Nelson Mandela has spoken out against an attack on Iraq in no
uncertain terms. He has said that he will go to Iraq in an attempt to
stop the war if the UN asks him. It is almost midnight and a request
from the UN has not materialised. So we must ask him ourselves. War
seems inevitable, but Mandela's intervention could stop it. Below is
a letter which you can cut and paste and send to him - or write your
own.

His email address is NMF@NelsonMandela.org

And please forward this email.

Dear Madiba,

You have condemned an attack on Iraq in no uncertain terms. I
understand that you are so opposed to the war the US now yearns to
wage that you are willing to go to Iraq in the hope that your
presence there will stop it. I hear that you are waiting for the UN
to ask you to do this. It is close to midnight and we, the people of
the world who oppose this war, the people who the UN should be
striving to save from the scourge of war, cannot wait in the hope
that that request materialises. So we are asking you ourselves. Your
presence in Iraq, if possible along with other Nobel Peace Prize
winners such as Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev, who have also
spoken out against an attack on Iraq, would surely stop those who
would shed the blood of children for oil. If I had the power to
stop this war by going to Iraq, I would go. But I don't. You do.
Please use that power for the sake of the Iraqi people, for all our
sakes. The world needs some 'Madiba magic'. It is our last chance for
peace.

With respect, in hope,

*************************************

Jan Burgess, Editor * Review of African Political
Economy * ROAPE Publications Ltd. * Box 678,
Sheffield S1 1BF, UK * Tel: +44 (0)114 267-6880 * e-
mail: editor@roape.org * homepage: www.roape.org