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