Sturgeon To Lead Refugee Crisis Talks
Nicola Sturgeon will chair an emergency summit to discuss what help Scotland can offer to try to tackle Europe's mounting refugee crisis.
Nicola Sturgeon will chair an emergency summit to discuss what help Scotland can offer to try to tackle Europe's mounting refugee crisis.
The First Minister will hold talks in Edinburgh today with the Scottish Refugee Council and others, including council leaders, religious groups and opposition politicians.
It comes after she revealed she had been left in tears by pictures of a drowned Syrian boy washed up on a beach in Turkey.
She told MSPs at Holyrood: I will be far from the only person reduced to tears at the picture of a little boy washed up on the beach.
That wee boy has touched our hearts, but his is not an isolated tragedy. 'He and thousands like him whose lives are at risk is not somebody else's responsibility, they are the responsibility of us all.''
She pledged Scotland would assist where it can, saying the country is ready to help offer sanctuary to refugees who need our help''.
The SNP leader has also written to Prime Minister David Cameron, demanding action from the UK Government.
But the Conservative leader has said there is not a solution to this problem that is simply about taking people'', adding:'We need a comprehensive solution, a new government in Libya, we need to deal with the problems in Syria.''
A spokesman for Cosla, which represents the majority of Scottish councils, welcomed the summit and said: Scottish local government stands ready and willing to play our part in responding to this humanitarian crisis. We recognise the right of all people to seek protection from persecution.
A small number of Syrian refugees have already been resettled in Scotland and a number of our member councils are in discussions with the Home Office about accepting more.
The scale of the crisis means that we can only do this with the support of our national governments at Holyrood and Westminster.
We therefore welcome this initiative by the First Minister and we look forward to working with her on Scotland's response to this desperate crisis.''
Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Grahame Smith said it is positive to see that the Scottish Government is prepared to support higher numbers of refugees coming to Scotland''.
He added: The pictures that have emerged over the last few days are harrowing and illustrate the scale of the human tragedy that is taking place on our doorstep.
The time for action has come. The UK Government must be prepared to accept a much higher number of refugees.
With Germany already accepting 800,000 refugees this year, it is a scandal that the UK has only made provision for 216 Syrian refugees.
We are a wealthy country with considerable resources; this cannot be our response to a conflict where four million people have been forced to flee.'' Mr Smith said trade union members wereready to open our homes and our wallets to support refugees fleeing desperate situations'', adding: We simply need to be allowed to do so by our Government.''
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the leaders of all the parties in Scotland should work together to urge the Prime Minister to act''.
He stated: Last month, Tim Farron and I met with Amnesty International and the Scottish Refugee Council to discuss the crisis. They set out the scale of the challenge that we are facing clearly.
Failing to act would be a betrayal of our history and our international obligations.''