Posted on 5-2-2003

GP To PM
Open Letter from Greenpeace to NZ PM Helen Clark, 3 February 2003

Dear Prime Minister,

The world is faced with the imminent prospect of war. Throughout history
courageous individuals, communities, leaders and nations have stood for
peace in the face of war. We urge you to make a stand internationally for a
peaceful resolution to this conflict. We urge you to oppose a war on the
innocent people of Iraq, whether or not an attack is sanctioned by the
United Nations, because:

* A war in Iraq would have devastating human and environmental consequences

* A conventional war (one in which no nuclear, chemical or biological
weapons are used) could kill over a quarter of a million people, most of
them civilians (the last Gulf War killed 200,000 Iraqis). Famine, disease
and social dislocation could kill another 250,000. If the war escalates to
involve chemical or nuclear attack, casualties could be as high as four
million people, and there would be a legacy of toxic and nuclear
contamination to deal with for generations to come.

* War will not eliminate weapons of mass destruction and is likely to
increase the possibility of terrorism Despotic regimes such as that of
Saddam Hussein frequently arise from the ashes of nations devastated and
oppressed by war. War is the breeding ground for international instability
and may lead to further acts of terrorism such as the tragic atrocity of
September 11 2001 in New York.

Military strikes against states possessing or suspected of possessing
weapons of mass destruction (of which the US has the greatest number) do
not provide a stable basis for controlling or abolishing them. Will we see
repeated armed interventions against numerous countries including India,
Pakistan, Israel, Russia and China? North Korea is openly seeking to
acquire such weapons. Does President Bush intend to attack each of these
nations in turn?

Peace-abiding nations must push for collective international arms control
and disarmament through the frameworks that already exist with formal
bodies such as the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and treaties
such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban
treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons
Convention. New Zealand has argued forcefully for these international
frameworks in the past, but the US is increasingly detaching itself from
such treaties.

* War will not increase global security War will not solve the issues
facing our planet. Real security will not be built on military power and
political and economic oppression. Security depends on tackling the causes
of conflict: poverty, injustice and competition for scarce resources.

* One objective of this war is to gain control of Iraq’s oil reserves,
not increase global security
As Nelson Mandela has said, an attack on Iraq would be “clearly motivated
by George W Bush’s desire to please the arms and oil industries of the
USA”. Iraq’s known oil reserves are second in size only to Saudi Arabia’s.

A war with Iraq can only bring greater suffering on innocent people and
perpetuate the cycles of violence and bloodshed that all peace-loving
nations must work to end. New Zealand’s unique international position as a
nuclear-free nation with a strong history of promoting disarmament gives us
some leadership on this issue.

We urge you as our Prime Minister to publicly advocate a peaceful
resolution to this conflict and oppose any war with Iraq.

Yours sincerely
Margaret Crozier, Executive Director Greenpeace New Zealand