Nonviolent Resistance

Report on La’Onf #2: Highlights of Day One of the Week of Nonviolence

Dan Pearson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:13:16 -0500

Short Information Teaser

The La'Onf Iraqi Nonviolence Group initiated its third annual Week of Nonviolence on Saturday, October 11, 2008.

Excerpt

La’Onf participants hung posters in public areas, schools and government service and administrative offices. They also met with 40 organizations from Iraqi civil society.

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October 15, 2008
By Voices for Creative Nonviolence

To our partners in the US solidarity campaign for La’Onf,

The La’Onf Iraqi Nonviolence Group initiated its third annual Week of Nonviolence on Saturday, October 11, 2008. This network of more than 100 Iraqi civil society organizations has come together to call for the rebuilding of Iraq through nonviolence. This year, La’Onf is focusing on the power of the electoral process.

“Ballot boxes are our best salvation from violence and occupation.”

And La’Onf’s members are working to eliminate violence during the upcoming provincial elections, scheduled to take place before the end of January 2009.

Below is a summary of the highlights of Day One of the Week of Nonviolence. Please forward this report to your network and post it to your website.

BAGHDAD

In Al-Sadr City, Ard Al-Rafeden and Women Rights convened a conference attended by Baghdad human rights activists with a particular emphasis on the participation of women. Conference organizers introduced La’Onf to the community and focused dialogue on preventing electoral violence. One conference attendee stated that al-Sadr City is completely forgotten; that no one thinks about their reality of increasing violence and deteriorating security. Attendees thanked La’Onf’s Baghdad group for expressing commitment and interest in al-Sadr and for the introduction to nonviolence.

As a result of the assassination on Thursday (October 9) of Saleh al-Ugaili, an Iraqi member of Parliament from Moktada al-Sadr’s political movement, La’Onf organizers in Baghdad met with Sadr City leaders to discuss ways to prevent an escalation of the violence and further bloodshed. They have called for a prompt and impartial investigation to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of Saleh al-Ugaili’s murder.

BABIL (Babylon)

Babil’s La’Onf members, in cooperation with the National Center for the Rehabilitation of Young People and the Office of International Aid in Babylon, conducted a festival in the Cultivating Peace Hall (Shatt al-Hilla). The festival was organized with the significant leadership of young people and included arts projects for children and the reading of poetry with one of the poets being only 10 years old. La’Onf presenters talked about the role of civil society in partnership with government agencies, religious institutions, and cultural, social and educational organizations to spread nonviolence throughout the governorate. Two sixth graders performed an operetta telling the story of how Iraqis can face violence and maintain the unity of their country. La’Onf members also distributed posters in Jabla in Northern Babil.

DIWANIYA

La’Onf participants distributed and hung posters in Albdir, approximately 30 miles away from the city center.

DIYALA

La’Onf member organizations, including the Relief and Development Organization and Defense of Iraqi Deportees Association, distributed posters on nonviolence in the city of Jalula, including public areas, schools, government offices, and residential neighborhoods.

ERBIL

Azadi radio station interviewed La’Onf representatives who discussed the principles of nonviolence and described activities planned across Iraq during the 2008 Week of Nonviolence.

KARBALA

La’Onf members convened a conference attended by representatives of civil society, academia and political parties. The conference opened with a song of peace and love, and rejection of all violence in Iraq, performed by the Cultural Knowledge Foundation. The La’Onf coordinator in Karbala then introduced the goals and activities of La’Onf followed by a courageous presentation by Mr. Yahya Najjar, a journalist in Karbala. Mr. Najjar appealed to the media to exercise strict neutrality in reporting on the elections and candidates. He asked the community to reject violence, sectarianism and all forms of terrorism, marginalization, racial discrimination, and political and social oppression. He added that the road in front of journalists is “planted with brambles,” recognizing that they are being targeted and that “journalism has become a profession of martyrs.” However he emphasized the journalists’ “love for life and for painting hope with their free writings.”

Mr. Hussein Amery of the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq also spoke about the need for civil society, government institutions and the media to work together to ensure the appropriate level of integrity, transparency and impartiality of the electoral process. He concluded his remarks by thanking the conference participants and La’Onf for promoting a culture of nonviolence as a path to political, social and economic change in Iraq. At the end of the conference, participants formed a board to send letters to the political parties in support of the government’s role in conducting the provincial elections. And they also appealed to the Iraqi army and police to maintain their professionalism in protecting all citizens’ free and equal participation in the elections.

KIRKUK

La’Onf participants hung posters in public areas, schools and government service and administrative offices. They also met with 40 organizations from Iraqi civil society. In Haweja, Iraqi police interfered with attempts to hang the posters, and two participants were arrested for two hours before being released. Unknown armed forces also interfered with participants in Reyad but members of Al-Sahwa Men were able to de-escalate tensions at the location, and no one was hurt.

WASIT (Kut)

La’Onf participants focused on engaging political parties by distributing booklets on preventing electoral violence and introducing nonviolence principles to party offices. Among the parties that were contacted are: National Democratic Congress, WEFAQ National Democratic Movement, Islamic Call Movement, Iraqi Communist Party, Islamic Higher Board, and Kurdistan Democratic Party.

NASRIA (De Qar)

La’Onf participants began the week by distributing posters in every district in the province.

SALAHUDDIN

La’Onf organized a youth soccer match whose players wore uniforms with the slogan: “Nonviolence is our Choice.” Along with sports fans, those in attendance included: the Aalam District Director, Red Crescent Director of Salahuddin, and Aalam District Police Chief, as well as members of the Aalam Club Administrative Board and civil society organizations. The match prompted discussions among the attendees about the meaning of nonviolence and La’Onf’s planned activities in the area. Participants expressed their appreciation for La’Onf’s work and several new people volunteered to work for La’Onf.

More information

Updates in Arabic, Kurdish and English are on the La’Onf website at www.laonf.net.

Photographs from Iraq (as well as from people across the United States who support nonviolence in Iraq) can be seen on the La’Onf Solidarity Flickr Photo Gallery. http://www.flickr.com/photos/laonfsolidarity/

Photos, video and media updates can also be found at the Peaceful Tomorrows website beginning TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14. http://peacefultomorrows.org/

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Report on LaOnf #1: The Week of Nonviolence has begun in Iraq

Dan Pearson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:04:10 -0500

Short Information Teaser

A Letter from Terry Rockefeller from September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Excerpt

“We can create a way for all opinions to be expressed; all parties and all people can participate in the elections, if we work to make them truly democratic. So do not choose violence because you think that your opinions are not being represented.”

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October 15, 2008
By Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Dear partners in the US solidarity campaign for La’Onf,

The Week of Nonviolence has begun in Iraq. Peaceful Tomorrows is honored to be working with all of you to make the activities of the members of La’Onf more widely known throughout the US peace and nonviolence community.

