wfn.org | "Don't call it a 'war'" say Canadian Church Leaders

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

Don't call the new global challenge a 'war', church leaders plead

The following letter, from Canadian church leaders, was addressed to
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chritien, John Manley, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade and Arthur Eggleton, Minister of Defence

Dear Prime Minister,

First of all we join you, as do all our fellow citizens, in expressing
profound sorrow and compassion for all those who died and those who now
suffer as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
States. As representatives of a very broad Christian ecumenical community
we join with Muslims, Jews, Hindus and many other faith communities who
have condemned these acts of terror, confident in the knowledge that the
God who cares for all peoples of the world now calls us all to recommit to
the pursuit of justice and peace.

We write also to offer our prayerful support to you and your Government as
you search for the path of wisdom and compassion in these extraordinary
circumstances. We especially appreciate what we understand to be your
search for a careful, balanced response. We identify with your statement to
the House of Commons when you pledge that Canada's actions will

"...be guided by a spirit of wisdom and perseverance, by our values and our
way of life. As we press the struggle, let us never, ever, forget who we
are and what we stand for."

In the face of the grief and rage that tempt many to yield to vengeful
retaliation, the appeal to enduring values and principles helps to steer us
toward more measured and, in the end, more effective action. We fear that
the widespread use of the language of "war" is undermining efforts to
understand the true nature of the challenges that terrorist attacks present
to the world.

We understand the struggle against terrorism to involve two distinct, and
operationally very different, objectives: accountability and prevention.
Accountability requires that the perpetrators of terrorism be brought to
justice, and prevention requires a two-fold effort -- to enhance security
measures in the interests of reliable public protection and safety, and to
address the social, political and economic conditions that promote or are
conducive to terrorism.

We are grateful that an advanced public debate has already identified many
of the key values and approaches that should guide Canada's, and the
international community's, response, and with this letter we wish to offer
for your consideration six specific action guidelines.

1. Accountability

The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must be brought to justice. This
imperative is unambiguous and it is not rooted in revenge but in the
principle of accountability. It is those responsible for the acts of
September 11 who are now properly the focus of public attention, but it is
also appropriate to remind those now promoting a new priority struggle
against terrorism that the obligation to bring terrorists to justice is a
broad obligation to bring to justice all those who commit terror and other
crimes against humanity, regardless of where the victims are.

2. Due Process

In bringing those accused of terrorism to justice, the obligation to
respect due process is also unambiguous -- for reasons of justice as well
as political and moral legitimacy. We acknowledge that in international
relations due process is not always clear, but we remind you that the
United Nations and its Security Council are the essential custodians of
international due process, and along with the affected national governments
are central to ensuring that those being pursued, and the societies in
which they are pursued, have the protection of law and just practice.

We also encourage you and your Government to give consideration to the
importance of introducing an international element to the legal proceedings
against those accused of the criminal acts of September 11. An exclusively
American trial is unlikely to have the confidence of many states which
nevertheless are committed to a broad equitable campaign to prevent acts of
terror and to hold those guilty of terror accountable. The introduction of
an international dimension to such a trial could help to legitimize the
results and thus strengthen the resolve to combat terrorism internationally.

3. Interdependence

The September 11 events tragically demonstrate what Canadians know to be
the case:  that the world is interdependent. We know that if the world
itself is an unsafe, hostile place, there is no reliable means by which to
build islands of enduring, fortified safety within it.

The security and safety of the people of the United States are no less
dependent on international cooperation. The heightened solidarity with the
US being expressed world-wide in the aftermath of the horrific events of
September 11 is potentially a powerful factor in a dynamic that could, if
respectfully nurtured, enhance world peace. We also know, however, that
long-term international support for a sustained effort to reduce and
prevent terrorism, will require an unambiguous commitment to cooperative
interdependence. Canada, with its clear commitment to multilateralism, can
help the United States understand the need for it to re-engage with the
world in support of collective security measures such as the International
Criminal Court, the Kyoto environmental protocol, the Comprehensive
(nuclear) Test-Ban Treaty, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, small arms
controls and other similar measures.

4. Justice and grievance

In the context of intensified efforts to reduce and prevent terrorism, it
is important for Canada to assert that it is possible to hear and address
the grievances that are linked to acts of terror without thereby in any way
condoning such terrorism. Just as any serious crime reduction effort cannot
be confined to more intensified police work and must also address the
economic and social conditions that tend to produce increased rates of
crime, a serious campaign against terrorism needs to address the social,
economic and political conditions that tend to nurture the emergence of
terrorism.

