[casi] QPS A/NZ letter to members of UNSC

[hoggard@DELETETHIStop.net.nz]

        to the Members of the United Nations Security Council,
        from Quaker Peace & Service Aotearoa New Zealand

We ask you to recall the U.N's purpose of saving humanity from the
"scourge of war", and the specific duty of the Security Council to
maintain the peace and to settle disputes by pacific means.

We ask you to remember the events of 1990-91, and how the United States
gained support for Resolution 678, which authorised the use of  "all
necessary means" to evict the Iraqi forces from Kuwait. On that occasion,
in our view, one Council Member manipulated others to vote in favour, by
inappropriate means which are set out in the Appendix below.

We ask you to remember the terrible suffering of the Iraqi people as a
consequence of that phrase "all necessary means" - suffering which
continues to the present day.

We ask that you stand firm now and confer together to prevent a repeat of
that process whereby the 1990 Security Council members were manipulated,
one by one.

Now, in 2002, please do not support any measure that is at variance with
the spirit of the UN Charter. Please stand firm to ensure that the
Security Council performs its true function of ensuring peace and justice
in the world.

Sincerely,

Anthony Maturin, on behalf of Quaker Peace & Service Aotearoa/New Zealand.

4 Hoggard St.,
Vogeltown,
Wellington,
New Zealand.
__________________________________

The SECURITY COUNCIL, in 1990 passed a Resolution 678 authorising the use of "all necessary means" 
to
evict the Iraqi military from Kuwait. But let us look at some of the bribery and threats by which 
that
resolution was brought about.

Immediately after the November 29 1990 vote in the UN authorising force, the US administration 
unblocked
a $140 million loan for the World Bank to China and agreed to meet with Chinese government 
officials.
The Soviet Union was promised $7 billion in aid from various countries and shipments of food from 
the
United States.Zaire was promised forgiveness of part of its debt as well as military assistance.A 
$7 billion
loan to Egypt was forgiven, a loan the President had no authority to forgive under U.S. law.Syria 
was
promised that there would be no interference in its Lebanon actions.Saudi Arabia was promised $12 
billion
in arms sales.The U.S., which owes the most money to the U.N., paid off $187 million of its debt 
immediately
after the vote authorising the use of force.The US administration attempted to coerce Yemen by 
threatening
the cut-off of U.S. funds.
The end result was that Coalition aircraft dropped 88,500 tons of bombs on Iraq in 43 days.
More than 90% of the country's electrical capacity was out of service within the first few hours; 
major
multipurpose dams, irrigation works, water pumping stations, municipal water and sewage facilities, 
water
purification plants were attacked nation-wide; radio and television stations, tele-communications 
hit nation-
wide; 139 road and rail bridges, food-processing, storage and distribution attacked systematically; 
milk
powder, vegetable oils and  sugar factories and frozen meat works were bombed, as was a tractor 
assembly
plant; 90% of the country's poultry production was destroyed, as were grain silos, farms and 
hundreds of
farm buildings; 28 civilian hospitals, 52 community health centres damaged; 56 mosques damaged or
destroyed along with the people who had entered them for protection; 676 schools damaged or 
destroyed;
damaged or destroyed were civilian government offices, Baath Party Head Quarters, Baghdad City Hall,
Supreme Court, Justice Department, Ministry of Labour, National Palace;  textile factories, 
engineering
plants, three chlorine plants, chemical, petro-chemical and phosphate plants were bombed, as were a 
major
hypodermic syringe facility and all major cement plants; cosmetics, razors, clothes factories were 
destroyed
as were many hundreds of shops and homes; misiles hit 11 oil refineries, 5 pipeline and production 
facilities,
many oil tankers and storage tanks, distillation towers, and gas/oil separators; two civilian 
airports together
with civilian aircraft; aircraft attacked rail and bus stations and yards and car lots; civilian 
vehicles on the
Baghdad-Amman highway were intentionally strafed as were trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and
equipment.

The estimated number of civilian deaths from the bombing was 25,000. The estimated number of Iraqi
soldiers killed was above 150,000. The US lost 148 men.

These murderous attacks far exceeded any force needed to persuade the Iraqi military to leave 
Kuwait.
They violated the UN Charter, and the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war.

We ask you not to allow that to happen again.

We quote Nelson Mandela saying of the US, "They think they're the only power in the world. They're 
not
and they're following a dangerous policy. One country wants to bully the world. We must not allow 
that."

Anthony Maturin.





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