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Former UN Co-Ordinator in Iraq Count Hans von Sponeck has been awarded the Coventry International Peace and Reconcilliation Award, which is presented annually by the Cathederal and City of Coventry. The Award, which will be presented on November 14th - the 60th anniversary of the bombing of the Cathederal - and consists of a manque of the statue of Reconcilliation by sculptress Josephina de Vasconcellos and a certificate endorsed by the Bishop of Coventry, the Mayor and the Dean of the Cathederal. The bombing of Coventry, twinned with Dresden in Germany, gave birth 'to a unique dedication to the work of peace and rconcilliation.' The award to Count von Sponeck is poignantly apt. His father stood up against Hitler and was shot by him week before Hans was born. Von Sponeck, like his predecessor Denis Halliday put compassion and integrity before the might of the UN and resigned his post in Iraq on the basis that the embargo was 'inhumane and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.' This Award and the fact that Halliday and Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness were nominated for the Nobel Prize are not alone deserving but a tangible indication of the enormity of the destruction caused by not alone sanctions, but lack of dialogue. These are three people whose determination to make contact at all levels and to build bridges of reconcilliation are a gentle rebuke to rhetoric and mindset. The Coventry Award is an inestimable endorsement of the campaigns against sanctions. Warmest congratulations to Count von Sponeck. Details of Award Ceremony: (+44) (0)24-7622 7597 -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://www.casi.org.uk