Respect Ja's rights, America
published: Tuesday | March 25, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
MINISTER K.D. Knight's response 'US has not threatened us', published March 21, missed the plot. It may be true no verbal or written threat was issued but it was reported, the US would "frown deeply" if the sovereign state of Jamaica showed dissent to US policies over Iraq at the General Assembly.
Perhaps Mr. Knight should look again at the presidential broadcast and note that Mr Bush "frowned" throughout his statement on the commencement of war on Iraq. As a Quaker, I oppose all manner of violence and more so, this immoral war the pretext of which was conceived on shifting sands.
Firstly, it was to prosecute a war against international terrorism and which strangely shifted focus as the UN Inspectors could not produce the evidence for war, etc., to finally, rescuing the wretched souls of Iraq.
There is no doubt world opinion concurs that Saddam Hussein is a despot, a vile and evil tyrant who must be disarmed but a substantial part of the same opinion shares the view that the UN process was the means to that end. The sovereign state of Jamaica shares that view and has the right to uphold its international obligations and show dissent if that responsibility is being negated. It has the right to rely on the same fundamental principle (consent) that gave the US the sovereign right to veto numerous UN resolutions and to determine its sovereign integrity. Jamaica respects the sovereignty of all civilised nations.