Canada has led the international community in the understanding that there
are human security and peacebuilding dimensions to national, regional and
international security problems. Such measures, especially the promotion of
democracy, good governance, participatory public institutions, and a civil
society actively engaged in shaping public priorities and values, are an
essential element of reducing the risks and incidence of terrorism and of
persuading states not to knowingly harbour terrorists. Indeed, there are
vital connections between this issue and the whole range of international
economic behaviour, including the handling of international debt and the
development of fair, transparent and considerate arrangements for trade.

5. Resort to force

The surviving individuals charged with responsibility for the September 11
attacks on the United States are now fugitives from justice --  fugitives
who must be pursued and apprehended if they are to be held to account and
brought to justice. The international community faces an extraordinary
challenge to bring to justice those accused that are harboured by sovereign
states unwilling to cooperate with efforts to bring the accused to trial.
And the early characterization of the response to the terrorist attacks on
the United States as "war" misrepresents the nature of that challenge. The
pursuit of fugitives across international borders without the consent of
states involved requires authorization from a responsible body, which we
understand to be the Security Council;  but it does not require, and must
not include, broad military attacks.

We fear that the current mobilization of a broad spectrum of US military
force, from strategic bombers, to cruise and ballistic missiles, to special
forces for possible assassination missions, is likely to lead to a resort
to military force well beyond police or police-support actions  and, sadly,
well beyond the limits of international and humanitarian law. Canada cannot
be a party to such actions. All police action, including any military
support for such action, must be lawful. Justice must be done and must be
seen to be done.

6. Recovering perspective

A campaign against terrorism is required, but not at all costs. More than a
decade ago the single-minded drive against communism in Afghanistan, for
example, led to the unrestrained spread in the region of small arms which
still fuel civil war and chaos and violence in Pakistan. The same zealous
campaign made common cause with the now accused terrorist Osama bin Laden
and helped to spawn the Taliban movement itself.

A similar, single-minded campaign against terrorism is likely to have
similarly damaging consequences, if it is not guided by due process and
actions that honour the laws, values and freedoms that terrorism threatens.
We urge you to resist the growing pressures to permit increased invasion of
privacy, reduced access to information, reduced immigration,  reduced
access to safe havens for refugees, increased military spending at the
expense of social programs, and any number of other measures that would
erode fundamental rights and freedoms, all in the name of combating
terrorism.  If Canada does not resist such measures we will have failed in
true respect for the victims of the September 11 attacks. Their death is a
loss great enough to deserve, as a memorial, a new resolve to make the
world they left behind a safer place.

The deep sadness felt in our churches at the events of September 11 is
compounded by our knowledge, through our association with churches and
partners in many parts of the world, that such horrific attacks against
civilians are not isolated events. Throughout the world innocent people are
under attack. By most accounts the majority of victims of armed conflict
are civilian non-combatants. In many instances they are killed with arms
that have been delivered there from northern democratic states. In some
instances, we regret to have to say, they are killed by military attacks
carried out by northern democratic states.

There is an imperative in the aftermath of September 11 to act against
attacks on innocent civilians. We agree that it will be a long and
difficult journey to act effectively, and it is our hope that the emerging
campaign against terrorism becomes a genuine effort to advance the safety
and well being of people wherever they are threatened.

We wish to assure you that our thoughts and prayers will be with you as you
travel to Washington next week and as you and your Government continue to
plan for appropriate Canadian action.

Sincerely yours,

Most Rev. Andri Vallie
President,
Canadian Council of Churches

Rev. Dr. David Pfrimmer
Chair, Commission on Justice and Peace
Canadian Council of Churches

Janet Somerville
  General Secretary
  Canadian Council of Churches

Ernie Regehr
Director, Project Ploughshares
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

Link:

Canadian church leaders issue statement on U.S. terrorist attacks
<http://www.anglican.ca/news/online/news.html?newsItem=2001-09-21_xx.news>
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Leanne Larmondin
Web Manager
Anglican Church of Canada
600 Jarvis St.
Toronto ON  L5E 2G1
(416) 924 9199 ext. 307
ll@anglican.ca
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