The opinion of Larisa Bogoraz about the war in Iraq.L.
14.12.2003
Bogoraz, a well-known Russian human rights protection activist, denounces the war in Iraq.
Here I present my personal point of view concerning the intention of the USA to start the preventive war against Iraq. I do not represent anybody, even those, whose position is similar to mine: everybody has own motives and arguments. The opponents of pacifists accuse them of the sympathies to the criminal regime of Saddam Hussein, of the irresponsibility before the humanity and civilization, which are endangered by Hussein’s regime. To protest against the war under such conditions, my opponents say, means to maintain Hussein; that is because of you, pacifists, they say, Iraq, a country-aggressor, gets the opportunity to improve its weapons of mass destruction, and this may cause the death of millions of people throughout the world. „Are you, pacifists, ready to undertake the responsibility for these victims?“, ask the supporters of the war against Iraq. In response I can say only that if the war begins, thousands of Iraq citizens would perish. And are you ready to undertake the responsibility for a baby, who, if he would live till 33 years old, might become a savior of the mankind? Have we the right to decide who should live and who should die?
I believe that the centers of the production and storage of the weapons of mass destruction must be ruined, not the whole country together with its population. The task of the civilized world is, in my opinion, the creation of the tools and methods for the overall protection of peace from aggressors and their accomplices. After all, there are other countries possessing the weapon of mass destruction, facilities for its production and military potential for its use. So, maybe let us bomb them too, just to be on the safe side? I am not a military specialist, not a politician and not an economist, but I guess that money and raw materials, as well as technical and political support are needed for the development and production of such weapons. I reckon that the modern methods of universal control and intelligence are capable to reveal the sources and receivers of such support. The channels of rendering such support should be blocked to isolate the criminal regimes. The international democratic community must develop the new international legislation envisaging the responsibility of the states that support such regimes. These states should be expelled from the international association of democratic countries, deprived of the guarantees of international protection and left in the international isolation. In this case Russia would be punished as a country endorsing the North Korea, a state, which is not better and is not less dangerous for the world than Iraq.
The preventive war against Iraq is destroying the fundamental humane values. Perhaps, my pacifist position may be explained by the fact that I have two sons, and I do not want them to become killers or to be killed in a war. It seems that my opponets do not think about their sons, not to mention somebody’s else ones.
Larisa Bogoraz
22 February 2003, Moscow
I believe that the centers of the production and storage of the weapons of mass destruction must be ruined, not the whole country together with its population. The task of the civilized world is, in my opinion, the creation of the tools and methods for the overall protection of peace from aggressors and their accomplices. After all, there are other countries possessing the weapon of mass destruction, facilities for its production and military potential for its use. So, maybe let us bomb them too, just to be on the safe side? I am not a military specialist, not a politician and not an economist, but I guess that money and raw materials, as well as technical and political support are needed for the development and production of such weapons. I reckon that the modern methods of universal control and intelligence are capable to reveal the sources and receivers of such support. The channels of rendering such support should be blocked to isolate the criminal regimes. The international democratic community must develop the new international legislation envisaging the responsibility of the states that support such regimes. These states should be expelled from the international association of democratic countries, deprived of the guarantees of international protection and left in the international isolation. In this case Russia would be punished as a country endorsing the North Korea, a state, which is not better and is not less dangerous for the world than Iraq.
The preventive war against Iraq is destroying the fundamental humane values. Perhaps, my pacifist position may be explained by the fact that I have two sons, and I do not want them to become killers or to be killed in a war. It seems that my opponets do not think about their sons, not to mention somebody’s else ones.
Larisa Bogoraz
22 February 2003, Moscow