We are trying hard to send you up-to-date information about events in Iraq as quickly as possible. But there have been some interesting challenges. On Friday we received the first official press release about the Week of Nonviolence, sent from Al-Mesalla Centre in Erbil. “Election Box can Breadth Every One!” We were wondering just what had been lost in translation.

An exchange of emails with La’Onf founding member, Ismaeel Dawood, provided this: “We can create a way for all opinions to be expressed; all parties and all people can participate in the elections, if we work to make them truly democratic. So do not choose violence because you think that your opinions are not being represented.”

Still, the challenges of translation pale beside what the La’Onf activists are trying to orchestrate – getting people across Iraq to focus on how the upcoming elections can further Iraqis’ efforts to reclaim their nation and all that that must entail. On Friday, as activities in Iraq were getting underway, we received a schedule of the events that will take place in at least 14 of Iraq’s 18 governorates. They include radio shows, sports events, university forums, and even opera. We will be sharing highlights as reports come in.

Sadly, the next day we received a “News FLASH from Baghdad.” In response to the tragic assassination of Saleh al-Ugaili, a member of the Iraqi Parliament from Moktada al-Sadr’s movement, the La’Onf group in Baghdad organized a totally unplanned event. They hosted a public discussion in Sadr City to “contain the repercussions of any crisis or violence” resulting from Saleh al-Ugaili’s death. La’Onf endorsed the efforts of the “wise elders” and “all the voices in the city seeking to stop the bloodshed” and called for “a prompt and impartial investigation to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

I wish I knew more about who spoke and what was actually said at the meeting in Sadr City. I have written to people in Baghdad and am hoping to get more information that we can share later.

Over the weekend we heard very little and then today there arrived a flood of reports from Skala, the very energetic, recent college graduate who is managing translations to English in the Erbil offices of La’Onf. Skala said there had been no electricity for a while, so she had a backlog of reports.

We are reading through them right now and hope to send you a synopsis by tomorrow that you will be able to forward to your supporters and networks. We will also be posting the photographs we receive from Iraq on our Flickr site ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/laonfsolidarity/) along with the photos of support from around the US and the world.

Finally, we are so very, very thankful to all of the organizations and people who have helped us get out the message, to collect signatures and gather photos of support. You have all been terrific and I want to make sure that you all know what good company you are keeping! So, big thanks to: Direct Aid Iraq Fellowship of Reconciliation United for Peace and Justice American Friends Service Committee Pax Christi CODEPINK Women for Peace Beyond War Peaceworkers US Labor Against the War The Gandhi King Conference Pace e Bene Christian Peace Witness Peace Action The Peace and Justice Studies Association Metta Center for Nonviolence Education The Iraq Moratorium Buddhist Peace Fellowship And, Voices for Creative Nonviolence/Voices in the Wilderness, whose Kathy Kelly was with us in Amman when we began planning this effort.

In peace and solidarity, with thanks to all of you, Terry Rockefeller September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

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13 Arrested at Fort McCoy for Opposing Iraq War

Jeff Leys — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:11:31 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Short Information Teaser

Arrests at Fort McCoy Wisconsin on August 10

Excerpt

August 10, 2008

View Photos

August 9 was a day of preparation for Witness Against War. Preparation for the act of nonviolent civil resistance to take place the following day.

We gathered at the Lafayette Town Hall just north of Sparta. Our host’s family goes back 7 generations on this land. His aunt and uncle donated the property on which the town hall now sits.

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Voices Author

Jeff Leys

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August 10, 2008

View Photos

August 9 was a day of preparation for Witness Against War. Preparation for the act of nonviolent civil resistance to take place the following day.

We gathered at the Lafayette Town Hall just north of Sparta. Our host’s family goes back 7 generations on this land. His aunt and uncle donated the property on which the town hall now sits.

The nonviolence workshop was to begin at 2:00 p.m. At 1:50 p.m. we looked at the clock on the wall and wondered aloud whether anyone would be coming. Only our friend Steve Carlson from Trego, Wisconsin had arrived by that time. The surrounding hills and bluffs prevented our cell phones from receiving signals, so we had no way of knowing whether those we expected to arrive were 30 seconds away or 30 minutes away (or stranded on the side of the road).

Then, as if they were waiting together just down the road and around the curve, all our colleagues began to arrive within minutes of each other. Christian Peacemaker Teams arrived with the 15 people currently training to become team members or reservists for CPT. Brian and Renee arrived from Des Moines. Ceylon and Christine arrived from Memphis. Joy from Madison and John from Eau Claire. The Lafayette Town Hall was transformed from the grouping of Witness Against War walkers to a near overflow gathering of committed social justice advocates.

Planning progressed for the following day’s action at Fort McCoy as we began to put flesh on a fairly skeletal action concept. By the end of the evening plans were in place for the following day.

Sunday, August 10, began with breakfast at the home of Dick and Violet, our hosts. We arrived at Tunnel City, our starting point that day, at 9:30 a.m., in time to meet with Sheriff Pederson to discuss the day’s walk. We explained that we intended to walk on the shoulder of the road facing traffic, as required by state traffic laws. He explained that he’d met with his officers and with officers of the Wisconsin State Highway Patrol that morning. Their intent was to ensure that the walk was able to proceed safely, and not to interfere with the walk’s progress. Indeed State Patrol and County Sheriff patrol cars accompanied the walk as it processed from Tunnel City to the edge of Fort McCoy and onward. One patrol officer turned on his vehicles flashing red and blue lights to slow traffic down along the highway (with a speed limit of 55 miles per hour and a fairly narrow shoulder), keeping a health distance form the front of the walk and backing up on an even pace with the walk.

We began walking at about 9:45 a.m. The first question mark of the day arrived three miles into the walk. At that point Highway 21, on which we were walking, enters Fort McCoy with a yellow sign informing motorists that they are “Entering a Military Area.” We were relatively certain we’d be able to proceed without any difficulty since we’d received a letter from Colonel Daniel Culver of the base advising us that normally the only time the base law enforcement would get involved along Highway 21 is if the operations of the base were being interfered with. Since we were walking on the shoulder, we were relatively certain we’d be fine. Yet, the question mark remained: would there be a change in the base’s position now that the walk had arrived? Would we be met by Fort McCoy security determined to prevent us from crossing the base?

The answer was “No”. Fort McCoy’s command would not block the progress of the walk. We would keep on walking forward, never turning back.

Witness Against War aimed to engage in civil disobedience / civil resistance at the main gate of Fort McCoy. A flashing traffic control sign located along the highway near the entry to Fort McCoy advised incoming traffic that the main gate was closed and directed traffic elsewhere.

Had Fort McCoy decided to wait us out? To allow us to engage in a vigil on the entryway into the base, without allowing us onto the base? Since our intent was to remain in order to gain entry into the base to talk with soldiers about the war, the question began to be raised: How long would we have to wait to gain entry?

