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American Greens Welcome European Green Legislators Visiting the U.S. in a Bid to Avert the War in Iraq. |
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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES Contacts: A delegation led by Green Members of European Parliaments brings an appeal to the U.N., to the U.S. government, and to the American people: Stop the invasion! NOTE: The European delegation will hold a press conference 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 6 at the European Commission, 2300 M Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON, DC -- "We welcome the delegation organized by European Greens to the United States, and we thank them for their hard efforts, organizing work, and influence in their respective legislatures in order to avert the impending invasion of Iraq," said Annie Goeke, co-chair of the International Committee of the Green Party of the United States. "Those of us in the U.S. who oppose the war need all the help we can get in trying to stop George W. Bush's war for oil and empire!" Green Members of European Parliaments attended a reception hosted by New York Greens on Sunday, March 2. The delegation was greeted in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 4 by Goeke and Dean Myerson, political coordinator for the party. The Green parliamentarians from 11 member states of the European Union traveled to New York and Washington in a last-ditch attempt to get the message to the American people that President Bush's planned war on Iraq can and must be prevented. Bringing an anti-war appeal (appended below) signed by over 300 parliamentarians from nearly 20 countries, the European delegation visited U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan, Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, U.N. ambassadors from various countries, and members of Congress. On Monday evening, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-leader of the Green Party caucus in the European Parliament debated Richard Perle, a Bush Administration foreign policy advisor, in an event hosted by the Heinrich Boell Foundation. "Article 2 of the U.N. Charter says, 'All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means,'" said Jo Chamberlain, a California Green and member of the national steering committee of the Green Party of the United States. "The U.N.'s mission is not to rubberstamp military aggression, but to prevent war. Greens are holding out hope that the war can be prevented." At 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning, the European Green officials will meet with organizers of the American peace movement and anti-war demonstrations. The press conference is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the European Commission, 2300 M Street, N.W. Some of the visiting Greens will join the peace vigil in front of the White House, along with Green Party member Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, Women for Peace, and United for Peace and Justice. "Another Europe is emerging that has been influenced by green values and strongly supports cooperation and peaceful resolution instead of military threats and attacks," said Starlene Rankin, California Green and Lavender Green Caucus delegate to the party's national committee. "But Europe and the rest of the world have begun to see a similar movement taking hold in the U.S. The Green Party is the political face of that movement." The World Health Organization estimates that 100,000 Iraqi civilians may be wounded and another 400,000 hit by disease after water, sewage and food supplies are bombed, and that 3.6 million Iraqis will likely need emergency shelter. Greens, along with other opponents of the war throughout the world, argue that a 'preemptive' invasion of Iraq would constitute an international crime against humanity and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Green Party members in the U.S. have participated in the numerous rallies, demonstrations, acts of civil disobedience, and other actions in protest of the President's war plans. MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States ANTI-WAR APPEAL On 8 November 2002, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in support of Resolution 1441 on the disarmament of Iraq. It is now in the hands of Saddam Hussein, the weapons' inspectors, and the members of the Security Council to prevent a war. We Parliamentarians call on all sides and particularly on the Members of the U.N. Security Council, to genuinely invest all their efforts to bring the Iraq crisis to a peaceful solution. The lives and well being of millions of people is at stake in Iraq and elsewhere. We are gravely concerned that a war with Iraq would have devastating social, economic and environmental consequences. It would further destabilise the region and could even lead to a full-scale regional war. It would contribute to heighten tension worldwide and foster international terrorism. We appeal to all the decision-makers concerned: take your responsibility seriously. We demand full cooperation with the weapons inspectors. Give them the time and the resources needed to complete their disarmament mission. The United Nations is founded on the principle that "all members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means". We understand the feelings of vulnerability to outside threats motivating the policy of the United States after 11 September. However, no country, as powerful as it might be, should be allowed to set its own rules and have the monopoly of their interpretation. We firmly believe that the only reasonable hope to reduce the worldwide risks of conflict in the future remains an active policy of multilateral arbitration through democratic means, on the local, regional and international level. We call on all Members of the U.N. and particularly on those voting in the U.N. Security Council to: search: irq, fpol, mdest, pce, dpol, gbl
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