The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
I heed Seb's request to return to the single issue, but since Iraq is back in the mega firing line, hope this lateral thinking may be of interest - f. ---------- From: John Fitzgibbon <fitzgij@connect.ie> To: sbanim@eircom.ie Subject: URGENT Lo Call to UN Security Council nos in NY Date: Thu, Oct 4, 2001, 11:41 am Mr Seamus Banim, Head of Sponsorship, Eircom. Dear Mr Banim, I'm involved with various groups attempting to stall the seeming rush to war on Afghanistan and the likely killing of thousands more innocent people. We are attempting at this stage to get a hold put on military action for the duration of the Irish Presidency of the Security Council. We want large numbers to telephone the membes of the SC with the simple message THAT THE SECURITY COUNCIL ENSURE THAT THERE BE NO MILITARY ATTACKS FOR THE DURATION OF THE IRISH PRESIDENCY OF THE SC TO GIVE TIME FOR BETTER ALTERNATIVES TO BE TRIED. The circular below containing the emails, telnos & faxnos of the SC member delegations in New York was emailed to 450 voluntary groups & influential individuals yesterday. They will follow up as far as possible using email Some delegations don't have email and many Irish citizens don't either so I now request that Eircom set up a Lo Call facility to the numbers of the 15 SC members & sponsor limited duration calls (2 minutes?) to those numbers for 2 weeks. I suggest that this is the most important & most urgent sponsorship Eircom has, or will ever be? asked to undertake. Failure to recognise the importance may be catastrophic. I request an urgent and positive reply, even with limited financial committment, as others will inevitably back the scheme when they become aware of it. I'm sending this to interested groups so they are aware of what is requested. We will get wide coverage in the media for the scheme. Thanking you in urgent anticipation, John Fitzgibbon 2853387 UN Security Council. Circular NGO & media Attached CEREPF.RTF; To: Declan Mc Kenna, NGO Peace Alliance, and all media contacts Declan, this is an appeal to dozens of media contacts around the country to put the horrific tragedy of Sept 11th in perspective. I'm attaching a copy of the excellent Caritas Europa (the 48 Trocaires of Europe) report on Iraq & bringing to their attention the fact that WE the United Nations had surreptitiously killed, by economic sanctions, 500,000 Iraqi children by 1999 (UNICEF '99). We continue to kill 4 to 5,000 (5,000 Minister Liz O Donnell Sunday Business Post June 24th 2001) each month since. I'm asking them to publish portions of the CE report and give their readers, listeners or viewers an opportunity to understand the holocaust that covertly continues in our names as, at least, aware assenting members of the UN. This makes ordinary citizens, unwittingly, maybe, guilty of this appalling mass killing (genocide in the words of one of the UN Assistant Sec General & Oil for Food Coordinators in Iraq who resigned in protest) The CE report states- Richard Butler, Head of UNSCOM, the UN weapons inspection team.... despite his well-known antagonism towards the Iraqi government as far as weapons of mass destruction are concerned, has come out publicly against sanctions. Speaking on BBC World Service programme, "Talking Point" on June 4 2000, he said "Let’s get to the point of substance, and I’ll say it now on air. I deeply believe that sanctions as now applied to Iraq and this has been the case for a number of years, have been utterly counter-productive to the disarmament purpose; and I think that the damage to the Iraqi people must stop. Now ironically I also think that they have probably helped keep Saddam Hussein in power. So in that sense ….I think that the sanctions issue is something that the United Nations must address with utmost urgency. ...I think we have got a truly serious crisis on our hands here, when a recalcitrant state can face down the law-maker and when the law-maker’s only answer to that is to maintain a sanctions regime which does no harm whatsoever to the vicious leaders of that regime, and it all gets transferred to ordinary innocent people; and it doesn’t do its job but just actually helps keep that regime in power. Now I think that’s a nonsense, and I think this requires urgent review by the United Nations." Declan, I'm supplying you and the media contacts with a list (email, telno & faxno) of the member's delegations at the UN Security Council and our Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowan My appeal is that this be widely circulated and published so that many groups & citizens will contact the Minister and delegations & tell them that they must not tolerate the killing of more innocent people in a, likely, vain attempt to get Bin Laden. Such killing would increase the likelihood of further appalling atrocities like we've just witnessed. Why is it, that with 600,000 under 5 year old (innocent?) children in Iraq sentenced to death by the UN (including us), and killed by us under appalling conditions, Saddam Hussein lives on in luxury after 10 years?- an indication of the effectiveness of the UN war and economic sanctions!!! Why is it that, now aware of the blatant monstrous lies told during the Iraq war we still believe that the Allies are now truthfull. Remember the Maguires, Birmingham six etc. In a similarly angry climate scapegoats had to be found, guilty or not. Why did the UK not bomb terrorist training grounds here, and the Irish Government take out loyalist strongholds in the north after respective atrocities such as Omagh, Dublin etc ?. Many innocent people would have been killed & that's not acceptable here It is only OK if you're an unfortunate Iraqi child or an already subdued, destitute, & probably near starvation, Afghan citizen. My God!, if this loving compassionate being still figures in Western thinking, or indeed if we have any little streak of humanity or compassion, how can we tolerate what's going on. I don't want to believe what I seem to be saying here-WE, the UN (& particularly us &Western allies) ARE THE MAJOR TERRORISTS in the world today. Terrifying, but true! I greatly fear. Please circulate this appeal as widely as possible asking all to contact the list with the message that- NO FURTHER KILLING OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL BE TOLERATED ie that the reputations and jobs of politicians who in any way support such killing will be at risk. This is democracy at work, not blackmail, as may be suggested. Please continue to press to have the very enlightening Hidden Wars of Desert Storm shown on TV Thanking you all, John Fitzgibbon, 2853387 Dept of Foreign Affairs, Tel 4780822, 80 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, minister@iveagh.irlgov.ie Members of UN Security Council 2001/10 - Singapore <http://www.mfa.gov.sg/unsc/presidency/> tel:212-826-0840/0841 fax: 212-826-2964 - Tunisia - tel: 212-751-7503/7534 fax: 212-751-0569 tunisia@un.int - Ukraine <http://www.uamission.org> -tel 212-759-7003 fax:212-355-9455 ukrun@undp.org - United Kingdom - <http://www.ukun.org> tel: 212-745-9200 fax212-745-9316 uk@un.int - United States <http://www.un.int/usa/scus.htm> tel:212-415-4000 fax:212-415-4443 usaun@undp.org - Bangladesh- <http://www.un.int/bangladesh/sc/index.htm> bangladesh@un.int - tel: 212-867-3434/212-972-1267- fax: 212-972-4038 - China- <http://www.china-un.org/eng/c5486.html> tel: 212-655-6100 fax:212-634-7626 - Colombia- <http://www.un.int/colombia/english/scpresidency.htm> tel: 212-335-7776 fax: 212-371-2813 columbia@un.int - France- http://www.un.int/france/sc2001/frame_anglais/accueil/page_accueil.htm franc e@un.int - tel: 212-308-5700 fax: 212-421-6889 - Ireland-tel: 212-421-6934 fax: 212-752-4726 Presidency October irlun@undp.org - Jamaica-tel:212-935-7509 fax: 212-935-7607 jamun@undp.org - Mali-tel: 212-737-4150/794-1311 fax: 212-472-3778 - Mauritius-tel: 212-949-0190/0191 fax: 212-697-3829 - Norway-tel: 212-421-0280/0281 fax: 212-688-0554 norun@undp.org - Russian Federation-tel: 212-861-4900/4901 fax: 212-628-0252/517-7427 -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.