Witness Against War arrived at Fort McCoy at 11:45 a.m. We gathered along the shoulder of the highway, across from the main gate. Those of us intending to seek entry into the base-and to risk arrest in doing so-gathered together. We thirteen crossed the highway together when a break in traffic made it safe to do so.

Fort McCoy had placed wooden horses across the driveway entrance to the base. Two officers from the base security were present. As we approached, and began to pass the wooden horses, Fort McCoy’s law enforcement engaged us in conversation. The officer advised us that if we went beyond the horses and continued to walk up the driveway towards the entrance that we would be subject to arrest. He asked if there was any communication which would like to present to him for him to relay to the base commander. We replied that we sought to distribute an open letter regarding the Iraq war to those currently serving on the base and to engage in dialogue with those on the base.

The letter we sought to deliver began:

“”We today come to Fort McCoy to seek an end to the war in and occupation of Iraq by the United States. We come to Fort McCoy because of its key role in training National Guard units deploying to Iraq-a training that should end immediately with the commitment of the U.S. to keep National Guard units home and withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq….”

The letter concluded:

“…the strain upon service men and women and their families continues unabated with repeat deployments to Iraq. The Washington National Guard’s 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Iraq for the second time this fall. The 32nd Red Arrow Brigade Combat Team of the Wisconsin National Guard will deploy to Iraq in 2009. This will be the largest deployment to combat of the Wisconsin National Guard since World War II when it logged the most days in theater of any U.S. Army unit. We call upon the United States to keep the National Guard at home in the U.S. and to end these repeat deployments abroad.

“We come to Fort McCoy to, in some small way, act in solidarity with members of the military who choose to nonviolently resist this war by refusing to be deployed to Iraq. We encourage members of the active duty military, Reserve and National Guard to consider refusing deployment orders and to be in contact with the GI Rights Hotline regarding their rights within the military at 1-800-394-9544.”

We stated that we intended to move forward to deliver the letter to those on the base and that we understood the potential consequences of doing so. He said he understood what we intended to do and moved aside as we processed up the driveway.

Then a “swarm” of officers from Fort McCoy emerged from the garage at the base entry point. We were walking slowly and deliberately towards them. They were walking slowly and deliberately towards us. It was clear that we would meet somewhere in the middle but that neither felt intimidated by the other nor that either side felt as if it was necessary to try to intimidate the other side.

We thirteen were arrested, processed and released in short order on the offense of trespass to land. We’ll be notified at some later time the date on which we are to appear in court. Those arrested include: Kathy Kelly, 54, Co-Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence ; Jeff Leys, 44, of Watertown, Wisconsin; Joy First, 54, of Madison, WI; John Bachman, 56, Eau Claire, WI; Brian Terrell, 52, of Des Moines, IA; Renee Espeland, 47 of Des Moines, IA; Kryss Chupp, 49, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Chicago; Ceylon Mooney, 33, Memphis, TN; Eileen Hanson, 34, Winona, MN; Joshua Brollier, 25, Clarkesville, TN; Lauren Cannon, 38, seminarian at Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL; Alice Gerard, 51, of Grand Island, NY; and Gene Stoltzfus, 68, of Ontario, Canada.

All but one were released the same day. Kathy Kelly was detained on an outstanding warrant that dates back over ten years to an act of nonviolent civil resistance at Project ELF. ELF was the Navy’s old transmitter system, closed in 2004, that played a key role in the nuclear first strategy of the United States (ELF was the bell ringer to call U.S. nuclear missile subs to the ocean’s surface to receive precise launch orders for a nuclear first strike against another country). It’s expected that she will be transferred to Ashland County to appear before the judge on the warrant. Arrest warrants have also been issued for several others previously arrested and convicted for acts of resistance to Project ELF who refused to pay fines.

Witness Against War continues westward to La Crosse later this week and then begins its northwestward trek along the Mississippi River, aiming to arrive in Saint Paul on August 30, in time for the Republican National Convention. Emphasizing that the issue is not about Democrat or Republican; that it’s not about Left or Right; but rather that it is about what is Right and Wrong-Witness Against War began its trek in Chicago, site of the 1968 Democratic Convention and will end in Saint Paul, site of this year’s Republican Convention. It truly is a matter of challenging the powers-that-be within both political parties and holding both accountable for ending the Iraq and Afghanistan war.

Commemorating the White Rose: Resisting the Iraq War

Jeff Leys — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:51:49 -0600

Short Information Teaser

Discussion of the White Rose and an action at Rahm Emanuel's Office

Excerpt

February 24, 2008

We Will Not Be Silent (photo: Suzanne Sheridan): Chris Spicer, a Jesuit, and Abby Strozinski, student at Loyola University Chicago, in Representative Emanuel’s office.65 years ago, on February 22, 1943, the Nazi regime executed three German students because of their active resistance to the regime’s murderous global and domestic agenda. Known as the White Rose, nearly all participants were students. 29 members were indicted for promoting opposition to the holocaust and to World War II.

Here in Chicago, several dozen people gathered in early February to watch “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” a film about the White Rose movement which focuses upon the experience of Sophie, and to think about our responsibilities, today, to confront Congressional Representatives and Senators in the U.S. who fund and prolong the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seventeen people agreed to commemorate the 29 indicted White Rose activists by delivering white roses to people working in Representative Rahm Emanuel’s office. Rahm Emanuel is Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and consistently votes to fund the war in Iraq. We hoped that staffers would receive the roses and also engage with us in a conversation about Representative Emanuel’s position regarding the war in Iraq.Commemorating the White Rose (photo: Laurie Hasbrook): We remember the 29 individuals indicted by the German government for participation in the White Rose resistance effort during World War II. Five were executed and most of the rest sentenced to lengthen prison terms.

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February 24, 2008

Moments after we entered Emanuel’s office, a storefront on Chicago’s north side, a polite receptionist stepped out of the staffers’ workspace and greeted us while we crowded into the small reception area. Jacob Olzen, a Loyola University graduate student, explained our purpose and handed her a letter to deliver to Representative Emanuel. She received the letter, but assured us that we wouldn’t be able to give our roses to her colleagues working in cubicles nearby. A thin four foot door separates the reception area from the staffers’ workspace.

The Chief of Staff joined the receptionist for a few minutes, shortly after we arrived. She assured us that Emanuel braves criticism from other Congressional Representatives, in Washington D.C., for having mounted pictures in his office of all the people who’ve died in Iraq, all the photos being of U.S. soldiers. We held up pictures of Iraqis and reminded her that Iraqis also suffer and die. Then she told us she couldn’t talk to us, nor could any of her staff.

The receptionist said that all of the staff were busy, and that they must make themselves available to people who come into the office from “off the street.”

We pointed out that we’d just come in from “off the street.”

