PRINCETON: Group calls for diplomacy with Iran

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   A couple of people stood side by side on the sidewalk, clutching signs and posters on a windy Saturday afternoon. In minutes, the small group multiplied as passers-by grabbed posters and joined the expanding line. The crowd of strangers turned into comrades with one thing in mind: peace.
   More than 30 concerned citizens gathered at Palmer Square in Princeton on Saturday afternoon for a vigil to promote peace and diplomacy with Iran. The Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action organized the “Diplomacy Not War” vigil in light of the rising speculation that a military attack against Iran might occur this spring.
   ”It’s time for people of common sense and good will to say ‘diplomacy, not war,’” said the Rev. Robert Moore, the Coalition for Peace Action executive director. “Robust, sustained diplomacy is the only thing that can ensure Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons and that the Middle East moves toward establishing a regional nuclear weapons free zone.”
   The group held signs that read “Diplomacy not war in Iran” and “No more preemptive wars, no more Iraqs.” People also carried enlarged photos of the one million Iranians at a candlelight vigil in support of America after 9/11 to remind others that Iran is not an enemy.
   Princetonian A. Farzad, a native of Iran, added that Iranians were the only people in the Middle East who sympathized with the United States after the devastating terror attack.
   Mr. Moore described the situation as a “drum beat for war” and likened it to the build up to the Iraq war.
   ”Preemptive war against a danger that all top US government sources say does not yet exist would make a bad situation unbelievably worse,” he said.
   The Coalition for Peace estimated the immediate cost of a war in Iran could be as much as $3 trillion. It said an attack would put Israel in danger and could trigger a global war.
   Fact sheets were distributed that listed diplomatic alternatives to war, which included the creation of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East and a containment policy and deterrence like such as was used in the Cold War. Other options were to keep all channels of communication open and to maintain unofficial, cultural and citizen contacts in Iran to lessen tension and improve relations.
   The coalition continues to urge citizens to promote peace while it is still possible.
   ”Wars accomplish perfectly nothing — we go back to square one and accomplish nothing,” said Mr. Farzad. “The end result of any war is pain, injury, death and destruction.”