Voices for Creative Nonviolence announces: “For the Love of Peace” - A Fast to End Military and Economic Warfare in Iraq
April 9th – 30th, 2007
Public presence in Chicago’s Federal Building Plaza begins April 12th, 2007
On April 9, Voices for Creative Nonviolence activists will begin “For the Love of Peace: A Fast to End Military and Economic Warfare in Iraq”. This is a 21 day liquids only fast in Chicago that includes a daily vigil outside the federal building which houses the offices of Senators Durbin and Obama as well as the Internal Revenue Service. During our public vigil, we hope to engage in discussions with passersby and encourage them to visit the offices of Senators Obama and Durbin to insist that they stop funding war in Iraq.
The fast is a continuation of the larger campaign, “The Occupation Project,” which seeks to end funding for war in Iraq.
On April 16 and 17, we call for nonviolent civil disobedience and occupations of the offices of Representatives and Senators who continue to support funding for the war in Iraq.
President Bush is seeking an additional 142 billion dollars in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These funds, sought for the fiscal year that runs from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008, are in addition to the $100 billion in supplemental war funding for this year. President Bush’s request for the Department of Defense regular budget—which does not include funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—is 62 percent more than what was spent in 2001.
Tuesday, April 17, is Tax Day this year. Polls show 70% of the U.S. people disapproves of President Bush because of the war in Iraq. A majority of the U.S. public doesn’t want to collaborate with President Bush’s fantasized formulas for military success in Iraq. They don’t want to prolong the war, and they don’t want to pay for it.
The Occupation Project, launched in early February, 2007, has built sustained campaigns of civil disobedience to end funding for the Iraq war. The campaign originally focused upon the $100 billion for the war for this year. Nonviolent activists have organized local campaigns in 20 states with allied efforts in another 10 states. In just nine weeks, over 300 people were arrested for refusing to leave their elected representatives’ offices. They demanded that their Senators and Representatives exercise “the power of the purse” and cut off funding for war.
While conceived of as an eight week campaign, we at Voices recognize that nonviolent civil disobedience continues to grow in opposition to this war. We therefore are committed to extending this campaign and to assist with coordination of campaigns of civil disobedience at least through the vote on Bush’s request for $142 billion for the Iraq war.
We launch Phase Two of the Occupation Project on April 17—Tax Day. Please join with activists in your locale to mark “tax day” by occupying the offices of your elected representatives until they pledge to vote against the next bill to provide funds for the Iraq war for next year. Do it for the love of peace.
And yet, we must do more. We further call on elected officials to cancel Iraq’s debts and to promote generous funds for reparation and reconstruction in Iraq. Such funds should not be controlled by the U.S. military. We recommend reliance on the United Nations and designated Non-Governmental Organizations with a proven record of being able to bring assistance to beleaguered Iraqis.
“For the Love of Peace: A Fast to End Military and Economic Warfare in Iraq” will address the following key issues:
- An end to all funding for the war in and occupation of Iraq, including the $142 billion being sought by President Bush to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the upcoming fiscal year (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008).
- The unconditional cancellation of the “odious debts” incurred by Saddam Hussein’s regime, debts which are being leveraged by the international financial community to force Iraq to eliminate fuel subsidies, monetize its public food distribution system, cut pensions and turn substantive control of its oil industry to multinational corporations at the expense of the Iraqi peoples.
- The unconditional cancellation of the war reparations imposed against Iraq by the U.N. following Saddam Hussein’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91. The overwhelming majority of the outstanding payments are due to rich oil states and state owned oil industries in the Gulf region.
- Payment of war reparations by the U.S. to Iraq to provide funds for Iraq to rebuild following 16 years of economic and military warfare.
- Provision of funds by the U.S. to address the growing crisis faced by Iraqis forced to flee for safety to neighboring countries. Such funds should be administered by the United Nations and internationally recognized Non Governmental Organizations with a proven record of providing assistance to Iraqi citizens. Such funds should also address the crisis faced by the governments of Syria and Jordan to provide for their citizens.
For more information and for suggestions about ways to continue building “the Occupation Project” campaign in your locale, please call:
773-878-3815 or write:
