Bulletin #38


12 October 2002
Grenoble, France

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

Below are two recent communications from our research associates,
Professors Mathieu O'Neil (Grenoble, France) and James
Stevenson (Georgia, USA).

Students and scholars of American society are encouraged to voice their
opinions on the current U.S. military mobilization in the Middle East.
 

Sincerely,
Francis Feeley
Director of Research
 

==================================================
A.
From Mathieu O'Neil
11 October 2002

PROTEST AGAINST WAR ON IRAQ
Raja Petra Kamarudin

We represent four political parties and 11 non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in Malaysia. We are registering our protest in thestrongest terms
possible against the international relations posture that Britain and, in
particular, Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, is taking by becoming the strongest
ally and partner of the United States of America's declaration of war on Iraq.

Although Britain has published a dossier of the so-called evidence against Iraq
in order to justify military action, we find the evidence far from convincing,
full of flaws, involving the rehashing of old unproven accusations, and
characterized by double standards.

We firmly believe that any decision for military action against a sovereign
nation could only legally and morally be taken by the international community
as a whole - i.e. through the United Nations. We regret that Britain has
supported the United States' unilateral position on the matter, and is trying
to justify going to war even without the explicit endorsement of the United
Nations.

The unilateral declaration of war on any sovereign nation by any superpower
with military might simply on the basis that that nation does not please the
superpower does not only make for an unacceptable precedent, but would put the
moral basis of the new world order in serious jeopardy.

Britain (following the lead of the United States) has declared that military
action against Iraq is justified based on the principle of pre-emptive action.
The application of this principle, however, implies stark double standards.
While pre-emptive measures are taken against Iraq on the basis of its assumed
potential for terrorism, the state-sponsored terrorism being waged by Israel on
the Palestinian people are allowed to go on unchecked and unabated.

Furthermore, we believe such an action against Iraq will only result in further
instability in an already volatile Middle East. It must also be noted that the
people of Iraq have suffered greatly as a result of the long United Nation
sanction, and a fresh war would only aggravate the sufferings of the helpless
Iraqi people.

Both United States and Britain have also indicated that this military
initiative is undertaken to facilitate 'regime change' in Iraq. While we may
agree that the state of democratic rule in Iraq is far from satisfactory, we
believe that any change in regime should be the prerogative of the Iraqi
people, and no external power has the legal and moral right to decide the
future of Iraq or to express the will of the Iraqi people on their behalf.

Furthermore, we do not believe that the war on Iraq is an outcome of
Britain's and the United States' concern for the democratic rights of the Iraqi
people. Indeed, some of the strongest allies of Britain and the US in that and
other regions are even more undemocratic. Rather, we believe that this is a
war merely to protect the United States interests in resources, such as oil,
and to assure Israel that Iraq is and forever emasculated.
We question Mr Blair's insistence to go to war in the name of the British
people, when substantial numbers of the people of Britain oppose such action,
as evident by the massive anti-war protest in Britain recently - as well as
opinion polls which consistently show strong opposition to the initiative.

Hence, with this protest, we also declare our solidarity with the people of the
world who oppose unilateral military action against Iraq - including a
substantial segment of the population in Britain and the UnitedStates itself.
We therefore urge Britain to exercise its moral responsibility to bring about a
peaceful and more equitable world order, by immediately calling off its plans
to take military action against Iraq. Instead, we believe Britain should press
the United States to allow the United Nations to decide on the appropriate
action on Iraq on behalf of the international community of nations.
 
Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
National Justice Party (keADILan)
People's Party of Malaysia (PRM)
Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM)
Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM)
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
malaysian Sociological Research Institute MSRI
National Muslim Student Association of Malaysia (PKPIM)
Consumer Association of Penang (CAP)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (TERAS)
Muslim Scholars Association of Malaysia (PUM)
Majlis Persidangan Mahasiswa Islam (MPMI)
Barisan Bertindak Mahasiswa Negara (BBMN)
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Director, Free Anwar Campaign
http://www.freeanwar.com/index.html
 

__________________________________________
B.
Sender: jstevenson@em.daltonstate.edu
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 11:41:54 -0400
To: "Dr. Don Davis" <ddavis@em.daltonstate.edu>,
francis.Feeley@u-grenoble3.fr,
From: "Dr. Jim Stevenson" <jstevenson@em.daltonstate.edu>

War petition. Please sign and forward . . . .

Subject: UN Anti-War Petition
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 23:19:40 -0600

Francis,

         I thought that some of the associates of our research center might be interested in this petition.

James Stevenson
 

United Nations Anti-War Petition

Mourn the Victims.
Stand for Peace.
Islam is not the Enemy.
War is NOT the Answer.

Today we are at a point of imbalance in the world and are moving toward
what may be the beginning of a THIRD WORLD WAR. If you are against this
possibility, the UN is gathering signatures in an effort to avoid a
tragic world event.

Please COPY (rather than Forward) this e-mail in a new message, sign at
the end of the list, and send it to all the people whom you know. If
you receive this list with more than 500 names signed, please send a
copy of the message to: unicwash@unicwash.org

Even if you decide not to sign, please consider forwarding the petition on
instead of eliminating it.
 
 
 
 

Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies
Director of Research at CEIMSA
Center for the Advanced Study of American
Institutions and Social Movements
http://www.u-grenoble3.fr/ciesimsa
University of Grenoble-3
France
Tel: 04.76.82.43.00