The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the
Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, March 12, 2003.
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No reason for war Millions march for peace
* A New York Times editorial says, "If it comes down to a question of
yes or no to invasion without broad international support, our answer is
no. The report of the inspectors on Friday was generally devastating to
the American position."
* One million marched against war in Cairo last week. The Egyptian
Government supported the march. It is the first time in the past 25
years that the government has supported and actively participated in
public protests.
* "Man cannot march into war and assume God will be at his side", said
the Pope. Go into Iraq and you go without God he said.
Cardinal Pio Laghi the Pope's envoy to President Bush said that a
pre-emptive strike on Iraq is immoral unless backed by the United
Nations. "It's illegal, it's unjust", he said. However, Bush told the
Pope's envoy that the leader of the world's Catholics is wrong.
* China's Foreign Minister said, "A war would lead to a catastrophic
humanitarian disaster for innocent people in the Gulf region, the Middle
East and the world."
* The French, German and Russian Foreign Ministers in a joint statement
said, "We will not allow a draft resolution authorising the recourse to
force to pass."
* Many people demonstrated against the visit of PM Howard to New Zealand
last week.
* Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said, "We should rely on
the UN inspectors rather than making our own decisions. All the reports
have shown that they have not found anything that can be considered a
threat".
* Syria's representative to the Security Council said, "We are confident
that the United Nations which represents the will of the international
community will opt for peace. This option will prevail over the use of
force."
* The British Government has received its first resignation over Blair's
war policy and more are expected. London's Sunday Times reported that
Blair faced "a rebellion by up to 200 Labor MPs if he bypassed the UN."
* The US House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
(Democrat) said, "Before going to war we must exhaust all alternatives,
such as the continuation of inspections, diplomacy and the leverage
provided by the threat of military action". President Bush has wasted
the goodwill the United States received after September 11, 2001, she said.
* Tens of thousands marched against war in Rawalpindi (Pakistan) on
Sunday chanting "No war for oil" and "Bush-Blair are international
terrorists".
* Fidel Castro exposed the aims of the US saying: "It wants to play the
role of a new Roman world-wide super-empire, which, of course, will last
much shorter than the Roman Empire - and it will meet with universal
resistance."
The reports presented to the UN Security Council last week by Hans Blix
and ElBaradei prove conclusively that there is no justification for war
against Iraq. After four months of inspections the UN weapons inspectors
have found nothing incriminating.
ElBaradei for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said
categorically that "there was no evidence Iraq had a nuclear weapons
development program.. there was no evidence that Iraq had imported
uranium. There was no evidence that Iraq had sought to buy uranium from
Niger." These were all allegations made by the United States in an
attempt to justify war.
Hans Blix reported, "we have faced relatively few difficulties. Some
practical matters have been resolved at meetings which we have had in
Baghdad.
"No evidence of proscribed activities has so far been found . No
underground facilities for chemical or biological production or storage
were found so far. The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial
measure of disarmament. We are not watching the breaking of toothpicks.
Lethal weapons are being destroyed."
These and other statements by the chief weapons inspector show that the
US, British and Australian leaders are lying in their attempts to
justify war. One after another, their allegations have been shown to be
false.
Even if Iraq had some weapons of mass destruction, there is no
justification for war. Many other countries have long-range missiles,
high-powered bombs, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Israel
possesses all these weapons and has not joined the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty either.
The US and Britain not only have more weapons of mass destruction than
all other countries combined.
They used them in the undeclared and unauthorised aggression against
Yugoslavia, in the invasion of Afghanistan, in the years-long bombing of
Iraq in the so-called "no-fly zones" and in the US invasion of Colombia.
They will devastate Iraq by using such weapons if they invade Iraq again.
By invading Iraq, irrespective of whether there is a UN Security Council
resolution, the US, Britain, Spain and Australia would commit an act of
aggression in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
It would be a crime against humanity, a morally indefensible act that
would bring enormous loss of innocent lives and human suffering years to
come.
These warmongers ignore the opposition to war on Iraq of the
overwhelming majority in all countries. Such opposition is rapidly
increasing in the United States itself.
By their actions they threaten the destruction of the United Nations.
They intend to occupy Iraq. Iraq is a small country that is now
virtually without weapons with which to defend itself - a truly David
and Goliath contest. The immorality and lies of the US, British and
Australian leaders have no limit.
By using their massive weapons of mass destruction, they hope to
terrorise other countries to submit to US domination.
They intend to seize control of Iraq's oil resources.
They intend to carve up Iraq and redraw the political boundaries of the
whole of the Middle East to secure US and British control into the future.
They claim that war will bring peace. This fraud has been used many
times in the past to justify war, invasion, occupation, colonisation and
the imposition of governments foisted on the people by an invading power.
The US claims it will bring democracy. How can this be believed.
President Bush was not democratically elected. He thieved his own election.
Howard and Downer arrogantly refuse to listen to the people of Australia
who oppose war or to accept the majority view of the UN Security
Council. They must resign or be removed.
Howard is lying when he says that no decision has been made for
Australia's involvement in the war.
The Australian Government intends to throw Australian troops into an
illegal and immoral war. Their policies are isolating Australia
throughout the world.
There will be specific long-term consequences for Australia. Far from
protecting the interests of Australia, they are pursuing policies that
ignore and violate Australia's national interests. They must go.
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