|
Home
All about the APC
Campaigns & Activities
Schools
Peace Courier
Newsletters
Contact / Feedback
Membership
Useful Links
APC Site Map
UK NuclearNews
Nuclear Weapons
Nuclear Waste
Depleted Uranium
Landmines
Conversion
Terrorism
Pine Gap
Canadian Action
War in the Moluccas
Press Releases
WEB SPACE kindly donated by
| |
PRESS RELEASE
SENATE MOTION ON NORTH KOREA A
VOTE FOR SANITY AND PEACE
The Senate today passed a motion from Senator Andrew Bartlett, calling for a
peaceful solution to the crisis over North Korean nuclear weapons. Australian
peace groups believe that this motion is a vote for sanity in a situation that
could easily spin out of control with potentially catastrophic consequences.
According to Friends of the Earth Australia and the Australian Peace Committee :
"The overwhelming immediate danger with the current crisis is that,
assuming the DPRK has at least some of the capabilities they say they have, that
if the DPRK is convinced that they are next in line either for the 'Iraq
treatment' or else for a first strike on Yongbyon - and memos advocating both
have been circulated within the Pentagon - then they may decide to carry
out a 'pre-preemptive strike' of their own. They have themselves several times
warned that they may do this.
"Today's Senate vote calls for a peaceful multilateral solution to the
current crisis. This is essential if we are not to risk catastrophe.
Australia must play a role both in restraining the hawks in the US, and in
counselling restraint to the DPRK.
"The acquisition of nuclear weapons by the DPRK, no matter how justified
from their own point of view, is likely to lead to the acquisition of nuclear
weapons by other regional states - the RoK, Japan, and Taiwan. This in turn will
lead to the unravelling of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), an outcome
that is dangerous for the whole world.
"Nations such as the DPRK, would be a great deal less interested in
obtaining nuclear weapons if they did not feel their own security threatened by
the US, with its vast arsenal of 12,000 nuclear weapons which it retains in
violation of article VI of the NPT. If Australia is to press the DPRK to
eliminate its dozen or less warheads, it must surely press the US to eliminate
its vast nuclear weapons capacity."
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
HILL SUPPORT FOR BUSH 'FIRST STRIKE' POLICY
IRRESPONSIBLE, STRATEGICALLY FOOLISH SAY GROUPS
Friends of the Earth Australia
Australian Peace Committee
Campaign for International Cooperation and Disarmament CICD Melbourne
OZPEACE, Melbourne
People for Nuclear Disarmament (PND) N.S.W.
HILL SUPPORT FOR BUSH 'FIRST STRIKE' POLICY IRRESPONSIBLE, STRATEGICALLY
FOOLISH SAY GROUPS
Peace and Environment groups today slammed Senator Hills support for the Bush
administrations 'first strike' policy as irresponsible, and likely to lead to
precisely the situation it is supposedly designed to avoid.
According to the groups, "A policy of 'shoot first and then shoot later',
without diplomacy and without asking what are the root causes of terrorism will
not eliminate terrorism but will stoke the fires of resentment that create
terrorism in the first place. Instead of eliminating terrorism we will be
fuelling it."
"The possibility of terrorist groups gaining access to weapons of mass
destruction is frighteningly real, but this policy does nothing whatsoever to
take it off the agenda. Rather it ensures positively that at some point in the
future terrorists will definitely use either nuclear or biological weapons
against cities. Pre-emptive military strikes are not only unhelpful, but make no
sense at all, against groups that have no territory."
"In offering the Bush administration unqualified and uncritical support for
a policy that is guaranteed to fail in the long run and that is highly dangerous
in the short run, Senator Hill has sold out Australia's own strategic interests
and sovereignty."
"Australia should be articulating a foreign policy approach that is based
on the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction, first of all by
those who have the largest arsenals of them, starting with the United States and
Russia. What would be truly helpful would be for Australia to push the Bush
administration to fulfil its treaty obligations to eliminate nuclear weapons and
other weapons of mass destruction. "
Contact:
John Hallam, 02-9567-7533 (02)9810-2598
Dimity Hawkins, 08-8298-5326 0425-786-301
Irene Gale AM, APC, 08-8364-2291 08-8332-3461
Pauline Mitchell, CICD, 03-9663-3677 03-9555-3076
Natalie Stevens, PND 0414-336-800 9319-4296
Jacob Grech, Ozpeace, 0402-246-491
Back to Top
| |
Site updated
16 July 2004
What's On
News
Next meeting
Schools Competition
|
