Canadian, US Greens urge
diplomacy on Persian Gulf tensions
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca
April 11, 2007
Green Parties in Canada
and United States warn of disastrous consequences of an attack
on Iranian nuclear facilities
OTTAWA - At the initiative of
the Leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May, the
Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are jointly calling for a
comprehensive and open dialogue to stop the escalation of
tension in the Persian Gulf.
The escalating tension,
combined with suggestions the U.S. may have a war plan that
includes targeting Iran 's nuclear facilities, led the Green
Parties of the U.S. and Canada to state today that nuclear
facilities should never be targeted for deliberate attack.
"There can be no
justification for attacking nuclear facilities," said Janina
Komaroff, Green Party of Canada critic for International
Cooperation. "Such an attack would have only one outcome -
disaster."
Citing the potentially
catastrophic environmental and health consequences of such
attacks, the Greens jointly called upon all parties in the
current stand off to refrain from war and to enter into
meaningful negotiations. The Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are
collaborating with Green Parties in Europe on this issue.
"Western governments know the
dangers of attacks on nuclear facilities. The vulnerability of
their own nuclear facilities to terrorist attacks has been an
ongoing concern since 9/11," said Julia Willebrand, Co-Chair of
the International Committee of the Green Party of the U.S. "The
idea that any western country would engage in or support such
attacks on the facilities of another nation should be
unthinkable."
Global double standards are
the crux of the current crisis over Iran's uranium reprocessing.
While the nuclear weapons states have failed to live up to their
commitment made under the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 to
dismantle their own nuclear weapons, they have selectively
allowed some states like Israel, India and Pakistan to develop
nuclear weapons, while threatening and/or bombing countries like
Iraq and Iran. Clearly, as this crisis demonstrates, the status
quo is not working and is not providing security and stability
in the Middle East or the world.
While the situation in the
Middle East is complex and involves many issues beyond the
current nuclear crisis, a de-escalation of the current nuclear
crisis is essential to addressing these complex problems. It is
time to end the threats and the war games and to enter into a
meaningful dialogue that addresses the issues and concerns of
all parties involved.
Contact:
Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca
Janina Komaroff, International Cooperation Critic, 514-887-3832,
janina.komaroff@greenparty.ca
Silvaine Zimmermann, International Representative to the Global
Greens, Green Party of Canada and Director at Large, Green Party
of British Columbia, 778-997-3366, mucki@shaw.net
Camille Labchuk, Press Secretary, 613-882-4761, clabchuk@greenparty.ca
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
Julia Willebrand, Co-Chair, International Committee,
julia.willebrand@verizon.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
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