AUSTRALIAN CHURCHES REMAIN FIRM ON HOPES FOR NON-MILITARY SOLUTION ON IRAQ

The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), John Henderson, reaffirmed the views of the Council which has 15 national Australian churches in its membership. 

"Yesterday's report by Hans Blix to the UN does not change our view that every effort must be made to resolve the solution through non-military means, within the system created by the world's nations in the UN. Those efforts have not yet been exhausted," he said.

In August 2002 the NCCA wrote to the Prime Minister urging him not to encourage the threat of precipitate military action which would place thousands of lives at risk. It has continued to stress its belief that Australia should act in this situation only under UN resolution, and not take unilateral action.In the wake of yesterday's Blix report, the NCCA reaffirms its call for a deeper commitment to working through the United Nations to resolve the problems of the region.

"For the sake of world peace we must not undermine the UN, but allow it to do its job," the Revd Henderson said.

The NCCA is currently promoting the Decade to Overcome Violence, a call to transcend the 'logic' of violence and find constructive alternatives to war and injustice. The way to peace does not lie through war, but through transforming structures of injustice and the politics of exclusion. The Decade is an initiative of the World Council of Churches.

This is not the time to talk about a 'countdown to war', but a sober time to count the cost of such a war, and to do everything in our power to find an alternative solution. The NCCA joins many churches and millions of Christians around Australia in praying for the safety of Australian service personnel, including defence force chaplains, the lives of the people of Iraq, and for peace in the Middle East.

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For further information contact:
The Revd John Henderson (02) 9299 2215 / 0419 224 935