[casi] "Sheffield says no to war on Iraq" - text of Declaration

["John Smith" <johncsmith@DELETETHISbtinternet.com>]

[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]

Sheffield Stop the War Coalition last night unanimously agreed the text of a declaration on the 
threatened war on Iraq. It will be put before those attending Saturday's 'Emergency Meeting of the 
Sheffield Community' (1.00 - 4.30 Sheffield Blind Institute, Mappin Street).

The declaration does two things in particular:
it reminds people what UK/US government policy has already done to the people of Iraq and of their 
present state;
and it directly addresses the issues of WMD and the "UN route" to war,  at the centre of current 
attempts to trap public opinion into supporting or acquiescing to war.

A downloadable pdf file, where the following text is neatly laid out, will be available from 
Sheffield StWC website (www.sheffieldagainstwar.org.uk) later today.


*************************************************

Sheffield says no to war on Iraq


We, the undersigned, call on the people of Sheffield to unite against war on Iraq, a war which will 
be a disaster for the peoples of the Middle East and for ourselves.

We declare that this war has no legitimacy, whether or not the UN Security Council passes another 
resolution.

We reject the attempt by the US and UK governments to deceive public opinion with the issue of 
weapons of mass destruction. UN weapons inspectors are being used to disarm world wide opposition 
to a war whose real aim is to capture Iraq's oil and reinforce US and UK domination over the Middle 
East.

We note that the Iraqi people have already paid a high price for UK and US government policy. These 
governments aided the rise of Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship to power and encouraged him to 
invade Iran, leading to a war in which 1.5 million people died.
During 43 days of bombing in 1991, US and UK warplanes returned Iraq "to a pre-industrial age," in 
the UN's own words[1]. Twelve years of sanctions have prevented Iraq from recovering; UN reports 
show that, as a result, at least 1.5 million Iraqi people have died prematurely and the survivors 
have seen their living standards decline by an average 90%.
16 million Iraqis already rely on meagre food hand-outs to stay alive. Aid agencies and the UN 
itself[2] predict war will mean terrible suffering for the civilian population, especially the two 
million children under five.

We recognise that these consequences of US and British military aggression will not be confined to 
the Middle East. Unless we act to oppose the UK's participation in another war on Iraq, we will be 
unable to defend ourselves against racism and bigotry here in Sheffield.

We, the undersigned, pledge to campaign for:
     No to war on Iraq - withdraw UK military forces from the Middle East.
     Justice for Palestine - end Israel's military occupation.
     Defend the Right to Asylum - defend democratic rights.

We call on the people of Sheffield to join in protests against the war, in particular the 15th 
February national demonstration.

We support the formation of anti-war groups in neighbourhoods, workplaces and congregations.

We call on all elected officials and people in the public eye to speak out against the war.



Proposed by Sheffield Stop the War Coalition




[1] See UN doc. S/22366, 20/3/1991: "Humanitarian needs in Iraq in the immediate post-crisis 
environment."
[2]  for a copy go to  http://www.casi.org.uk/info/undocs/war021210.pdf


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