Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basm Öz<strong>et</strong>i l'ile-prison d'IinraIi, en mer <strong>de</strong> Marmara, eut appelé à déposer les armés. La «sale guerre» entre Ankara <strong>et</strong> les rebelles a fait 36000 morts en quinze ans. R<strong>et</strong>irés aù nord <strong>de</strong> l'Irak, .quelque 5000 a>mbattants savent qu'ils serontles premières cibles !i'une opération turque.
., Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro Politicians beating path to Vatican on Iraq war By Frank Bruni The New York TImes ROME: Two weeks ago, it was Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister. Last week, it was Tariq Aziz, the <strong>de</strong>puty prime minister of Iraq. This coming weekend, if he keeps to his planned schedule, it will be Tony Blair, the British prime minister. As the prospect of an American-led military strike against Iraq looms ever - -larger, world lea<strong>de</strong>rs are beating an ipcreasingly well-worn path to Pope John, Paul II's door to talk about the wisdom of, and rationale for, war. In the process, they are turning Vatican City into a kind of diplomatic station of the cross and <strong>de</strong>monstrating a faith, or at "least hope, in the power of the pope to sway international opinion and the power of a visit with him to reflect well on their own positionS. "We are witnessing the latest .and greatest global <strong>de</strong>bate in a long time on what would and would not be a just war," said Michael Emerson, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Policy Studies ip.Brussels. "So the moral authority of the pope is being so- ' licited by both si<strong>de</strong>s." , The pope has repeatedly stated his opposition to a war in Iraq un<strong>de</strong>r current circumstances, and his conversations with world lea<strong>de</strong>rs, including a me<strong>et</strong>ing here earlier this week with the UN secr<strong>et</strong>ary-general, Kofi Annan, allow him to press his case. But while the world lea<strong>de</strong>rs themselves usually request these me<strong>et</strong>ings, ' qften when they are here on other busi- , ness, the Vatican has its own interests, ' from a commitment to peace to the protection of Roman Catholic and Christian minorities in' predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq. The' me<strong>et</strong>ings themselves are intensely private: None of the participants ever reveals enough to make clear precisely what the pope says. But Vatican City serves as a dramatic and singular stage for the officials who travel there. Western diplomats assigned to the Vatican say that, lea<strong>de</strong>rs who me<strong>et</strong> with the pope are clearly seekin~ to cast their concerns and <strong>de</strong>liberatIons in a high-min<strong>de</strong>d light. - "The pope is such a respected figure, - with such great moral authority and prestige, that for anyone to come and , visit him gives them a lot of illumination and, in some cases, for those who , need it, legitimacy," said R.James Nicholson, the American ambassador to the HolySee. <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basm Öz<strong>et</strong>i gence rance- Pope John ~ul IIm<strong>et</strong> in 'Rome on Friday with 1àrlqAziz, Iraq's <strong>de</strong>puty prime minister. Aziz held a news conference 'after he saw the pope, making prominent mention l;>fthat me<strong>et</strong>ing. Fisèher, too, spoke to reporters following his visit, saying that he and the pope had a "very serious and very open talk" about the consequences of a war in Iraq, which, Germany opposes. "With our <strong>de</strong>ep worries and our <strong>de</strong>ep skepticism, we are very close," Fischer said, referring to German and Vatican officials. Blair finds himself at odds with the Vatican about the justification for a military strike on Iraq. But foreign policy experts and diplomats said that with a visit ta the pope, scheduled for Satur-day, Blair' would send a message that he is not dodging moral consi<strong>de</strong>rations in coming to a' belief about the possible need for~~ilitary action. ' Blair, a <strong>de</strong>vout Christian whose wife is Roman Catholic, has repeatedly talked about the moral case for a war. , While Presi<strong>de</strong>nt George W. Bush has not sought an audience with the pope, , Nichelson last week arranged a visit to the Vatican and a public speech here by Michael Novak, a conservative American theologian who maintains that a war would be morally <strong>de</strong>fensible. The series of me<strong>et</strong>ings b<strong>et</strong>ween world lea<strong>de</strong>rs and ~e pope show that he is not ,just the titular lea<strong>de</strong>r of an estimated 1. billion Catholics worldwi<strong>de</strong>. He remains, in Western <strong>de</strong>mocracies, a religious lea<strong>de</strong>r with unrivaled visibility and recognition: a point of reference in <strong>de</strong>bates with clear moral dimensions. , The me<strong>et</strong>ings also show the <strong>de</strong>pths of the Vatican's objections to war in Iraq, and are oply part o( its diplomatic efforts, which inclu<strong>de</strong>d a recent trip by a papal envoy to Baghdad. In many countries, bishops and priests have echoed the pope's expressions of opposition to : a war, although the Vatican saidit not a coordinated campaign. was esse Vatican officials, diplomats and' church experts said that 'the Vatican's concerns went beyond a frequently. stated conviction that, in the case of Iraq, attempts at a peaceful resolution have not been exhausted. Vatican officials are worried about the impact of a war in Iraq on relations b<strong>et</strong>ween Christians and Muslims, a matter that the pope himself mentioned during brief public remarks Thursday. "They really don't want Christian martyrs," said one Western diplomat assigned to the Vatican, who spoke on conalt~n of anonymity. For example, the diplomat said, "There's a' huge Christian minority in Pakistan that, could be at risk." The Reverend Drew Christiansen, former director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace, said that the pope and Vatican officials were also looking beyond current events and trying to lay down certain i<strong>de</strong>ological and moral markers. "It's a rejection of the un<strong>de</strong>rlying rationale for war as preventive," Christiansen said. Vatican officials conce<strong>de</strong>d that, in the , end, they might not be able to influence what the United States and its allies do. But they said that they non<strong>et</strong>heless saw themselves playing a crucial and spe- ,cial role in the <strong>de</strong>bate, a perspective that ,-the visits of world lea<strong>de</strong>rs at least partly affirm. Friday, February 21, 2003 83
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