Mail-Alarm: EU-topmøde 19/10 genvurderer USAs og UKs militære intervention i Afghanistan
PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS IN THE EU AND ELSEWHERE
To:
tp2000-l@news.gn.apc.org
Subject:
[Tp2000-l] FAX ALARM: EU Meeting 19/10
From:
"D.A.HELLER" <D.A.Heller@geo.hull.ac.uk>
Date: Tue,
16 Oct 2001 21:58:33 +0100 (BST)
PLEASE
SPREAD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS IN THE EU AND ELSEWHERE...
Dear Friends,
Belgian
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (in his capacity as EU Chairman)
has
announced his intention to review the US and British military
intervention
in Afghanistan. This review will take place this Friday,
19th
October, when Belgium hosts an informal meeting of the EU heads of
government.
We ask you
to fax the following letter to Guy Verhofstadt, who will be
chairing
the meeting, asking him to withdraw Belgian support for the US
and UK
military intervention. The fax also asks him to put pressure on
the other
EU member states to withdraw their support for the military
action.
This is a crucial time to send this message to Verhofstadt, not
only
because of the European summit, but also because a number of his
coalition
partners are withdrawing their support for the military
intervention.
We are
asking NGOs to fax this message to the Belgian Prime Minister.
Fax number:
+32 2 512 69 53
Individuals
can fax the letter, or send it by email to:
guy.verhofstadt@premier.fed.be
NGOs based
in EU member states might also like to send a fax to their
Head of
State or Head of Government.
Please send
us a message (belgium@motherearth.org) to let us know that
you have
sent the fax.
In peace,
David
Heller
For Mother
Earth
Maria Hendrikaplein
5
9000 Gent
Belgium
http://www.motherearth.org
--------
To EU
Chairman
and Prime
Minister of Belgium
Guy Verhofstadt
Wetstraat 16
1000
Brussel
Fax: 02 512
69 53
Dear Mr Guy
Verhofstadt,
Our
Non-Governmental Organisation urges you to use your position of EU
Chairman to
propose to your colleagues at the EU Summit in Gent an
immediate
halt to the military intervention in Afghanistan.
The
dreadful events of 11th September in New York and Washington shocked
the world.
We write in solidarity with the victims of violence around the
world.
However,
war is not the correct answer to terrorism. The current military
actions
being undertaken by the United States and United Kingdom will
only cause
more hardship for the people of Afghanistan, who have already
had to
endure many years of war. There are already reliable reports of
many
civilian deaths as a result of the bombardment, and more deaths are
innevitable
if the bombing continues.
Rather than
weakening the position of Bin Laden and the Taliban, the
bombing is
provoking anger and renewed threats of terrorism. Last
century,
Ghandi warned us that "An eye for an eye makes everyone blind".
We must
take a stand and break this spiral of violence.
The current
military intervention is motivated by revenge. It will not
bring
justice. For a real, lasting, solution to the problem of terrorism,
we must
invest in strategies of conflict prevention, and address the
underlying
problems that create a breeding ground for terrorism: poverty
and the
global inequality between North and South. We need investment in
development
programmes, not in armaments.
We urge you
to follow your green and social democrat coalition
colleagues,
and to withdraw Belgian and EU support for the US and UK
military
intervention.
Yours
Sincerely,
_______________________________________________
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