Eames urges Blair to 'exhaust all efforts' for peace

The Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop Robin Eames has issued an urgent plea to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair to "exhaust all efforts" before entering into a war against Iraq.

In an open letter published in today’s London Times Archbishop Eames urged the government to consider the humanitarian implications of a war and the "untold suffering" it would bring.

“No one can doubt that any modern conflict causes immense suffering to a civilian population. Evidence abounds that it is impossible to guarantee all avoidance of death and injury to what Scripture terms 'the poor' in any such conflict,” he said.

During the week the Church of England's House of Bishops issued a statement expressing their concern with British government tactics against Iraq.

“To launch military action while there remains the potential to secure a peaceful resolution would be ill-judged and premature,” they said on Tuesday.

“We do not believe the evidence presented to date suggests a clear link exists between Iraq and Al Qaeda or that Iraq poses an immediate threat to international security. Without compelling new evidence to the contrary, we contend that military action could not be morally justified.”

Supporting these views, Archbishop Eames added: “Quite frankly the case for an attack on Iraq has yet to be satisfactorily expressed. We are waiting for the report of the examiners who are currently in Iraq. We’re waiting for the reaction from the United Nations General Assembly. And I feel quite frankly that until we as a people can be satisfied that there is a just cause for war; I would have very serious moral objections to such a conflict.”

(AMcE)