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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 17:07:01 -0500
From: dhruva@cc.UManitoba.CA
To: Eric Fawcett <fawcett@physics.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Letter to Axworthy
Eric,
I just sent the following letter to Lloyd Axworthy while enclosing the
letter by David Morgan mcgwhich you had forwarded to me.
Dr. Raj Dhruvarajan Ph: 204 474 8208
Department of Economics 204 261 0866 (R)
University of Manitoba 204 269 0915 (R)
Winnipeg, MB., R3T2N2 Fax: 204 261 0090
e-mail: dhruva@cc.Umanitoba.ca
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 15:56:27 -0600 (CST)
From: dhruva@cc.UManitoba.CA
To: axworthy.winnipeg@mb.sympatico.ca
Subject: NATO's Threat to bomb Serbia (fwd)
Dear Lloyd,
As a member of your constituency and as one who has worked for you during
your elections, I am writing to you regarding our role in international
affairs. I know you well and have respected your abilities and your work
towards of the ideals of a civil society. I am very proud of your
drive to ban land mines and the diplomacy in achieving it despite lack of
support from the United States. I believe you should have received the
Nobel Prize for it, or at least shared it. I am also happy about our
mature attitude towards Cuba. As an immigrant and then citizen, I believe
Canada is the best country in the world and am very proud of it.
With this background I wish to say that I am deeply disappointed and
saddened by the recent policy decisions by you and your government in the
international context. In fparticular, I cannot understand why we are
providing unconditional and unquestioned support to the United States
in its unprincipled bullying tactics around the world, purely for its own
economic and political interests. I believe the Conservatives and Mr.
Mulrooney started this process, but I had hoped that things would change
after the Liberals came to power, but I have been disappointed.
I cannotunderstand how we can wholeheartedly support the military
adventures of the U.S. around the world, which either ignores the United
Nations or actually contravenes its charter. If Canada is to take its
membership of the Security Council seriously and not be hypocritical in
its proclamations of support to the ideals of the United Nations, it
should be opposing the cowboy behaviour of the U.S. and not be a
participant in its reckless military adventures.
For Canada to join the U.S. and go around the world interfering in the
internal affairs of sovereign countries outside the framework of the U.N.
is sheer arrogance and cynicism. Trying to coerce weak countries by
military threats to do our bidding (eg. Iraq, Serbia, cuba, India) but
ignore worse violations by stronger countries or friends (eg. Turkey,
Israel, Pakistan, China, Russia) shows mere opportunism and expediency and
disregard for basic principles of morality and fairness in our dealings
with other countries.
Canada used to be respected in international circles for its peaceful
intentions, neutrality and fairness. With our blind support of imperialist
behaviour by the U.S. and Britain we will surely lose that respect for no
other gain except perhaps some economic crumbs that the U.S. may throw at
us. It is really sad that all this is leading to the emasculation of the
United Nations and perhaps its eventual impotence and death. Canada is in
a unique position as a member of the Security Council to stop this
erosion, but instead, sadly, we are hastening the process. I hope, for the
sake of world peace, that we act more maturely and with courage so that we
can be proud as a nation and be respected and admired for our principles.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Raj.
P.S.: I am enclosing a leter I received by mail which has a similar
message.
Dr. Raj Dhruvarajan Ph: 204 474 8208
Department of Economics 204 261 0866 (R)
University of Manitoba 204 269 0915 (R)
Winnipeg, MB., R3T2N2 Fax: 204 261 0090
e-mail: dhruva@cc.Umanitoba.ca
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 12:24:38 -0500
From: Eric Fawcett <fawcett@physics.utoronto.ca>
Subject: NATO's Threat to bomb Serbia
From: David Morgan <dmorgan@web.net>
submitted to Toronto newspapers
Serbia is being threatened with bombing because it will not agree to
essentially Washington's terms about ending a civil war within its borders.
A far longer and bloodier civil war has raged in Turkey; why not bomb Turkey
for its treatment of its Kurdish minority? Or the Russians for the Chechen
conflict?
During the past year we have seen Washington's "B-52" foreign policy at
work in Khartoum, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Serbia. The Canadian Government
has supported these policies which have, in each case, defied the authority
of the U.N. Security Council. Canada now has a seat in the Security Council
and should back the rule of international law as embodied in the U.N.
Charter, and not join Washington in defying it.
Sure the U.N. moves slowly and does not always have quick solutions to the
world's problems, but that is the nature of the rule of law at any level.
We turn our back on the rule of international law at our peril.
David Morgan, National President, Veterans Against Nuclear Arms (VANA)
Member of Advisory Council of Science for Peace
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