Hundreds of students are expected to march through Oxford in a peaceful protest against air strikes on Syria.
Over 400 people have so far shown interest in attending on the protest’s Facebook event, organised in co-ordination with the national Stop the War Coalition.
The protest comes in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement that he will call a vote in the Commons on Syrian air strikes next month if he expects to win it, even without the backing of the UN Security Council.
A spokesperson from Oxford Stop the War, which is organising the protest, told Cherwell, “As predicted, the Prime Minister has put forward an illogical and misguided argument for British air strikes in Syria. He has not been able to explain how British airstrikes would alter the situation, particularly given the fact that Isis has continued to grow during the past 13 months of US led airstrikes.
“It is clear that British action would result in more civilian deaths and more Syrian refugees desperately fleeing the carnage that engulfs their country. The British public were rightly moved and upset by the pictures of despairing Syrian refugees during the summer and so it seems ludicrous that the British government would act to worsen the situation. In fact, the action Cameron is proposing is likely to lead to a deep civil war, ensuring more bloodshed, more carnage and more refugees.
“British intervention in Syria is precisely what Isis wants, magnifying Islamophobia and fuelling their narrative of division between Islam and the West. British action fortifies their propaganda, increasing their numbers and intensifying the terrorist threat to our streets.
“If our government is to take the threat of Isis seriously, it must first go after our supposed ‘allies’ that supply them with arms and trade, enabling them to continue expanding.
“We are asking the good people of Oxford to gather on Saturday afternoon (12pm – Bonn Square) to show David Cameron and his government that we will not be silent as he attempts to drag us into yet another hopeless war.”
