Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 19. Mars 2005 / Time Line March 19, 2005
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Books, not bombs.
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At the American embassy in Copenhagen.
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Also Women in Black were present.
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The peace demonstration passing
the Danish parliament, Christiansborg. Use the white building as a
direction finder to get an idea of the size of the
demonstration.
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03/19/2005
Demonstration mod Irak-krigen i København med omkring 3000
deltagere.
Demonstrationen gik fra den amerikanske ambassade på
Østerbro, forbi Christiansborg til Christianshavns Torv.
Litteratur: Holm Nielsen, Line: To årsdagen for
Irak-krig markeret med protester. I: Berlingske Tidende,
03/20/2005.
03/19/2005
"Chicago Protests The War at Home and The War Abroad - March 19,
2005"
http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/55446/index.php
As Thousands of anti-Iraq war protesters attempted to conduct
peaceful marches in Chicago on March 19, 2005 they were met by
massive police intimidation. Robo cops moved in to shut down the
protest press conference at Michigan and Oak streets.
Chris Geovanis, speaking to the gathering, declared: "We
hold Chicago Mayor Daley responsible for abolishing our
constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, for abolishing
our rights to peacefully oppose this war. There was no reason for
him to adopt this hostile posture to peaceful protest against this
war. What should have been a conversation about the disastrous
consequences of this war has become a battle for essential civil
liberties, and Daley made that fight, and Daley is the one who has
disgraced the tradition of public speech, public assembly, and a
vibrant process of dissent in this town. I'm ashamed for my city
today, and I fear for all of us."
03/19/2005
March from Harlem to Bloomberg's Mansion says: "Fund Cities, Not
War! Troops Out Now!"
On the Second Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
http://www.TroopsOutNow.org
Media Coverage:
http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=49185
http://nyc.indymedia.org/usermedia/video/13/MOV04379.MPG
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/newyork/nyc-nywar204183840mar20,0,6296219.story?coll=nyc-nynews-print
March 19 - A global day of protest
March 19, 2005- Today, tens of thousands of people converged on New
York City to oppose an illegal war of aggression against the people
of Iraq. People drove from as far away as Florida and Minnesota to
demand an immediate end to the occupation.
The day began with a rally in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park. Speakers
included Brenda Stokely, President of DC 1707, Nellie Bailey of the
Harlem Tenant's Council, and Carl Webb, a member of the Army
National Guard who has refused to deploy to Iraq.
After the opening rally, more than 15,000 marched to join thousands
already gathered in Central Park. As they marched through Harlem,
they were greeted by cheers and applause from the community. People
came out of stores and apartments to join the march. Others hung
out of their windows and flashed the peace sign or raised their
fists.
Speakers at the Central Park Rally included Representative Charles
Rangel, New York City Council Members Margarita Lopez and Charles
Barron, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and attorney
Lynne Stewart.
After the Central Park Rally, thousands marched to the Upper East
Side mansion of billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the
slogan, "Fund Cities, Not War!"
The turnout for this demonstration confirms that the antiwar
movement has entered into a new phase of organizing against the
war. It confirms that the greatest attention must be paid to
reaching out to communities most impacted by the war and by the
policies of the Bush Administration. These communities are the
targets of the budget cuts. They are also targeted by military
recruiters, who exploit economic hardship with false promises of
opportunity. As a result, the children of these communities are
dying disproportionately in Iraq, paying the ultimate price for a
policy of greed and empire.
Organizers with the Troops Out Now Coalition plan to continue to
protest the war and occupation. On May 1, the Troops Out Now
Coalition will join the Million Worker March on the streets of New
York City in a rally and march to demand, "Jobs, Not War! Bring the
Troops Home Now!"
In addition to the Troops Out Now Demonstration in New York City,
there were demonstrations in more than 700 cities throughout the
U.S., including major regional demonstrations in Fayetteville, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.
This weekend saw protests all over the globe. There were
demonstrations in Argentina, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Australia,
Vietnam, South Korea, Pakistan, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, Cyprus,
and many other countries.
Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on
Saturday, calling on Prime Minister Tony Blair to get British
troops out of Iraq.
Protesters marched from Hyde Park Corner past the US embassy to a
rally in central London's Trafalgar Square.