The staffers and their supervisors respected our right to be there. They shunned us, but didn’t arrest us.

Anyone working behind the partition might easily have seen or heard us, and I’m guessing that when we left, about two hours later, the workers were curious about the group of people who spoke earnestly about the connection they felt with the White Rose. We left behind dozens of white roses, laid upon enlarged photo portraits of ordinary Iraqis, and also forming a bouquet over a poster bearing the names of 142 military service members from Illinois killed in Iraq. Another poster bore the names of the White Rose members indicted for their active resistance to war and the holocaust.

Did Emanuel’s staff sweep up the roses, pictures and lists, without another word, and dispense of them in a waste basket? I don’t know, but I don’t think memories are dispensed with so easily.

What might anyone listening have heard, last Friday morning, in Rep. Emanuel’s office?

Chris Spicer, a Jesuit studying at Loyola University, read a prayer which he had carefully written, in Arabic. Abby Strozinksi, also a Loyola student, held aloft a poster she’d made the previous night. On it she’d drawn a long-stemmed rose and written words from the fourth White Rose leaflet: “We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will not leave you in peace.” Justin McMahon, who, like Abby, majors in peace and justice studies, noted that the White Rose members risked their lives to end the war. “Shouldn’t we take risks, now?” asked Justin. “Sophie Scholl’s voice is echoed through our voice; it’s a message that’s not welcomed, not a priority for many people. But we have a connection to people who’ve died.”

Erin Cox read aloud our letter to Rahm Emanuel. We asked him to vote against any additional funding for the war in and occupation of Iraq, to oppose any further military action against Iraq, and to support complete withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq.

Several people spoke about the “burden of knowing,” –after studying the consequences of the war, listening to eyewitness testimony, researching the bloated military budget, and learning more about people who bear the consequences, how could we remain silent?

Before leaving, we agreed to briefly state our names and say something about what groups we represented. We came from Voices; from colleges; from the Catholic Worker movement; from labor unions; from faith based communities; from the neighborhood and elsewhere. Spontaneously, the youngest members of our group identified themselves as citizens of the world, a part of humanity, members of the global neighborhood and at one with global brotherhood and sisterhood.

Then we read this quote from the White Rose’s first leaflet:

“Nothing is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be governed without opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. It is certain that today every honest German is ashamed of his government. Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes – crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure – reach the light of day?

If the German people are already so corrupted and spiritually crushed that they do not raise a hand, frivolously trusting in a questionable faith in lawful order of history; if they surrender man’s highest principle, that which raises him above all other god’s creatures, his free will; if they abandon the will to take decisive action and turn the wheel of history and thus subject it to their own rational decision; if they are so devoid of all individuality, have already gone so far along the road downward turning into a spiritless and cowardly mass – then, yes, they deserve their downfall.”

PHOTOS OF WHITE ROSE ACTION

White Rose Action Leaflet (photo: Laurie Hasbrook)

Conversing with Emanuel’s Staff (photo: S. Sheridan)

Remembering Iraqi Citizens (photo: S. Sheridan): We ask: “Does Representative Emanuel have photos of Iraqis harmed by the war lining the hall outside his office?”

Le Anne Clausen (photo: Laurie Hasbrook): Le Anne Clausen, seminarian at Chicago Theological Seminary, joins us in remembering the White Rose. Le Anne lived in Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams. She will soon begin a jail sentence for nonviolent resistance at the School of the Americas.

Remember the Dead (photo: S. Sheridan): We recall those whose lives have been lost and disrupted: Iraqi citizens, U.S. soldiers, members of the White Rose resistance movement.

Remembrance: Dan Gerber of Christian Peacemaker Teams. Let the challenge of the White Rose move us to resistance to the Iraq war.

Justin McMahon Reading White Rose Leaflet

Remembrance and Action (photo: S. Sheridan): Chris Spicer, Abby Strozinksy, Tyler Chen and David Hovde (Tyler and David are members of Reba Community in Evanston, IL).

Concluding Gathering (photo: S. Sheridan)

Recommitting to Resistance: We Will Not Be Silent (photo: S. Sheridan)

From the Outside Looking In: Resisting War - Remembering Iraq (photo: Laurie Hasbrook)

VCNV Author

Kathy Kelly

Recap of 2007 Nonviolent Civil Resistance Actions

Jeff Leys — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 09:15:19 -0600

Short Information Teaser

The Nuclear Resister newsletter that chronicles nonviolent civil resistance in 2007.

Excerpt

Download here (it is a 4 mb file) the current issue of the Nuclear Resister that chronicles the widening and deepening campaigns of nonviolent civil resistance to end the Iraq war; to end the use of torture by the U.S. and the role played by such facilities as School of the Americas, Fort Huachuca and Guantanamo; to blockade weapons shipments at ports; and to challenge military recruitment.

The Nuclear Resister is the most comprehensive chronicle of nonviolent civil resistance published in the United States, with prior issues still available.

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The Nuclear Resister is the most comprehensive chronicle of nonviolent civil resistance published in the United States, with prior issues still available.

Description of the Nuclear Resister

Since 1980, the Nuclear Resister has provided comprehensive reporting on arrests for anti-nuclear civil resistance in the United States, with an emphasis on providing support for the women and men jailed for these actions. In 1990, the Nuclear Resister also began reporting on anti-war arrests in North America, plus overseas anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance with the same emphasis on prisoner support.

The Nuclear Resister is published about every two months and serves to network this nonviolent resistance movement while acting as a clearinghouse for information about contemporary nonviolent resistance to war and the nuclear threat. We believe that in any significant movement for social change, many committed individuals are imprisoned. Behind bars, they are physically isolated from their supporters and their own resistance activity is limited. Broader awareness of their actions and support for the imprisoned activist are essential to the movement for a peaceful, nuclear-free future.

Each issue provides the names and jail addresses of currently imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists. Readers are encouraged to provide active support by writing letters to those behind bars and in other ways requested by the prisoners.

You Can Help

Please send news, updates and donations! Mail, e-mail or phone in new action reports, updates, jail information, statements, graphics, photos & clippings about local actions.

Subscriptions and Bulk Orders

One-year subscriptions are US $15 in the United States, US$20 to Canada, and US$25 overseas. Payment can only be accepted in US currency or checks drawn on US institutions. All subscriptions are sent via First Class or Airmail. Please inquire about multiple copies of the current issue for free distribution at conferences, workshops, trainings, etc.

