Tim Roache
Tim Roache
Ocalan campaign
A new campaign for jailed leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, to be released was launched on Monday 25th April at a packed meeting at the House of Commons organised by Labour MP Kate Osamor, with full support from the unions UNITE, Unison and the GMB.
Stephen Smellie, Deputy Convenor UNISON Scotland, and trade union liaison officer with the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, said: “This Government’s position is shameful, doing deals with Turkey to stop refugees coming while Turkey steps up its war on Kurdish people in Turkey, including aerial bombing.”
The meeting was also addressed by Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of Unite the Union, Bert Schouwenburg, the GMB’s international officer, Simon Dubbins, Director of UNITE’s international department; and a message of support from four Sinn Fein Westminster MPs was read out.[1]
Signatory for the 'Stop Trump Coalition'
Tim Roache signed a letter posted at The Guardian on February 1 2017[2] from the Stop Trump Coalition, "a coalition of organisations and individuals [who] joined forces to protest against Donald Trump’s planned visit to the UK."[3],[4]
The letter read, in part:
- "We write to impress upon Theresa May and her government our opposition to US President Donald Trump being accorded a state visit or any official visit to this country. The US population has suffered more than a decade and a half of a fall in incomes, but billionaire Trump offers no solution to this problem.
- "Racism, sexism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, war mongering, climate change denial or policies designed to boost the wealth of the already super-rich should not be rewarded or celebrated in this country.