The protesters placed a black cardboard coffin with the slogan
"100,000 dead" scrawled across the daffodil-strewn lid against a
tree outside the US embassy. As the coffin was laid down, the crowd
chanted: "George Bush ... Uncle Sam. Iraq will be your
Vietnam."
In Sweden, protesters filled up Sergel square in downtown
Stockholm, chanting: "USA, out of Iraq!"
In Istanbul, an estimated 15,000 people marched, some carrying
signs reading "Murderer Bush, get out."
In Poland, which has 1,700 troops in Iraq, more than 1,000 marched
to the US Embassy in Warsaw, holding banners reading "Pull out from
Iraq now" and "Poles back to Poland."
In Athens, about 3,000 trade unionists, members of peace groups,
and students brought the city center to a standstill for about
three hours as they marched to the US Embassy.
Next Step: May 1
May 1: May Day Rally for Jobs, Not War - Bring the Troops Home
Now!
On May 1 the Troops Out Now Coalition and the NYC Million Worker
March are calling for a JOBS NOT WAR - Bring the Troops Home Now
rally in Union Square, NYC.
MAY DAY -- International Workers Day -- grew out of the struggle of
working people in this country more than 100 years ago for an 8
work day with a full day's pay. All over the world, working and
poor people march on May Day to send the message that workers are
united and have the right to a job, a living wage, health care,
housing and education. Workers have a right to pensions and social
security. Immigrant workers and the unemployed should have the same
rights. On May Day 2005, let's bring back that fighting spirit.
Download the May 1 Flyer:
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/flyers/maydayleaflet.pdf
Endorse: http://www.troopsoutnow.org/may1endorse.html
Help Build a Movement to Stop the War!
1) Endorse May 1:
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/may1endorse.html
2) Download leaflets and help get the word out!
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/flyers/maydayleaflet.pdf
3) Organize transportation from your city to NYC on May 1:
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/orgcentsignup.html
Commemorating the Second Anniversary of the U.S. invasion of
Iraq
Remarks given at rallies in Columbus March 19 and Cleveland March
20, 2005
By Mike Ferner
As we gather here this afternoon, our colleagues in Toledo are
debuting “Arlington at Toledo,” a cemetery with over
1700 white, wooden tombstones to commemorate each U.S. soldier
killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over the past weeks, my wife and I painted a few hundred of these
in our kitchen. Last Saturday we started putting labels on them
with the name, age, rank and home state of each G.I. killed. As we
sat on our living room floor, surrounded by stacks of tombstones
representing so many young men and women, we listened to an old
Dire Straits album. The track titled “Brothers in Arms”
came on with these telling lines: “Every man has to die/But
it's written in the starlight/And in every line on your palm/We're
fools to make war/On our brothers in arms.”
Sue looked at the tombstone with a 19 year-old soldier's name on it
she was holding and dissolved into sobs crying, “He was
someone's baby…”
We are here today to recommit ourselves to ending this slaughter of
someone else's babies, whether American or Iraqi. We are here to
demand an end to George Bush's criminal war.
We must end Bush's war to prevent more deaths and traumatic
amputations of arms and legs, more quadriplegics who will be
bedridden the rest of their lives. We must end Bush's war because
every day it continues, it produces more injuries we will never see
until they explode years later at home. I'm talking about thousands
MORE soldiers who will return from Iraq with Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), the injury that leaves minds riddled with
flashbacks, anxiety, unpredictable outbursts of anger, depression,
addictions and suicide.
If you've not read “Achilles in Vietnam” by Jonathan
Shay, get it. Read it. You will learn helpful ways to listen to
returning combat veterans. If your Uncle Bob still needs a
compelling reason why war is not the answer, you'll learn it here.
If you want proof that Bush's war is not only devastating Iraq but
our own country, it's in “Achilles in Vietnam.”
Here's just one example reduced to numbers: over a decade after the
last combat troops left Vietnam, the National Vietnam Veterans
Readjustment Study found that over 40% of combat vets –
that's 300,000 men – reported engaging in 3 or more acts of
violence in the previous year. Imagine how that continues to
reverberate through our society, and how Bush has now guaranteed it
will continue beyond this generation.
Shay stresses that PTSD “…incapacitates its victims
from participating in the domestic, economic, and political life of
the nation. The painful paradox is that fighting for one's country
can render one unfit to be its citizen.” His book led me to
inescapable conclusions: sending people to war profoundly changes
every one of them, not usually for the better; and if we truly want
to support our troops, we should never turn them into troops in the
first place.
And lest we think there is some huge gulf between us and the
behavior we've seen from GIs in Iraq, we should keep in mind what
Shay calls the “comforting fantasy” that our own
character would hold up under equally extreme pressure.
“Those injured by combat trauma make us painfully aware that
in all likelihood one's own character would not have stood
firm.” That's why it's often difficult to be a good listener
to combat veterans or to deny the truth of their stories: they
threaten our sense of self respect.
Hearing what we sent these soldiers to do may cause us discomfort
or disbelief, but allowing them to tell their story to a trusted
friend who will retell it honestly can be the best thing we can
offer.
One former soldier who has told his story many times is Stan Goff,
a retired Special Forces Master Sgt. He spent two decades, starting
in Vietnam, learning the most highly developed killing skills the
U.S. government had to offer. Stan is now a Veteran for Peace. He
says:
“We know that some vets cling to denial, some are broken in
body and spirit, some rage, and some turn their anger in on
themselves and crawl into a needle or a bottle or the chamber of a
pistol. But there's a way out of that wilderness, and it's the path
of the witness. Witnessing will heal you…Who better to out
the thieves and mass murderers posing as statesmen than those of us
closest to their criminal hearts in their time of need. Because we
were there, we know what these people have sent our children to do;
what they have sent our children to become.”
Sgt. Goff tells our soldiers in Iraq: “…If you want a
target for your rage, there they are: The Suits – the same
ones who are the enemies of peace, and the enemies of your
families, especially if they are Black families, or immigrant or
poor families…They'll skin and grin while they are getting
what they want from you, and throw you away like a used condom when
they are done. Ask the vets who are having their benefits slashed
now. Bush and his cronies are parasites…They get the money.
You get the prosthetics, the nightmares, and the mysterious
illnesses…”
Having taken care of hundreds of young soldiers used up and thrown
away during Vietnam, and witnessing yet another generation led to
slaughter on a lie, it gives me particular satisfaction to publicly
announce that on Monday, the Veterans for Peace national office,
representing 118 chapters across the country, will notify the
entire Congress of the United States of our demand that George W.
Bush and Richard Cheney be impeached!!
VFP is calling for Bush and Cheney's impeachment because –
and this is important to understand – when Senate adopts an
international treaty, it becomes part of the supreme law of the
land, the same as an act of Congress. It's clearly stated in par.
2, Article VI, of the U.S. Constitution. This means Bush and Cheney
have specifically and continually violated Article VI of the
constitution and the U.S. War Crimes Act passed by Congress in
1996.
We are calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney because they
continue to commit what are clearly defined by the Nuremberg
Principles – legally binding on the U.S. – as
“crimes against peace…crimes against
humanity…and war crimes.”
…because Bush and Cheney initiated two years ago and
continue to this day what the UN Charter – legally binding on
the U.S. – defines as a war of aggression…
…because the Bush administration, in clear and specific
violation of the Geneva Conventions – also legally binding on
the U.S. – has tortured and killed prisoners, purposely
targeted and killed civilians, prevented the delivery of medical
relief…all…ALL of which are also violations of
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. War Crimes
Act…to say nothing of international law and basic
humanity…
Veterans for Peace is calling for impeachment because it is our
responsibility as citizens to do so. The words of a village sheik I
spoke with in Iraq last year haunt me every day. Even as he assured
me that he recognized the difference between the government and the
people of the United States, he asked, “but you say you live
in a democracy. How can this be happening to us?”
It is our responsibility to impeach this criminal leadership. As
citizens, every one of us is complicit with its crimes. By virtue
of that complicity, we are compelled not only by the law but by
human morality and by history to do whatever we can to stop this
war of aggression; stop these crimes against humanity. The
Nuremberg Tribunals following WWII did not favorably judge the
first nation the world determined had waged a war of aggression,
nor its “good citizens” who obeyed their
government.
But, my friends, we must do more than sign an impeachment petition
or get a new bumper sticker. The effort to evict this criminal gang
from Washington will help end the war, but we must do more than
attend demonstrations, pass out leaflets, or write letters. I'm
suggesting we look to the heroic history of Ohioans who in their
day fought the legalized evil of slavery.
