ICAPP Update (23-64) Situation in the Middle East

Distinguished Members of the ICAPP Standing Committee,

Regarding the request from some Members of the ICAPP Standing Committee to include a paragraph condemning the Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip in the Seoul Statement to be adopted at the end of the 6^th Meeting of the ICAPP Media Forum to be held on November 16^th, the ICAPP Secretariat proposes to include the following paragraph instead in the opening remarks at the meeting by Hon. Chung Eui-yong, Chairman of the Standing Committee, in consideration of the ICAPP’s tradition of refraining from making official statements on any specific regional conflict.

“Before concluding, I’d like to take this opportunity to express our deepest concerns, on behalf of the ICAPP Standing Committee, about the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East. We reiterate that no terrorist attack can be either justified or tolerated. But we also strongly oppose and condemn any attempt to punish collectively and militarily the innocent civilians, including children, for the crimes they didn’t commit. We call on the international community to work for an immediate ceasefire and lay down a fair peace plan for a sustainable future in the region.”

Kwon Hee-seog

Secretary General