25 activists climbed onto the famous Brandenburg Gate with banners saying 'no war' and 'old Europe says no war' .
Twelve months on, it seems there were no weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) in Iraq, and that the US, UK and coalition forces
misrepresented what they knew.
Greenpeace opposed the war, in part because it was illegal. US
unilateralism was (and is) threatening to unravel 60 years of
building the multilateral system and the rule of law
internationally, and sets a dangerous precedent for future
relations between states.
A war waged by the richest countries of the world, which hold
massive arsenals of WMD, on a third world country was an
ineffective, counterproductive and hypocritical means of dealing
with international security and the proliferation of WMD. The war
was more about settling old scores and securing Iraqi oil for the
West than it was about making the Middle East a safer place, and
the cost has been massive human suffering and environmental
degradation.
After the war started, we appealed to
governments who were members of the coalition to renounce the
Bush doctrine of preventive war and consider their own legal
position in a larger context.
Later, we sent a
team to Iraq to assess what coalition forces were actually
doing about the nuclear materials that had been secured by UN
officials, and the results were shocking indeed.
Twelve months on, and with the latest evidence at hand, we again appeal to
the coalition, asking them to renounce the doctrine of
preventive war and unilateralism, and reinforce the rule of
international law.
Twelve months on, it is clear that the real threat to global
security arises from the massive WMD arsenals and weapons
industries of the US, UK, France, Russia, China, Israel, India and
Pakistan, and the failure of the permanent members of the security
council to live up to their existing international disarmament
obligations.
And now the Bush administration is threatening to start a
new nuclear arms race by developing new, 'usable', nuclear
weapons.
Twelve months on, we watch in horror the tragic events in
Madrid, as well the continued violence in Baghdad and Basra, Gaza
& the West Bank, Bali and Jakarta, Kabul and Kandahar and ask
ourselves:
Has George Bush's 'war on terrorism' made the world a safer place?
A majority
of people polled around the world believe the war has made the
world more dangerous. It set a terrifying precedent. It
continues to carry a terrible cost. The fact that it was based on a
lie is what we, as global citizens, need to remember and hold our
governments responsible for.
In the UK, we asked the government to show us the truth.
Fourteen Greenpeace activists requested that the UK Attorney
General's original advice on the legality of the war be submitted
as evidence. The request was denied, and the advice remains secret.
Why? There's speculation that Tony Blair was advised that in fact a
pre-emptive war could not be justified under international law, and
the government therefore lied when it said the war was legal. If
that's not the case, why not produce the briefing? What is the
Attorney General afraid of?
In Spain, the government lied about responsibility for the
tragic attacks on its people, hiding evidence that the bombing was
in retaliation for Spain's military contribution to the US-led
coalition. The government had made the decision to go to war
against the will of its people. A government desperate to defend
the falsehood of a world made safer by war piled lies upon lies
over the truth. But in the first victory for the "
second superpower," the people spoke. The government fell.
Truth won.
This Saturday, people
will be marching again in protest of the war. As they did last
year, people from all walks of life, from myriad nations, of many
religions, with wide ranging demands and differing political
agendas will be united by one wish: Peace. If you share that wish,
please say it to the world this Saturday. All it takes is one step
out the door.
Take Action
Check out the complete
worldwide schedule of March 20th events, and
send this e-card to invite your friends, family, and colleagues
to join you.
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