From: Irina Malenko <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: mart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2001 3:55 AM Subject: from Granma The war against Afghanistan is illegitimate, affirms American Association of Jurists THE military aggression undertaken by the United States and Britain lacks legitimacy and constitutes a violation of the UN Charter itself, according to the American Association of Jurists. A document sent to the Granma newspaper office states that the right to legitimate defense, invoked by the U.S. authorities themselves, as it is laid out in Article 51 of the UN Charter, is not applicable in this case. The letter explains that, according to the article, legitimate defense consists of taking necessary military measures to prevent an ongoing aggression until the Security Council has taken the necessary measures to maintain international peace and security. It likewise refers to the entire framework of norms specifically related to the battle against terrorism, consisting of 12 international agreements, which have been ratified by 83 countries, although not the United States, which has only signed it. It also emphasizes that none of these agreements anticipates armed attacks against a country as a means of repressing terrorism. The association thus notes that the attack on Afghanistan is therefore a flagrant case of private revenge, clearly violating international law and, in the form in which it is being carried out, also in violation of international humanitarian law included in the Geneva Convention of 1949 and in its 1977 Additional Protocol. Moreover, the association charges that democratic freedoms in the Western countries have already begun to suffer, in line with the military escalation (social protest movements are beginning to be associated with acts of terrorism and, in some countries, governments are even accusing opposition parties of having links with terrorists). Censorship and self-censorship are the order of the day. The document also refers to the enormous economic cost of the military deployment for the U.S. military-industrial complex. For the reasons given above, the American Association of Jurists has thus expressed its condemnation of the aggression unleashed against Afghanistan. It reiterates its total condemnation of terrorism, including the indiscriminate military attacks against the civilian population. It rejects any attempt to make an amalgam between terrorism and liberation movements, or peoples' right to rebel against injustice and oppression. The association calls on all governments to seek a global solution to the current crisis through cooperation in the heart and under the direction of the United Nations. Similarly, it invites jurists and their organizations to declare themselves against war, terrorism, outbreaks of racism and xenophobia, and in favor of full respect for international legality and democratic freedoms, including freedom of information. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
