A delegation of doctors representing the Australian Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) delivered a “Prescription for Peace” to Prime Minister John Howard at his Kirribilli home on January 12.

The prescription, made out for John Howard, read:

“1. Do not commit Australian military forces to an unjust war in Iraq that would result in an enormous increase in the risk to the health and lives of all Australians;

“2. Work diplomatically through the United Nations to achieve a negotiated settlement in Iraq, as Australia is doing with North Korea.”

A MAPW statement explains the organisation’s position. “Ensuring that Iraq cannot develop weapons of mass destruction or otherwise rearm itself and become a threat to its neighbours in the region can be accomplished through a carefully implemented policy of containment under UN auspices, combined with a lifting of most of the current economic sanctions.

“These sanctions have accomplished little or nothing other than placing terrible burdens on the health and social well being of Iraqi civilians, particularly children, hundreds of thousands of whom have died as a direct result of the sanctions themselves.”

“As Australian doctors it is important to warn all Australians and particularly Mr John Howard that any Australian military involvement in an illegal, unjust war in Iraq will result in enormous risks to the lives of us all”, said Dr Gillian Deakin, convener of NSW MAPW.

“As doctors we cannot stand by at such a critical time. We are trained to intervene early in sickness and disease prevention is much better than any attempt to patch up a bad situation later on.

“We challenge Mr Howard to have the courage to say no to US President George Bush and put Australian lives ahead of American foreign policy. Australians do not want involvement in another US-inspired Vietnam-style unjust war”, Deakin concluded.

MAPW was formed in the early 1980s, and, is a member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. MAPW has a membership of 800 doctors, Australia wide.

The executive officer of MAPW Australia, Dr Giji Gya, told Green Left Weekly: “As doctors, we are concerned that the human element in any war with Iraq isn’t being focused on enough”, she said. “War is not a medicine for peace. We should dispense bread instead of bombs, medical assistance instead of missiles, and food instead of fissile materials.”

More information on MAPW is available at <http://www.mapw.org.au>.

From Green Left Weekly, January 22, 2003.
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