No Weapons to Ukraine

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No Weapons to Ukraine

February 11, 2015

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace is deeply concerned about the civil war in Ukraine in which thousands of civilians and soldiers, as many as 50,000 according to a credible German source, have already been killed. On Sunday, February 8, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said on “Meet the Press” that the US would be providing the government in Kiev with “additional assistance of [an] economic kind and other kinds”, a reference to bipartisan demands that the Obama administration directly arm Ukraine. On Saturday, February 7, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, head of both the US European Command and NATO in Europe, said it was impossible to “preclude out of hand the possibility of the military option” in Ukraine.

James Bissett, former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, wrote on Sept. 9, 2014, in the Ottawa Citizen: “The current crisis in Ukraine threatens global security and at worst has the potential for nuclear catastrophe.”

In recent days across Ukraine, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and wives who do not wish to see their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands become cannon fodder are holding anti-war rallies, opposing military service and calling for peace.

We strongly urge the Canadian government not to send lethal weapons to the Ukrainian government. We further urge our government to reject all military participation by NATO in Ukraine and to work towards the formation of a neutral Ukraine which is not a member of NATO. We expect the Canadian government to use every possible means to prevent any use of nuclear weapons.

The best response to any conflict, and the only sane response to a possible conflict between nuclear super powers, is to negotiate peace. Canadian Voice of Women for Peace urges the Canadian Government to use United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 to insure all sides in this immediate negotiation include women at the table. We further urge our government to institute mandatory, comprehensive, systematic formal training in non-violent conflict resolution for its military and diplomatic personnel as soon as possible, with an initial priority for those engaged in foreign affairs. A part of this training would include an understanding of the role of women in all aspects of peace building from conflict prevention to post-conflict reconstruction. Financing for this training could be secured from our national defence budget.

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For more information, please contact Hannah Hakikin Telephone: 250 352-3609

References:

http://newcoldwar.org/german-intelligence-says-ukraines-reported-casualty-figures-not-credible/
“German intelligence says Ukraine's reported casualty figures 'not credible', February 9, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqNF02BeBlUI (speech by General Philip Breedlove), February 7, 2015

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/nato-at-the-heart-of-a-new-cold-war-says-former-ambassador, “NATO at the heart of a new Cold War, says former Ambassador”, September 9, 2014

http://newcoldwar.org/ukrainians-choose-not-die-war/
“When Ukranians choose not to die in a war”, February 6, 2015

http://newcoldwar.org/ukraine-woman-confronts-military-officer-slams-war-military-draft/
“Ukraine woman confronts military officer and slams the war and military draft”, February 10, 2015

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/
“Landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security”

For more information contact:
Hannah Hadikin
Member of the Board of Directors
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Phone: 250 352-3609
Email: info@vowpeace.org
Website: vowpeace.org

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