ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY GATHERING OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
5196 St. Hubert #2
Montréal, Québec H2J 2Y3


November 19, 2001

Dear Member of Parliament,

We represent Quakers from meetings located in the St. Lawrence Valley
(Montreal, Ottawa and Kingston). As clerks of the St. Lawrence Valley
Gathering of the Religious Society of Friends, we were asked last month to
send you a letter expressing our dissatisfaction with the Canadian
government's response to the war against terrorism being waged by the
U.S.against the Taliban of Afghanistan. We realize that circumstances have
changed slightly in recent weeks, but the nature of our objections remains
the same.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has a long history of opposing
all forms of war. We are grieved at the loss of life which resulted from
the September 11th attacks on the United States and we are gravely
concerned over the subsequent loss of life in Afghanistan. We strongly
object to using retaliation as a means of resolving the growing
international crisis.
As Quakers, we stand with people of faith the world over who believe there
are no circumstances that justify the use of violence. During the unrest
in India in the 1940's, Gandhi remarked that "an eye for an eye will make
the whole world blind." We believe that the U.N. must be used to find ways
to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice without further bloodshed
and civil unrest among warring factions in Afghanistan. We promote the
idea of offering humanitarian aid rather than dropping bombs. What better
means could be used to build the kind of trust required to break the cycle
of violence and retribution which has been set in motion?

Violence will only contribute to further world instability in these
precarious days. Canada has a proud reputation of being a peace-loving
country. Continued bombing in Afghanistan will not put an end to terrorism
but merely fuel the flames of hatred and revenge. Now that the Taliban are
in retreat, we hope Canada will support using U.N. forces to insure thata
peaceful government is established in Afghanistan which will fairly
represent a wide diversity of local ethnic groups.

We urge the Canadian government to firmly resist supporting the U.S. as
they push for further military intervention within and beyond Afghanistan's
borders. This is surely in the best interests of the population of the
world as a whole. We count on you to give these suggestions and options
your most serious attention.


Molly Walsh, Clerk of St. Lawrence Valley Regional Gathering
Caroline Balderston Parry, Recording Clerk of St. Lawrence Valley Regional
Gathering

copies: Jean Chrétien
Art Eggleton