Just south of here, residents of Urbana confronted federal marshals
who had come to capture and return a runaway slave under the
Fugitive Slave Act. At the point of a gun the people of Urbana
drove the marshals out of town and preserved that former slave's
freedom. They knew that morality called upon them to do more than
just obey the law.
Historian Howard Zinn gives us sound advice on this question:
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil
obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have
obeyed the dictates of their leaders and have gone to war, and
millions have been killed because of this obedience...Our problem
is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of
poverty and starvation and cruelty. Our problem is that people are
obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and the grand
thieves are running the country. That's our problem."
So what must conscientious Americans do today? Should we follow the
letter of the Fugitive Slave Act and return our fellow human beings
to slavery? Should we write our congressman and then stand by like
good Americans and watch our government continue to wage its war of
aggression? Should we continue to legitimize a government of war
criminals by paying our taxes?
The times call upon us to do more than we've already done; more
than we think we can do. We can no longer afford to limit our
protests to what Good Americans are allowed in these terrible days.
And we must stop funding this administration's crimes against
humanity. We must delegitimate, disobey and disrupt this war and
this system.
When the next soldier decides he or she cannot go to Iraq, we must
already know which local church will provide sanctuary and not stop
there. We need to surround that church with thousands of
disciplined, nonviolent citizens for as long as it takes, daring
federal marshals to return that soldier to slavery. Can we do less
than those citizens of Ukraine who stayed in the streets for weeks
to get a legitimate government? Can we do less than people in Iraq
who are losing their lives and limbs under this criminal
occupation?
Americans and Iraqis, young and old, soldier and civilian are
slaughtered daily for Empire. What can we do that is commensurate
with what the times demand? Some of our more heroic friends refuse
to pay a penny in taxes; some refuse to pay the war machine's
portion. Others purposely limit their incomes so they owe nothing
to the IRS.
But here's something that every one of us can do right now that is
not particularly heroic; that carries little or no risk. Withhold a
token amount from what the IRS says you owe. You will eventually
get a series of letters trying to collect your 25 or 100 dollars.
They will expend much time, effort, and stationery to no avail.
Millions of us doing this will send the message that we will
delegitimate, disobey and disrupt this war and this system.
Today I beseech every soldier, sailor, marine, reservist and
guardsman who can hear my voice or gets this message: brothers and
sisters in arms, in the name of humanity, think about what you are
being ordered to do. It is not only your right it is your duty to
disobey unlawful orders. This war is grotesquely and monstrously
unlawful. It is precisely what was condemned at Nuremberg. Look
deep within yourselves. Do the right thing and say NO to this war.
Hold on to your humanity. Refuse to participate. Apply for c.o.
status. Turn from this criminal operation into the arms of a
loving, disciplined and powerful movement that will be there for
you as long as you need it.
It is already beginning to happen. Camilo Mejia, Jeremy Hinzman and
Kevin Benderman have quit publicly. Nearly 6,000 soldiers have
deserted quietly in the last two years. If even today you are on
your way to Iraq, scheduled to pass through Shannon airport like
160,000 U.S. troops did last year, know that members of the Irish
Parliament along with a former commandant of the Irish Army are
urging you to not get back on that plane, to seek asylum in
Ireland.
If we are well organized; if we are there for young soldiers who
leave the military; if we refuse to be silenced and frightened by
an immoral law; if we refuse to be “Good Americans;” if
we do what history demands in this critical hour we can grind this
war machine to a halt. We can put an end to the suffering and the
war crimes. We can absolve our complicity. Will we do this
together?
Ferner mike.ferner@sbcglobal.net is a freelance writer in Toledo
and a member of Veterans for Peace. He is writing a book about his
trips to Iraq just prior to, and after, the U.S. invasion.
03/19/2005
The Pentagon's strategic plan codifies unilateral, preemptive
attacks. The doctrine marks a shift from coalitions such as NATO,
analysts say.
Policy OK's First Strike to Protect US
by John Hendren
© 1997-2005 Los Angeles Times & Commondreams.org
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0319-01.htm
Washington, DC -- Saturday, March 19, 2005 -- Two years after the
U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon has formally included in key
strategic plans provisions for launching preemptive strikes against
nations thought to pose a threat to the United States.
The doctrine also now stipulates that the U.S. will use "active
deterrence" in concert with its allies "if we can" but could act
unilaterally otherwise, Defense officials said ...
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