Sir, - The use of violence in any form, be it traditional warfare as practised by NATO in Yugoslavia, or the impact of United Nations economic sanctions responsible for the death of thousands, as in Iraq, is unacceptable and must be halted.
The Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, which assembled in Dublin from April 8th to 11th, expressed its deep concern consistent with the society's long-standing Peace Testimony (first formulated in 1661).
We support the Government position that Ireland should remain outside NATO and strongly recommend that no action be taken to include Ireland in the NATO Partnership for Peace, certainly not without full national discussion and a referendum.
We believe that Ireland should encourage the development of pro-active and preventive diplomacy for issues before they become problems, the consideration of problems before they become crises and the resolution of crises before they degenerate into conflict.
We call on the Government to ensure the cessation of all military activity in Yugoslavia and the lifting of economic sanctions in Iraq. We continue to endorse non-violence, believing that the violence in various parts of the world is not due to the failure of non-violence, but the failure to make non-violence work.
The Irish Government, together with the Government of the United Kingdom, has shown a capacity for a non-violent approach to peacemaking in Northern Ireland for which both must be congratulated.
In accordance with its Peace Testimony, the Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends urges the Government to press for non-violent action and diplomacy in Yugoslavia and in Iraq, believing that such action is consistent with the expectations and moral values of the Irish people. - Yours, etc., Rachel M. Bewley Bateman,
Clerk of Ireland, Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),Morehampton Road, Dublin 4.