exploiting the pomp and majesty of the monarchy<\/a>. By scaremongering about enemies. By linking militarism to positions dependent on military locations. By building an economy that is dependent on the dirty international arms industry. By developing war technologies that kill remotely, negating the need to send too many of our people to the battlefield. By delegating the dirty work of fighting abroad to dubious allies. By hiding the horrors of war. By disguising the truth about war crimes for years.<\/p>\n

Members and former members of the Armed Forces are victims as well as being handmaidens to violence.<\/b><\/p>\n

Former members of the Armed Forces are over-represented in prisons, amongst the homeless, the unemployed, those who are dependent on alcohol, drug addicts, those who find themselves in violent situations such as domestically, and those suffering from mental illness. In short, the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. This naturally puts a heavy tax on families and friends, and on society as a whole. The Armed Forces\u2019 care for their former members is patchy and inadequate \u2013 the heaviest burden will fall on others.<\/p>\n

Nor is it an accident that Armed Forces recruitment targets poor and disadvantaged areas.<\/p>\n

The needs of Wales and civilised values are not reflected here.<\/b><\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t we look at what is supported here, and ask \u2013 all of us \u2013 if this is in line with the needs of a small country in the contemporary world? Why not consider other ways of securing the safety of our people?<\/p>\n

We therefore look at the following:<\/p>\n