Sargent attends in Green Summit Brussels for talks on War

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday March 21, 2003 13:16 by Graham Caswell - Green Party

Press Release

Green Party Leader, Trevor Sargent TD, will be seeking agreement among Green Party leaders that airspace and refueling facilities of all neutral EU states should not be available for military operations during the Iraq war.

Mr. Sargent is attending a meeting in Brussels today with Green Party leaders from the EU and the accession countries for a Green summit to discuss a common resolution on the Iraq war and the foundation of a European party.

Mr. Sargent will be seeking agreement among Green Party leaders that airspace and refueling facilities of all neutral EU states should not be available for military operations during the Iraq war.

The Co-Presidents of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament, Daniel Cohn-Bendit MEP and Monica Frassoni MEP will welcome more than 30 party leaders to the meeting. A common resolution of all European Green parties on the Iraq war will be discussed and adopted in the afternoon.

Mr. Sargent said that he will be urging Green Party leaders to support cases taken in Ireland and elsewhere to establish the illegality of the US led war on Iraq and will look for a united demand from European Green parties for war to end. "I will also be calling for a ban on the use of landmines, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, nuclear weaponry and biological and chemical weapons. I will also be highlighting the presence of EU citizens in Iraq and, in particular Irishman Michael Birmingham, who has joined concerned US citizens to bear witness to the war."