The Canadian Catholic Organization for DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE (CCODP) is urging the Canadian Government to continue resisting pressure from U.S. President George W. Bush to support a unilateral military attack on Iraq.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien yesterday, (see: http://www.devp.org/testA/news/#letter) CCODP President Roger Dubois reiterated the longstanding DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE position that “any military intervention in Iraq must receive prior approval by the United Nations Security Council,” and “be conditional on proof being provided that Iraq is directly involved in supporting acts of terrorism.”
The Prime Minister and the U.S. President discussed Iraq today during a private meeting in Detroit, Michigan. CCODP, along with many other Canadian NGOs and church groups, has been urging the Canadian government for more than two years to do whatever it can to lift all non-military sanctions against Iraq, and to increase Canadian aid for infrastructures, food, health, and education in the country. “Let’s not turn the people of Iraq into victims of the war on terrorism, too”, Mr. Dubois said.
“Further military action will only add to the terrible suffering they have endured since the end of the Gulf War. DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is the official Catholic overseas development agency of the Canadian Catholic Church, and a member of Caritas Internationalis, the Catholic Church’s Rome-based international aid and development organization.
For further information, please contact:
Jack Panozzo – Toronto 416-922-1592, # 222 jpanozzo@devp.org
François Gloutnay – Montréal 514-257-8711, # 318 fgloutnay@devp.org
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