"None among the participants of
the Davos Forum wants war. None among the powerful want
it. The simple reason is that if there is a war, the
economy suffers, the entire global system suffers, the
population suffers. But what will Saddan Hussein do?
We cannot let him threaten the democratic world. We
await Colin Powell's declaration (which might come as
soon as Sunday). We must look for alternatives, because
war is never the best solution, it’s the last
option. Will we find an alternative before that option
becomes inevitable?"
Michel Ogrizek is the Communications Director of the
WEF in Davos and author of several books on the environment
and communication. |
"The predominant
feeling at the WSF is that the U.S. intention to attack
Iraq reveals a militarist attitude, and there is concern
that NGOs will be marginalized. It underscores the fact
that the world is faced with a new era of a U.S-led empire.
The belief here is that it is a mistake to try to resolve
political, economic and social problems with a military
response. There is fear that this aggression has economic
objectives and that the U.S. forces will turn into an
armed branch of the globalisation process. But
at the WSF there is no sympathy for the Iraqi regime.
Sympathy lies with the people of Iraq, who are suffering
a dicatorial regime that was backed for decades by the
U.S. There is a lot of pro-Palestine support here, but
not for attacks against the Israeli people."
Ignacio Ramonet is editor of Le Monde
Diplomatique, an expert in international politics and
professor at Denis-Diderot University in Paris. |