Contact Information

the Nuclear Resister
POB 43383
Tucson, AZ 85733
520-323-8697
nukeresister@igc.org

Project

The Occupation Project

An afternoon at Giuliani’s Campaign Headquarters and a night in the Polk County Jail

Jeff Leys — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:20:59 -0600

Short Information Teaser

Reflections on risking arrest in Iowa and a night in jail in Des Moines

Excerpt

by Joy First
November 13, 2007

The Planning

I drove from my home in Madison to Des Moines Iowa on Wednesday November 7, 2007 to participate in the kickoff of Seasons of Discontent: a Presidential Occupation Project (SODaPOP), organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence and the Catholic Worker Community in Des Moines. SODaPOP is a campaign to use civil resistance, occupying the campaign headquarters of presidential candidates who will not commit to concrete plans to bring an immediate end to the war and occupation of Iraq. SODaPOP started in Iowa because it is the first state to begin the process of determining who our presidential candidates will be during the January caucuses. All the candidates currently have active campaigns in Iowa, and the media is closely watching what is happening.

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by Joy First
November 13, 2007

The Planning

In a way, this is really two separate but connected stories. There is the story of the action, occupying the campaign headquarters of presidential candidates. This is an important action to be a part of because it is really scary to think about who will be elected president in 2008. We don’t have any leading candidates, either Democrat or Republican, willing to take a strong stand against the war and occupation in Iraq, and who will pledge to bring the war and occupation to an end. So we must put this issue out there and force the candidates to look at it, force the American people to see that our current leading presidential candidates talk about continuing the war and occupation of Iraq for several more years.

The other story is the story of my time in jail. After being arrested about 17 times since the war began in 2003, this was the first time I spent a night in jail. It was a grueling experience, but also one where I learned a great deal about the injustice of our prison system. I came out of there exhausted and heavy-hearted, but also renewed to continue the struggle for social justice.

A group of about 25 gathered on Wednesday night to listen to a presentation by Kathy Kelly and to begin to plan our action for Thursday. Kathy’s talk was inspiring. She began by saying that people always say that she is on the fringe, but, it is good to be on the fringe when you look at where our country is going. She talked about how taking risks for peace is necessary.

We began to make plans for Thursday’s action. A rally was planned for 12:30 in downtown Des Moines on Thursday. After the rally, we would go to the presidential candidate’s headquarters. We discussed the pros and cons of doing an action at various offices, and we decided that one group would go to Clinton’s headquarters and another group would go to Giuliani’s headquarters because they are the national frontrunners in the two major parties and they are also the most hawkish of the top candidates. We began to plan our strategy.

About 10:00 pm we went back to the Catholic Worker house where about 10 of us from out of town bedded down on comfy mattresses in a big attic room. I was feeling anxious about the action the next day. I didn’t know anyone there really well, and it was challenging risking arrest without feeling connected to someone else. On the other hand, everyone there was so warm and welcoming and I knew I was with a group of committed and caring people. Kathy’s talk earlier was very inspiring and this was where I needed to be and I was doing what I needed to be doing.

The next morning, we met again and firmed up our plans for the action. Sally, an attorney in Des Moines who provides a lot of free help to those doing civil resistance, talked to us about the legal ramifications. I soon realized that with the way things happen in Des Moines, it was very likely that I would be spending the night in jail. After Sally left, the group all strongly agreed that none of us would sign any citations from the police on Thursday, but would risk being put in jail for the night. We agreed to this action of solidarity because the police often offer a citation and release to local people, but tend to hold people from out of town overnight. We were also concerned because our actions have been minimized in the past when we are cited and released the same day.

The Action

At about 12:30 we went downtown to participate in a rally for peace that is held there on a weekly basis. There were about 30 people at the rally. We then split up and about half went to Giuliani’s headquarters and half went to Clinton’s headquarters. We had some excellent support people with our group, and so even though I didn’t know them very well, I knew we would be taken care of. I always remember Attorney Mark Goldstone telling us before an action in DC that when we are in jail and feeling really alone and abandoned, just remember that there are people on the outside who have our back. Thinking about the good people from Des Moines who would have my back if I was arrested comforted me as we drove to Giuliani’s campaign headquarters.

About 15 people went to Giuliani’s headquarters. Ten would be risking arrest and five were there in support. An equal number went to Clinton’s headquarters. The plan in Giuliani’s office was to start by talking to his staff and assuring them that we were there to bring a message of peace. We pledged to act nonviolently in this action, following the principles of King and Gandhi. Farah delivered this message to the staff when we arrived. The next step was to knock on the office doors or the desk of staff, sharing with them pictures of the Iraqi people who are suffering so immensely as a result of our occupation of their country. Depending on their response, we would then read names of Iraqis and US soldiers who have been killed in the occupation.

We began our plan as Farah talked to the campaign manager and asked her again if Giuliani would sign the pledge to end the war. Farah noted that a pledge had been sent to Giuliani to sign about a month ago and we had not heard anything back from him. The manager made it clear from the beginning that we were not welcome there. We continued with our plan, sharing our pictures of Iraqis with staff. We were not getting a very warm reception from Giuliani’s staff and we decided to sit in a semi-circle and begin to read names of those who have died in this brutal war. After each name was read, we sang “We remember you.” It is always a powerful and moving action to read the names of so many innocent people who have lost their lives because of our illegal and immoral actions. We must continue to remember the human cost of this war and occupation and do everything we can to bring it to an immediate end.

The office manager begged us to leave. She was getting upset and teary-eyed as she asked us to leave. The police had been called and were waiting to see what would happen. Giuliani’s headquarters was in a Clive, a suburb of Des Moines and I don’t think the Clive police force had a lot of experience with peace activists. We politely told her that we had to remain in the office as we continued to call for Giuliani to pledge to end the war and occupation.

We continued to read names for about 45 minutes I think. The police asked us to leave and told us they didn’t want to arrest us and be the bad guys. We again said that we were committed to remaining in the office. Eventually, Giuliani’s office manager was in tears and pleading with us to leave. But we were there calling for peace and we could not leave. At that point, maybe about 3:00, they began arresting the ten people who refused to leave the office. We were handcuffed and transported to the Clive police station.

Eventually eight people were arrested at Clinton’s office, but the arrests there took place much later in the day. As agreed, all those arrested at Clinton’s office refused to sign the citation. Some did not provide the police with identification, however, the eight were all released that evening.

Back at the Clive jail, we were charged with trespassing and told that we would be released if we posted $300 in bail. We all refused to post bail and we were transported to the Polk County jail to spend the night there, again in handcuffs. I think one of the men arrested at Giuliani’s office who is from Des Moines may have been released at that time. The women and men were separated and transported separately.

A Night in the Polk County Jail

I’ve been arrested about 16 times, but this was the first time I have been held overnight. It is difficult to describe what it does to you to spend a night in jail. I felt totally powerless, because I was totally powerless. I also lost all sense of myself as a person with any value and the belief that anyone cared about me. It is an incredibly dehumanizing experience, and also a critical experience in understanding the plight of so many people in our society who spend time in jail.

