Canadian, US Greens urge diplomacy on Persian Gulf tensions

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca

April 11, 2007

Green Parties in Canada and United States warn of disastrous consequences of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities

OTTAWA - At the initiative of the Leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May, the Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are jointly calling for a comprehensive and open dialogue to stop the escalation of tension in the Persian Gulf. 

The escalating tension, combined with suggestions the U.S. may have a war plan that includes targeting Iran 's nuclear facilities, led the Green Parties of the U.S. and Canada to state today that nuclear facilities should never be targeted for deliberate attack.

"There can be no justification for attacking nuclear facilities," said Janina Komaroff, Green Party of Canada critic for International Cooperation. "Such an attack would have only one outcome - disaster."

Citing the potentially catastrophic environmental and health consequences of such attacks, the Greens jointly called upon all parties in the current stand off to refrain from war and to enter into meaningful negotiations. The Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are collaborating with Green Parties in Europe on this issue.

"Western governments know the dangers of attacks on nuclear facilities. The vulnerability of their own nuclear facilities to terrorist attacks has been an ongoing concern since 9/11," said Julia Willebrand, Co-Chair of the International Committee of the Green Party of the U.S. "The idea that any western country would engage in or support such attacks on the facilities of another nation should be unthinkable."

Global double standards are the crux of the current crisis over Iran's uranium reprocessing. While the nuclear weapons states have failed to live up to their commitment made under the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 to dismantle their own nuclear weapons, they have selectively allowed some states like Israel, India and Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons, while threatening and/or bombing countries like Iraq and Iran. Clearly, as this crisis demonstrates, the status quo is not working and is not providing security and stability in the Middle East or the world. 

While the situation in the Middle East is complex and involves many issues beyond the current nuclear crisis, a de-escalation of the current nuclear crisis is essential to addressing these complex problems. It is time to end the threats and the war games and to enter into a meaningful dialogue that addresses the issues and concerns of all parties involved.

Contact:

Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca 
Janina Komaroff, International Cooperation Critic, 514-887-3832, janina.komaroff@greenparty.ca 
Silvaine Zimmermann, International Representative to the Global Greens, Green Party of Canada and Director at Large, Green Party of British Columbia, 778-997-3366, mucki@shaw.net 
Camille Labchuk, Press Secretary, 613-882-4761, clabchuk@greenparty.ca

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org 
Julia Willebrand, Co-Chair, International Committee, julia.willebrand@verizon.net 
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org 
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org