{news} JOINT RELEASE Canadian, US Greens urge diplomacy on Persian Gulf tensions

[Justine McCabe]

Media Release

For Immediate Release
April 11, 2007


Green Parties in Canada and United States warn of disastrous
consequences of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities

OTTAWA - At the initiative of the Leader of the Green Party of Canada,
Elizabeth May, the Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are jointly calling
for a comprehensive and open dialogue to stop the escalation of
tension in the Persian Gulf.

The escalating tension, combined with suggestions the U.S. may have a
war plan that includes targeting Iran 's nuclear facilities, led the
Green Parties of the U.S. and Canada to state today that nuclear
facilities should never be targeted for deliberate attack.

"There can be no justification for attacking nuclear facilities," said
Janina Komaroff, Green Party of Canada critic for International
Cooperation.  "Such an attack would have only one outcome - disaster."

Citing the potentially catastrophic environmental and health
consequences of such attacks, the Greens jointly called upon all
parties in the current stand off to refrain from war and to enter into
meaningful negotiations. The Canadian and U.S. Green Parties are
collaborating with Green Parties in Europe on this issue.

"Western governments know the dangers of attacks on nuclear
facilities.  The vulnerability of their own nuclear facilities to
terrorist attacks has been an ongoing concern since 9/11," said Julia
Willebrand, Co-Chair of the International Committee of the Green Party
of the U.S.  "The idea that any western country would engage in or
support such attacks on the facilities of another nation should be
unthinkable."

Global double standards are the crux of the current crisis over Iran's
uranium reprocessing. While the nuclear weapons states have failed to
live up to their commitment made under the Non-Proliferation Treaty of
1970 to dismantle their own nuclear weapons, they have selectively
allowed some states like Israel, India and Pakistan to develop nuclear
weapons, while threatening and/or bombing countries like Iraq and
Iran.  Clearly, as this crisis demonstrates, the status quo is not
working and is not providing security and stability in the Middle East
or the world.

While the situation in the Middle East is complex and involves many
issues beyond the current nuclear crisis, a de-escalation of the
current nuclear crisis is essential to addressing these complex
problems. It is time to end the threats and the war games and to enter
into a meaningful dialogue that addresses the issues and concerns of
all parties involved.


Contact:

Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca
Janina Komaroff, International Cooperation Critic, 514-887-3832,
janina.komaroff at greenparty.ca Silvaine Zimmermann, International
Representative to the Global Greens, Green Party of Canada and
Director at Large, Green Party of British Columbia, 778-997-3366,
mucki at shaw.net
Camille Labchuk, Press Secretary, 613-882-4761, clabchuk at greenparty.ca

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
Julia Willebrand, Co-Chair, International Committee,
julia.willebrand at verizon.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at gp.org


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