I was given an orange jumpsuit, green underpants, and a green t-shirt and told to change my clothes. The guard then gave me socks and plastic sandals for my feet. I was locked in a small hallway that had three cells coming off it, with several other women. I was relieved when I was joined by Kathy Kelly and Suzanne Sheridan, who were both arrested with me in Giuliani’s office. We were given dinner, and I ate a peace of bread and some canned peaches. The rest was inedible. The other inmates were very talkative and friendly. We soon found out that two of them were in this isolated area to keep them away from other prisoners because they didn’t get along. One of them really talked a lot and we found out she was a meth addict who sometimes carried a gun on the outside.

You kind of lose your sense of time in jail. I think after an hour or so, I was taken along with Kathy, Suzanne, and five women we had just met to a big holding cell. The eight of us spent the night together, with a few other women coming and going over that period of time. It was a concrete room with a built-in concrete bench along two walls and a metal toilet in the corner behind a short barrier. One wall was all glass so the guards had a good view of what was going on. The cell was meant to be a temporary holding cell, but we were told by some of the women with us that because the jail is so crowded, some people spend up to four days there. That is unbelievable.

Over time, Kathy, Suzanne and I developed a close camaraderie with three of the other women who were with us. The other two women slept most of the time. One of them seemed pretty drugged up and received more medication from the jail nurse which seemed to keep her pretty dopey. I think four of them were meth addicts and it sounded like they were in and out of jail frequently. Their crimes were related to their meth addictions and they were not getting the help they needed. The fifth woman was there for four days for a second DWI. Some of them were going to be there for a long time, and it was very sad to hear their stories. The only way to pass the time was to share our stories, and we did, and we learned a lot.

It seemed like the guards did not want to make us comfortable. We could only ask for help from the guards when they chose to came to our cell for a reason. The guards came to our cell every couple of hours or every five minutes, we never knew when we would get a chance to talk to them. We were all new at the jail and so the guards came to take us out and book us one by one and return us to the cell.

We had two phones in our cell that we could use to make collect calls. Neither one worked. One woman was desperate to call her family. Each time a guard came to our cell, we asked about the phones and they said they would try to look into it. Then they went away and did nothing about the phones. We could see the men in holding cells across the hallway and they were able to use their phones. It was very frustrating.

It was very difficult to use the toilet without any privacy, just another one of the dehumanizing experiences of being there. There was a stack of sanitary napkins beside the toilet and one woman took a few and was holding onto them. She showed us how valuable they can be. A couple of them can be stacked up for a pillow, they can be used for an eye mask because the bright lights are on all night, used as ear plugs, rolled up into a tampon, and used as a hanger (that was one I didn’t really get). Unfortunately for the men, they didn’t have this valuable resource in their cells.

Cold air was blowing in through a vent in the ceiling and we told the guards we were freezing many times, but nothing changed. Supposedly, the guards were supposed to bring us blankets at 10:00 pm, but time kept passing and they did not bring us blankets. Every time we asked about it, they said they didn’t have any for us. We saw the men huddled in their blankets across the hall.

I was getting very tired, but knew I could not even think about going to sleep until I was booked and had a blanket. At 12:30 am, they finally took me out of the cell to book me. I asked the officer if we could have blankets. He said they were waiting for them to come back from the laundry. Being out of the cell, I could see a stack of blankets sitting on a desk and I pointed them out to the officer. I also asked about the phone and the officer said he would turn on the switch for our phone, and he did. The phone was working when I got back to the cell. All it took was flipping a switch, but the guards refused to do it until then.

We also got blankets and tried to settle in for the short night. I put my plastic sandals one on top of the other, and put two sanitary napkins on top of that for a pillow. I lay down on the concrete floor wrapped in my thin blanket. Though I was exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. My emotions were all over the place and the freezing cold from the concrete just went right through the blanket and my jumpsuit. I kept trying to get comfortable enough to sleep, adjusting the sandals and sanitary napkins. After awhile, I folded the blanket in half and wrapped it around the top half of my body. My legs were very cold with only the fabric of my jumpsuit between the concrete and my body, but I was a little more comfortable and I eventually was able to fall asleep for about an hour.

At 5:30 am a guard opened the door and started yelling for us to get up and give him our blanket. He gave us a sack with a half-frozen Hostess Honey Bun, a carton of milk, and a carton of juice. We were all freezing cold. The thought of eating the bun made me nauseous and I took just a few nibbles and drank some milk. One woman yelled obscenities at the guards every time they opened the door. She let them know how unhappy we were about giving up our blankets. The cold air continued to blow out of the ceiling vent.

I think of the women who I got to know in jail and think about how difficult it is to be incarcerated over and over again. Some of the women we got to know will most likely spend several nights sleeping on the concrete floor in the temporary holding cell. How do they survive? I think about the men being held at Guantanamo, being tortured and held for almost five years without any hope of release. What I went through seemed so unbearable, but it was nothing nothing nothing compared to what the men at Guantanamo are going through at this very minute. That thought is unbearable to me after my experiences of being held overnight in jail. We MUST do more to change our system, to bring social justice to those who are suffering in prisons all over.

Arraignment

At about 8:30 am Kathy, Suzanne and I, along with one other woman who we spent the night with, were led to the courtroom for our arraignment. We had a chain around our waist attached to our handcuffs. It was surreal walking into the courtroom with “normal” people just doing there job, but we realized this is still part of the corrupt system we were enmeshed in. I was so relieved that it brought tears to my eyes seeing Sally, the attorney who was there to stand beside us and support us – someone from the outside who cared about us. It made me realize how powerless and alone I was feeling.

At that time, I just wanted to get out of there and never come back. It seemed the best way to accomplish that was to plead guilty. If I pled not guilty I would have to return to Des Moines for a trial. The group had decided during the planning that we would not try to take this to trial because we have more work we need to do. Kathy and Suzanne were both going to plead guilty also. I told Sally that I was feeling uncomfortable pleading guilty. I didn’t do anything wrong. I did what was right in crying out for peace. Bush is the war criminal who should be pleading guilty in a court of law.

I was the first of the three women to be called before the judge and Sally stood beside me. The judge asked for my plea. I looked at Sally and she asked the judge if I could plead no contest. For some reason, you cannot plead no contest in the state of Iowa and the judge said that I could not enter that plea. So I said the word “guilty”. That is my big regret in this experience. I was not guilty of doing anything wrong. We must stand up against the Bush regime. I did what I needed to do. The judge fined me $65 plus court costs.

Aftermath

We were brought back to our cell and we thought it would take a long time to get processed out, but it happened very quickly. It was very sad to walk out the door of the cell knowing that our comrades who we had gotten to know were being left behind. It felt good to change into our own clothes and get our property back.

It felt wonderful to walk out the door and take a breath of fresh air. “Freedom!” I shouted, and then quickly thought that freedom is really an illusion, especially in our country today. We found some of our support people who hugged us. I was really anxious to get on the road because I had a long drive home by myself with very little sleep. I was just so overcome by so many emotions and I started crying. Frank said that he would drive me back to the Catholic Worker house so I could get my stuff and get on the road.

