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Hampshire College
Condemns War in All-Community Vote
Source - Counterpunch - Dec 6 2001 http://www.counterpunch.org/hampshire1.html
AMHERST, MA--The students, faculty, and staff of Hampshire College have
voted to condemn the "War on Terrorism" and propose
alternative solutions. The vote, which was won by a margin of 693-121
(with 11 abstaining or ambiguous votes), is believed to the first such
decision by a college community in the United States. (A majority of the
students, faculty, and staff participated in the vote.)
"Our community has spoken," said Michael
Sherrard, an organizer with Hampshire Students for a Peaceful Response,
which sponsored the vote and authored the antiwar resolution. "We
refuse to fall into silent support for an unjust war that kills
innocents overseas, and threatens our safety and civil liberties at
home."
However, organizers were quick to defend the right to
free expression of those who disagreed with the vote.
"As a diverse community of strong individuals,
there are some at Hampshire who do not support our views. Even if they
are in the minority, their opinions, and rights to free expression, must
be respected. We wish that politicians and the media would extend the
same respect to those of us who oppose this unjust war, or who happen to
bear the same skin tone as Osama bin Laden," said Donald Jackson,
also a member of Students for a Peaceful Response. Hampshire has a
precedent for trendsetting political statements. In the early 70s,
students voted for the impeachment of President Nixon. The college was
also the first to decide to divest from apartheid South Africa. With
this vote, organizers hope to make a similarly strong public statement,
and build a movement which can similarly change the course of U.S.
foreign policy. Students for a Peaceful Response is a multi-campus
coalition in Western Massachusetts formed in the wake of September 11,
and active in the growing nationwide student movement against the war.
It is organized around six points of unity: mourning for the victims of
the September 11 tragedies; a call for the peaceful pursuit of justice,
rather than war and militarism; condemnation of religious, racial, and
ethnic scapegoating and bigotry; opposition to the curtailment of civil
liberties; desire to provoke discussion of the root causes of terrorism;
and recognition of global justice as the condition for a true and
lasting peace.
Full text of the statement approved by the community:
The tragic day of September 11, and the days
following, have been a time of profound suffering for people everywhere:
firefighters in New York, secretaries in Washington D.C., and farmers in
Afghanistan. One indiscriminate act of violence has been followed by
another, a pattern seriously endangering the prospects for a just and
peaceful world. In such a time of loss, we must ask ourselves - is there
a path out of this escalating cycle of violence? Yes, we can respond to
the tragedy of September 11 as a crime against humanity, carried out by
individuals, not as an act of warfare for which a nation must be held
responsible. This path would proceed within a framework of genuine
international cooperation and be designed to bring to justice those
guilty of the crime - without destroying the lives of innocent millions.
It would employ the proven tools of transparent and conclusive
investigations, diplomatic and police efforts, and fair courts of law to
achieve its goal. At home, we can meet the immediate need for effective
security through commonsense solutions that apply fairly to everyone,
while preserving our hard-won civil liberties. Instead, the Bush
administration has embarked upon a very different path--with disastrous
consequences:
The death toll of innocent Afghan civilians killed by
inevitably imprecise bombing is mounting.
The U.S. military campaign has made it impossible for
international relief organizations to deliver the food aid necessary to
prevent the starvation of millions of Afghan civilians in the winter now
beginning. The token and scattered aid efforts of the United States have
been roundly criticized as insufficient, or even counterproductive, by
such organizations. A massive humanitarian crisis remains.
While the Northern Alliance has forced the Taliban
from power (certainly a welcome development), they too possess a
disturbing record of human-rights violations, especially against women
and political dissidents. The current suffering in Afghanistan will only
deepen the conditions of loss and desperation which foster international
terrorism. Even the CIA has stated that strikes against Afghanistan are
"100% certain" to lead to terrorist reprisals.
The recent "U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T." Act
infringes upon everyone's First and Fourth Amendment freedoms. Rights to
privacy, speech, and association remain as critical as ever and are, if
anything, more so in times of trial. The proposed "economic
stimulus" package provides billions of dollars in corporate
giveaways and tax breaks, but almost nothing for laid-off workers and
poor communities most at risk.
Both at home and abroad, the "War on
Terrorism" is symptomatic of the racism of American society, in its
disregard for the lives of people of color overseas, encouragement of
racial, ethnic, and religious scapegoating and violence, and practice of
law enforcement "profiling."
