 
A Letter to Prime Minister Chrétien
No to War with Iraq
25 September 2002
The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A2
Fax 613-996-3443
Dear Prime Minister Chrétien:
In these past months and weeks, strong momentum has been built
up in favour of a new invasion of Iraq. The pressure to resort to
war continues in spite of the efforts of so many, including yourself.
War-drums threaten to drown out both law and compassion, and people
are tempted to conclude that another Gulf War is now inevitable.
We write, as leaders in many Christian communities in Canada, to
cry NO to such a war. This is a time for intense diplomacy and face-to-face
negotiations, not for missiles and high-altitude bombing. This is
especially a time for multilateralism: the world needs wisdom from
every region if we are to grasp the full consequences of the choices
confronting us. Yes, the world is faced with a dangerous situation,
in Iraq and in the Middle East region as a whole. But non-military,
peace-building approaches to those grave problems are thinkable
and possible-and they are infinitely preferable to war.
You have rightly insisted, Mr. Prime Minister, that evidence of
Iraq's possession of and intent to use biological, chemical or nuclear
weapons must be clear before a prudent international intervention
can be shaped and carried out through the United Nations. In a situation
of acute concern but also of uncertainty about the facts on the
ground, international inspection of the arms situation in Iraq is
the appropriate intervention on which to insist. A United Nations
resolution detailing the means, the time-lines and the consequences
of refusal could be helpful, as long as it does not set the bar
so high as to make it virtually impossible for Iraq to comply with
its demands. If it were to do so, a UN resolution would be a mere
cover for an invasion that might be multinational but would still
be unjust.
The Government of Iraq has formally invited a United Nations inspection
team to return. There are those who respond that this invitation
is a meaningless ploy, and that "we are not in the business
of negotiating with Saddam Hussein." We do not understand how
a cataclysm can be averted without genuine negotiation. Unless the
parties to a conflict engage in dialogue, the paths to peace remain
blocked. Furthermore, negotiations cannot open minds and possibilities
if the universe is divided beforehand into two camps, the good and
the evil, with "our" side being only good. Such an approach,
besides running counter to a Christian sense of sin and grace, reveals
an arrogance which can only deepen anger and hostility. We urge
the Government of Canada to stay in dialogue with all relevant parties,
and to insist on treating all as fellow human beings with human
dignity and human rights.
Another Gulf War now would be wrong, first of all because of the
suffering such a war would inflict on the population of Iraq-people
who have already suffered so bitterly. Our Christian colleagues
in that region have urged us to educate our own societies about
how crushing the international sanctions have been for the health,
education, livelihoods and hope of most Iraqi men, women and (especially)
children. Recently, those same colleagues have been pleading with
us to speak and act against the threat of another war.
"When one part of the body suffers, all suffer with it."
That maxim is biblical language, but on another level it is simple
human experience. We in the West will be judged, by future generations
and by the Creator of all, for the damage we have been willing to
inflict in the name of security. The past eleven years of sanctions
is a case in point. Those sanctions did not in fact weaken the oppressive
grip of the Saddam Hussein regime. In their impact on civilian life,
they hurt the wrong people-ordinary and innocent Iraqis. The international
community has already delayed far too long in acting against the
harm being done in its name.
Yes, the suffering of Iraqis lies also at the feet of President
Saddam Hussein and his government. That regime's bellicose and ruthless
policies began draining the life-blood of Iraqis long before international
sanctions were in place. There is no doubt that many residents of
Iraq long and pray for a "regime change". All the more
striking, then, is the strength with which voices from that country
and region urge us not to bring about a new regime by means of a
violent invasion from outside.
We urge the Government of Canada not to lose confidence that a
peace-building approach to the problem of Iraq, consistent with
international law and taking the common good of Iraq's people as
its starting point, can be developed, can be fruitful, and can prevail
over war-fatalism in international negotiations.
Such an approach should press all countries for compliance with
international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Iraq is not the only country that stands in violation of them. Also,
it should aim at ridding the whole region, ultimately, of weapons
of mass destruction. It should provide for control of conventional
armaments as well, staunching the flood of arms to neighbouring
countries. A new approach should also reconsider the compensation
obligations imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War, and take into account
Iraq's debt load. There must be economic hope for Iraqi society,
for without it Iraqis will not recover the energy they will need
to rebuild their country-nor to change their government. The world
should not repeat the errors of the settlement imposed on Germany
after World War I.
It is more than evident that peace in Iraq and in the Middle East
region is a spectacularly difficult goal to reach. Many are tempted
to give in to despair; but many, too, are those who persist as peacemakers.
It is the peacemakers especially who are called children of God.
The world was created for peace, not for war. That is an affirmation
of faith. To live by it-to act politically on the truth of it-is
fruitful beyond all calculation.
The psalm (72) from which Canada took its national motto (A mari
usque ad mare) recognizes the reality of struggle and conflict in
a world where "the weak and the needy" must be delivered
"from oppression and violence". The psalm calls for a
leader who brings peace, In his days justice shall flourish, and
peace, till the moon fails...
May you and your colleagues, Mr. Chrétien, bear fruit in
the noble work of peace building, and taste the blessings that are
reserved for peacemakers.
Yours sincerely,
Church leaders:
Archdeacon Jim Boyles
General Secretary
The Anglican Church of Canada
Archbishop Hovnan. Derderian
Primate
Armenian Orthodox Church, Canadian Diocese
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Bellous
Executive Minister
Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec
Bishop Jacques Berthelet, C.S.V.
Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil
President
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
John Calder
Clerk
Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rev. F. Tom Rutherford
Regional Minister
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada
The Rev. Messale Engeda
Presiding Priest
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Western Hemisphere
Rev. Raymond Schultz
National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Dan Nighswander
General Secretary
Mennonite Church Canada
The Right Rev. Seraphim
Bishop of Ottawa and Canada
Orthodox Church in America
The Very Rev. Anthony Nikolic
Polish National Catholic Church of Canada
The Rev. J. Mark Lewis
Moderator, 128th General Assembly
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
Rev. Siebrand Wilts
Stated Clerk
Regional Synod of Canada
Reformed Church in America
Metropolitan Archbishop Wasyly (Fedak)
Primate
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
The Right Rev. Dr. Marion Pardy
Moderator
United Church of Canada
Ecumenical agencies:
Jane Orion Smith
Chair, Board of Directors
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Dr. Walter Pitman, O. Ont., O.C.
Chair, Board of Directors
Project Ploughshares
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