In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice
ACTION ALERT
BRITAIN THWARTS LANDMARK EU INITIATIVE FOR MIDEAST PEACE
(WASHINGTON DC, 2/14/2002) - After a French initiative for Palestinian statehood gained wide support from European Union
members, Britain moved to block the passage of any formal endorsement of the peace plan.
Instead, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw reiterated Washington’s position by squarely blaming the Palestinians for
the bloody confrontation with Israeli occupation forces, yet failing to offer alternative solutions.
The French plan, introduced February 9th, calls for "immediate" recognition by Israel of a Palestinian state based on
pre-1967 borders, and in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. In return, both Israel and the
independent Palestinian state would commit to a non-aggression treaty and start negotiations on other pressing issues,
such as the status of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem.
In a deliberate move designed to force EU members to publicly state their positions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
foreign ministers of member states openly endorsed the tentative peace initiative, leaving Britain to formally renounce
the plan.
On February 13, in the first meeting of its kind, government ministers of 72 nations, including those from Europe and
the Organization of the Islamic Conference, participated in a summit to identify causes of global conflict.
The plight of the Palestinians was singled out as the most pressing issue in need of an urgent and just solution.
According to The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, over 900 Palestinians have been
killed, and over 17,000 injured or maimed by Israeli occupation forces since the start of the uprising, on September
2000.
The United Nations acknowledges the presence of 3.8 million registered Palestinian refugees, who form the largest and
most-enduring refugee problem since the end of WWII.
Given the significant domestic pressures on the Bush administration from anti-Muslim groups, the EU is the only party,
with the necessary economic and political leverage, capable of formulating and implementing a just solution to end the
Israeli occupation.
Britain must not impede urgent EU efforts to end the conflict.
TAKE ACTION
Please contact the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the Ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, and express
your disappointment with the UK’s opposition to EU plans to end the conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Rt Hon Tony Blair, MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
United Kingdom
Fax: 44 20 7925 0918 (from USA, use prefix 011)
Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer
The British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Avenue
Washington DC, 20008
Tel: (202)588-6500
Fax: (202)588-7870
Please copy: INFO@GlobalPeaceAndJustice.org
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American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice(AMGPJ)
1200 G Street, NW, Suite# 800, Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202)489-3773 - Fax: (202)434-8757
Email: MEDIA@GlobalPeaceAndJustice.org
Web: www.GlobalPeaceAndJustice.org