I was feeling very emotional and thinking about what I had just been through when Frank gave me a copy of their Catholic Worker newsletter. On the front was a quote by Howard Zinn saying, “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from Democracy, it is absolutely essential to it.” That was all I needed to help me realize that I did what I needed to do, and that I will, I definitely will, do it again.

Please come to Des Moines at the end of December/beginning of January as Voices for Creative Nonviolence calls for another push in our struggle for peace just before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.

Joy is from Madison, Wisconsin where she is active with the Madison Pledge of Resistance. She is on the Coordinating Committee of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance

Seven Peace Activists Arrested in Madison, WI in front of Senator Herb Kohl’s Office in Occupation Project Action

voices — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 16:24:04 -0500

Project

The Occupation Project

Short Information Teaser

several activists arrested after using crime scene tape, blocking the entrance

Excerpt

See also: The Capital Times article, 7 war protesters arrested

By Joy First
Sept 7, 2007

On September 7, 2007, seven peace activists were arrested in Madison as they blocked the sidewalk with crime scene tape in front of Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl’s office. The seven arrested were Cassandra Dixon, Flo Evans, Joy First, Jamie Haack, Janet Parker, Karin Sandvik, and Susan Spahn. This was the first arrest for nonviolent civil resistance for Flo Evans, Jamie Haack, and Karin Sandvik.

Body

See also: The Capital Times article, 7 war protesters arrested

By Joy First
Sept 7, 2007

We have been talking to Senator Kohl’s staff since before the war began, asking him to vote against the war and vote against any funding for the war. Though Senator Kohl says that the war is a mistake and it should end, he also says he must vote for money to support the troops as long as they are over there. The occupation of Iraq is a crime against humanity instigated by the Bush administration, but Senator Kohl, along with many other members of Congress, continue to financially support this criminal activity. With over 3,700 US soldiers killed and an estimated one million Iraqis dead, the war is a travesty that causes incredible human suffering and it must end now.

Many of us have called Senator Kohl, we have vigiled both inside his Madison office and outside on the sidewalk, some of us have met with him in person by traveling to DC or to Milwaukee, but he still doesn’t hear us and still continues to fund the war. Today we took stronger action in speaking truth to power.

Today we followed the nonviolent principles of Gandhi and King, organizing an action of nonviolent civil resistance as a way to speak out strongly against the war. The action was organized by Madison Pledge of Resistance and is part of the Occupation Project, a nationwide campaign to occupy the offices of our members of Congress, demanding that they do not vote for any more funding for the war.

About twenty individuals gathered on the sidewalk in front of Senator Kohl’s office at 4:00 pm. We had many large posters, including a poster with pictures of the 78 Wisconsin soldiers who have died, another poster listing all the names of the 3,760 US troops who have been killed, and another poster with pictures depicting the suffering of the Iraqi people as a result of the war.

At about 4:05, a Madison police officer approached me and asked what the plan was. I told her that we were going to be vigiling, reading names of the war dead, and that several of us would be risking arrest by taping up crime scene tape, blocking the entrance to the building.

The crime scene tape draws attention to the criminal activities of the Bush administration, and the financial support of these criminal activities by members of Congress.

At about 4:20, the seven of us began taping up the crime scene tape from the building across the sidewalk, around a couple of trees and back to the building, making a big square. We then stood inside the square, reading names of the war dead, remembering the human suffering of the war.

We were subsequently arrested. Some of us, including me, were handcuffed. The police officers led us to the police cars parked down the block where we were processed and released. The Madison police try to be very cooperative and work with us in any way they can. It makes for an unusual situation and is very different from getting arrested in DC.

The charge was for “Obstructing the sidewalk” with a $109 fine. We have a court date of October 2 and most of us plan to go to court and use it as another opportunity to speak out against the unjust war and occupation of Iraq that we are working to bring to an end. We will continue our resistance to end the war.

Chicago -- 3 Arrests at Senator Durbin's Office

Jeff Leys — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:49:07 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Total Occupation Project Arrests Now Number 378

Excerpt

August 21, 2007

Three social justice advocates with the “Occupation Project” visited Senator Durbin’s Chicago office seeking his pledge to vote against any additional Iraq war funding beyond that required for the immediate and safe withdrawal of U.S. troops. They were arrested by federal authorities and charged with causing a disturbance.

“As a minister, I believe that we have a moral imperative to end our country’s occupation of Iraq,” says Le Anne Clausen, a seminarian at Chicago Theological Seminary. “I was a human rights worker in Iraq, investigating U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners during the first year of the occupation, including abuse at Abu Ghraib. It is our actions that did the most to put us in this terrible mess, and we have no hope of the situation healing until we leave Iraq.”

Body

August 21, 2007

Bob Braam of Joliet adds, “It has fallen to the responsible citizen to insist on a sane response by our Representatives and Senators to the disastrous foreign policy of the Bush administration. That response cannot be delayed or halfhearted.”

“Durbin just voted $100 billion to prolong the war,” states fellow Chicagoan Sean Reynolds, “without even a timetable from Bush for withdrawal. Nearly 100 U.S. troops committed suicide last year: many, it’s clear, over what we’ve made them see and do in Iraq. I can’t pretend to support the troops if I don’t stop this - and neither can Senator Durbin.”

This is the third such action to target Senator Durbin this month, part of the “Occupation Project”, a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience to end Congressional funding support for the occupation of Iraq. Since Feb. 5, participants in this nationwide campaign have endured over 375 arrests for peacefully “occupying” the offices of over 40 Congresspersons. The cam-paign’s current phase is slated to continue, in Illinois and nationwide, through early October.

Project

The Occupation Project

Break Time Is Over: Building Nonviolent Resistance to the 2008 Iraq War Supplemental

Jeff Leys — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:39:34 -0500

Project

The Occupation Project

Short Information Teaser

A reinvigorated Occupation Project launches on August 6 to end Iraq War Funding

Excerpt

June 18, 2007

On August 6, Congress begins its month long recess. August 6 also marks the start of Year 62 After Hiroshima-when the U.S. initiated its nuclear first strike policy against the people of Hiroshima. And it marks Year 17 After Iraq Sanctions, when the brutal economic sanctions regime against Iraq was first imposed by the international community.

On August 6, the Occupation Project will launch a reinvigorated campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience / civil resistance to end Iraq war funding. Office occupations-both legal and extralegal-will commence at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to publicly pledge to vote against any additional funding of the Iraq war. Occupations will continue at least through the end of September. The Occupation Project will work in conjunction with campaigns organized by Declaration of Peace, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, Grassroots America for Us and others.