New legislative and law enforcement initiatives
threaten specifically the rights of non-citizens, through indefinite
detentions without indictment, military tribunals, arbitrary
deportation, and unfair targeting of international students.
For all of these reasons, and many more, we, the
students, faculty, and staff of Hampshire College, have no choice but to
condemn the current "War on Terrorism," and demand that it not
be expanded to Iraq or any other countries. We call for the resumption
of effective independent humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, and the
immediate halt to the U.S. military action that prevents it. We call for
a U.N.-led effort to establish in Afghanistan a democratic and
multiethnic government, respectful of the rights of women. Furthermore,
we demand that the Hampshire administration join us in resisting any
arbitrary and unfair law-enforcement invasion of our own community,
especially efforts targeting international students and campus
activists.
Finally, military action will never put an end to
international terrorism, which often stems from forces that have
previously received the support of the American government. In its
place, we must, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
"rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter - but beautiful -
struggle for a new world," a world where hunger, war, and economic
injustice, the root causes of terrorism, are eliminated. This way alone
leads to safety, security, and lasting peace. Thus, we commit the full
resources and energies of our community to this endeavor, and challenge
our colleagues at schools around the country, and all over the world, to
do the same.
For more Information Contact:
Michael Sherrard msherrard@hampshire.edu
Kai Newkirk rivendelldream@hotmail.com
==================
Barbara Lee Addresses
Growing Interfaith Peace Movement
U.S. Newswire -- 10 Dec 12:55
Contact: Kerry Riley of Interfaith Communities
United for Justice and Peace, 626-683-9004 or 626-683-9400
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Congresswoman
Barbara Lee (D- Oakland) addressed nearly 1000 members of a growing
faith-based peace movement at an interfaith worship service Sunday at
the Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City.
The service featured invocations by members of
Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Native American and Bahai faiths and
culminated in the lighting of the menorah for Hanukah and a call for
peace by Rabbi Steven Jacobs. Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith of Agape
International Spiritual Center and long time civil rights activist Rev.
James Lawson also took part in the service.
The event was one in a series organized by Interfaith
Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP), a local coalition of
more than 80 religious and secular organizations from many faith
traditions. The coalition came together after the September 11th
terrorist attacks to promote interfaith unity and alternatives to war.
It is one of the largest and fastest growing pan-faith peace coalitions
in the United States.
ICUJP's basic premise is that faith-based communities
have a crucial role in fostering peace and justice, and that organized
religion must stop blessing war. This premise is gaining credibility.
The coalition's previous service was attended by more than 800 people,
and featured actor Martin Sheen and Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-Culver
City).
Congresswoman Lee was the only member of Congress to
vote against the resolution authorizing President Bush to use "all
necessary and appropriate force" against anyone associated with the
terrorist attacks of September 11. "I am convinced that military
action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against
the United States," said Lee of her vote. Members of the coalition
agree, stating that while the war in Afghanistan has resulted in unknown
numbers of civilian casualties, it has done very little to change the
conditions that foster terrorism.
"The fall of the Taliban has not made us any
safer from terrorist attack," said Lisa Smithline, a member of
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace and the Agape
International Spiritual Center. "This movement is growing because
people are recognizing that our safety depends on fundamental changes in
policy that address the roots of terrorism."
=============
North Carolina Rally
And March For Alternatives To War
From: Allison Brim <agb7@duke.edu>
North Carolinians for Alternatives to War (NCAW) is planning a statewide
rally and march in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. (and thus
nonviolence and alternatives to war) 2 days before his big day. This
event will be held in Raleigh, NC, and it will begin around noon on
Saturday the 19th. We will be marching from the MLK, Jr. gardens to the
state capitol building, where we will have a rally with some great
speakers, including Rania Masri, Rev. Curtis Gatewood, Rukiya Dillahunt,
and several others. We will wrap up about 4 PM.
Not only will we be uniting for peace, but there will
be food (vegan chocolate baklava will be for sale!), great people,
inspiring speakers, and a rockin' party Friday night (if you can get
there a little early).
Transportation will be arranged if you have a group
coming from somewhere in NC, and free housing will be available as well
for Friday and Saturday night. Please contact me if you would like more
details or have any questions. And if you attend a university or college
(or high school really) in or near NC, and would be willing to spread
the word on your campus, let me know and I will get you flyers asap.
Come help us celebrate MLK Jr's life in his true
spirit...
Peace, Allison Brim
Duke University
agb7@duke.edu
