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Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
No agreement on generic exports
Worldwide privatisation of education
Widespread protest against impending war with Iraq
Zimbabwe: "Against Mugabe but for the people"
IMF waters down insolvency law proposal
EU Commission proposes seemingly generous reduction of agricultural subsidies
Malaria
02/2003
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US increasingly isolated
Widespread protest against impending war with Iraq
The United States is finding itself increasingly isolated as a result of its plans to attack Iraq. At non-governmental level, the Pope has become the most prominent critic of America. In mid-January, the head of the Catholic Church said in the Vatican: "War is always a defeat for humanity." In a joint statement, the German church relief organisations Bread for the World, the Protestant Church development service Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED) and the catholic organisation Misereor announced their full support for the Pope's appeal.
The Association of German Development NGOs (VENRO) called upon the government in a statement to the press on 15 January to use its influence in the UN Security Council to avert a war. "The international community needs to react to the threat that emanates from the Iraqi leadership. But war would be the wrong answer", said VENRO board chairman Reinhard Hermle. Thomas Gebauer, chief executive of the relief organisation medico international, said the preventive war planned by the United States would seriously weaken the fabric of international law. And Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, director of the Protestant relief organisation Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, said, the capacity for making weapons of mass destruction, though a serious problem, "is, as we can see from the case of North Korea, not even for the US a compelling reason to opt for a military solution".
Civil society groups all over Europe are calling on people to join demonstrations against the war in every European capital on 15 February. The organisers anticipate a total of ten million protesters. In Germany, the website of the campaign ‘resist the war with Iraq' contains details of other protest activities and offers background information on the conflict: www.resistthewar.de
Net resources: Iraq war www.resistthewar.de
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