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Body

June 18, 2007

The hottest weather of the year occurs in August. Let us commit to creating the hottest political weather: focused upon Congress to force an end to the Iraq war. Let us commit to forcing Congress to vote down the $145 billion being sought in supplemental spending to wage the Iraq - Afghanistan war through September of 2008. Let us commit to forcing Congress to force the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

Let us commit to using every nonviolent means at our disposal to defeat the Iraq war supplemental spending bill for 2008 and to bring every U.S. soldier home from Iraq by the end of this year.

Last fall, in Panora, Iowa social justice advocates discussed ways to bring the occupation of Iraq home to the offices of Representatives and Senators. The Occupation Project grew from these discussions. From February 5 through Tax Day, over 320 arrests occurred at the offices of 39 Representatives and Senators across the country. 15 of the 39 voted against the final Iraq war supplemental spending bill that Congress passed in May. 14 of the 15 who voted against the final bill had voted in favor of the Iraq war spending bill last year. Actions occurred at the offices of both Republicans and Democrats-challenging the reality that both parties are responsible for the ongoing war.

Meanwhile, sustained campaigns of office occupations that did not result in arrests took place in such diverse locations as Nashville, Tennessee (the birthplace of the Occupation Project); Huntsville, Alabama; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and across the state of Minnesota. Social justice advocates entered the offices on a weekly basis (and, in the case of Sacramento, CA, on a daily basis) and occupied the offices, pressing the demand that the Representative or Senator commit to voting against any additional funding for the war.

These next three months are critical to ending the war in and occupation of Iraq. Through the end of July, Grassroots America for Us is organizing the Swarm on Congress, intensive and extensive lobbying on Capitol Hill. In August, we must turn up the heat on Representatives and Senators while they are in their home districts and states for the month long recess.

In early September, General Petraeus will report to Congress on the progress-or lack thereof-that is being made in Iraq. Shortly after, the House will vote on HR 2451 as an amendment to the Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental spending bill. Next the House will vote on the final version of the $145 billion war supplemental for FY 2008, and send it to the Senate for consideration. It will be a one-two punch vote. It is entirely probable that the final version of the supplemental spending bill will not be publicly available until less than 24 hours prior to the vote (the final version of the supplemental passed in May was not publicly available until the morning of the vote).

H.R. 2451 (sponsored by David Obey and Jim McGovern) requires that the redeployment of U.S. forces out of Iraq begin within 90 days of enactment. The partial redeployment is to be completed by June 30, 2008.

HR 2451 will keep U.S. troops in Iraq to: protect the U.S. embassy and diplomatic personnel; protect U.S. forces remaining in Iraq; engage in “target special actions limited in duration and scope to killing or capturing members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with global reach”; and to train and equip the Iraqi Security Forces. Erik Leaver of the Institute for Policy Studies examined nearly identical language in March 2007 and concluded that it would allow for upwards of 40,000 to 60,000 U.S. troops to remain in Iraq.

Our demand must remain clear: end all funding for the Iraq war and withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year. The language of HR 2451 is not sufficient.

And what of the argument that a vote against the $145 billion supplemental spending for 2008 will further endanger the well-being of U.S. troops currently deployed in Iraq? U.S. troops will not be in danger when the U.S. withdraws the troops from Iraq. $36 billion of this $145 billion will be for the procurement of ammunition, weapons systems and combat vehicles that will not be delivered to the military until 1 to 3 years has passed. The Army seeks $46 billion for “operations and maintenance” to fund its actions at current levels through September 30, 2008-a sure way to place U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens in further danger. (see Iraq and Afghanistan Supplemental Spending 2008 for an in-depth analysis of the 2008 war funding request).

Recall that the President is seeking $482 billion for the baseline military budget for 2008. That’s an 11 percent increase over the current year’s budget-and nearly 62% more than was spent on the military in 2001. The money is clearly available to safely and quickly withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

It is easy to be discouraged and lose heart after Congress passed the Iraq war bill in May. It is easy to be tempted to give up completely on the legislative process.

But giving up on the legislative process is, indeed, the easy route to take. It is the route that ensures that the Iraq war will continue as a war without end.

Instead, we should intensify our legal and extralegal lobbying efforts. We should recognize that nearly twice as many Representatives voted against the supplemental this year than last year and that, for the first time, Senators voted against an Iraq war supplemental spending bill because of their opposition to the war’s continuation (Arlen Specter voted against the supplemental in 2006 was because he did not believe it provided sufficient funds for a medical program). We should maintain pressure upon those Representatives and Senators who voted against the final war supplemental spending bill-working to ensure that they again vote against war funding this fall.

We should also recognize that the only way that this war will be ended is if we organize to exert sufficient pressure on Republicans and Democrats to force an end to war funding. With this in mind, we should recognize the tricks of the parliamentary trade and demand that David Obey and Nancy Pelosi do more to end the war. But we should also recognize that had Obey bottled up the war supplemental in committee or Pelosi refused to allow a floor vote, Jerry Lewis (as ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee) would have submitted his own version of a war supplemental and obtained 218 signatures on a discharge petition to force his version to be voted upon in the House.

Ending the war requires pressure on both Democrats and Republicans-both via legal lobbying and nonviolent civil disobedience / resistance.

Multiple efforts and allied campaigns are underway to force an end to the war in and occupation of Iraq. Become engaged with these efforts and organize locally.

Join the efforts of the Swarm on Congress, an intensive and extensive lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. through the end of July initiated by Grassroots America for Us
Organize local actions with the Occupation Project campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience / civil resistance / office occupations to demand that Representatives and Senators vote to end to all funding for the Iraq war. A reinvigorated campaign will be launched on August 6 to continue through the vote on war funding in September. You can contact the Occupation Project via email at occupationproject@vcnv.org for suggestions and advice on how to organize a local Occupation Project campaign. Resources including voting records, legal information, etc. are available on this website.
CODEPINK work includes the Occupation Project and the Don’t Buy Bush’s War campaigns (among other critical work to end the war).
Join the Declaration of Peace campaign efforts. DoP will be lobbying Representatives and Senators through the summer, culminating with a week of actions nationally during the critical week of September 14 to 21.
Participate in the efforts of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) as it challenges the war in Iraq through nonviolent direct action. NCNR has organized actions at military recruiting centers, Congressional offices, the Pentagon and weapons manufacturers.
Participate in the legislative network of United for Peace and Justice as well as its nonviolent direct action working group to force an end to the war.

Time is short to end funding for the Iraq war. And the costs are immeasurably high each day that the war continues. Much organizing work remains to be done.

Break time is over.

“For the Love of Peace” - A Fast to End Military and Economic Warfare in Iraq: April 9 to April 30

Jeff Leys — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:39:25 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Voices begins a 21 day liquids only fast to challenge economic and military warfare against Iraq

Excerpt

April 9, 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.

Body

April 9, 2007

Public presence in Chicago’s Federal Building Plaza begins April 12th, 2007

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:

Project

For the Love of Peace