Lance Corporal Ahmed Al-Babati stands vigil in London, August 24, 2020
An active duty British soldier in uniform was arrested outside the Ministry of Defence in London while engaged in a solo public protest. Yemeni-born Lance Corporal Ahmed Al-Babati recorded himself making this statement for social media that he posted on the morning of August 24:
Yemen is facing the worst humanitarian crisis… due to years of war. This proxy war is led by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia are responsible for multiple airstrikes, killing innocents, targeting hospitals and breaking international law. Saudi Arabia are also responsible for blocking aid from going into the country.
This has left 80% of the population in need of emergency aid. That’s 24 million people in need of emergency aid. Yet our government continues to arm and support Saudi Arabia. We tried to make our voices heard by protesting in London, Manchester, Liverpool and many other cities. We’ve even tried to email our MPs, but clearly our words mean nothing to Boris Johnson.
And it’s clear this government has blood on their hands, so with that being said I refuse to continue my military service until the arms trade with Saudi Arabia has been put to an end. It is reported that a child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen, so I’ll be standing outside 10 Downing Street blowing a whistle every 10 minutes so that they can hear every time a child dies due to a war they continue to arm and support.
I joined the army in 2017 and took an oath to protect and serve this country, not to be part of a corrupt government that continues to arm and support terrorism. What made this decision so easy for me and why I choose to sacrifice a lot of things including possibly my freedom is for the simple fact that me myself, as somebody that was born in Yemen, I could have easily fell victim to one of those air strikes or died out of hunger. I’ve seen enough not to speak out and I’d rather sleep peacefully in a cell than stay silent for a paycheck.
Soldiers! You are not robots, we were born to care and love for one another, regardless of how different we are. No one is born to hate, but greed and selfishness have poisoned our hearts.
I ask that you prioritize peace over war, unity over money, and justice over patriotism. We all have some sort of part to play to make this change happen. You are just as accountable as those who cause corruption if you chose to stay silent.
For more than nine hours that day he stood on the sidewalk next to hand-lettered signs reading “I refuse to continue my military service until the deal with Saudi comes to an end,” and “Every 10 minutes child dies in Yemen due to war – 1 whistle = 1 dead child”.
After 57 whistle blasts, two military police were recorded approaching the young man, having a brief conversation, then escorting him into custody. He was released from custody and returned to his unit a few hours later, facing an uncertain future as a soldier.