New York, 10/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - In a "Message to the American people" signed by 460 parliamentarians (140 of whom were MEPs) and sent to Kofi Annan by Paul Lannoye (Greens/EFA, Belgian) and Francis Wurtz (GUE/NGL, France) during a visit of 20 members from the European Parliament who went to Iraq in February, the following question is posed, "Who is a friend? Someone who follows you without asking questions when your are on a dangerous course? No, a friend is someone who warns you and tries everything to prevent you from making a serious mistake. Old Europe is a friend of the American people. Our hearts are with September 11 families". The MEPs highlight the serious consequences of war and the twelve years of sanctions on the Iraqi people and launch the following appeal, "Please listen to the message from old Europe: disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, stabilisation of regions in conflicts, are our common goal. But we don't believe that there is a military solution. We are concerned about the unforeseeable consequences of military action. There are other peaceful ways to solve the Iraqi crisis. Lets it together and discuss how we can do it together".
In New York, the MEPs met Hans Blix and in Washington they had talks with members of the Congress hostile to war in Iraq, like Dennis Kucinich, who, according to a GUE press statement, is said to be ready to develop a trans-Atlantic alliance against the war.
The President of the Liberal group at the EP, Graham Watson warned, "A war against Iraq now would distract us from the hugely important task of hunting down the Al-Queda terrorists still on the run". According to Mr Watson, the results from the inspections are sufficient for giving the inspectors, "the additional months which Mr Blix has hinted he needs to complete the disarmament of Iraq peacefully".