Berlin Airlift Disrespectful of Soviet Sovereignty, Says Brown

Forty veterans of the Berlin Airlift gathered yesterday at RAF Cosford to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the massive relief operation, in which the British and American air forces flew food and other essential supplies into the city for fourteen months, defying the Soviet blockade and saving tens of thousands of lives.

Gordon Brown was not at the ceremony, which he condemned as a sabre-rattling, neo-colonialist attempt to justify a blatant disregard of the sovereign rights of a dictatorial military government.

“Using air power to deliver help directly to those who are in desperate need is an unacceptable flaunting of military might,” he said. “It would have been far better for the British and American governments to use the debating chambers of the UN to press for increased sanctions against Stalin, such as banning him from international travel, until he relented and let in a couple of aid workers carrying blankets. And the Burmese government is in complete agreement with me on this.”