Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 2. november 2005 / Timeline November 2, 2005
Version 3.51. November 2005, 3. November 2005
11/02/2005
Dom for protest mod Irak-krig i folketinget
"Folketingsaktivisterne": Retten til politisk protest må
forsvares
Københavns Byret gav i dag anklageren medhold i sagen mod
fem fredsaktivister, der var anklaget for at have forstyrret
folketinget, da de 25.
november sidste år under afstemningen om
forlængelse af de danske tropper i Irak hejste et fredsflag
fra tilhørerpladserne og sendte løbesedler ned i
salen.
Byretten idømte dem hver 10 dagbøder a 300 kr.,
alternativt ti dages fængsel.
- Vi burde være frikendt, siger de fem aktivister i en
udtalelse. - Denne sag drejer sig ikke om forstyrrelse af
folketinget, men om retten til politisk protest og at denne ret er
truet og må forsvares. Det er en dom imod ytringsfriheden.
Retssagen dokumenterede klart, at folketingets forhandlinger ikke
var blevet afbrudt eller forstyrret ved aktionen. Det var en
protest mod, at folketinget træffer en beslutning om
krigsforlængelse, der både overtræder den danske
grundlov og international lov.
De fem aktivister - Ulla
Røder, Matilde Dalgård, Carsten Lundsgaard, Rasmus
Bang Petersen og Klaus Riis - udtaler videre:
- Sagen er principiel og handler ikke om bøde eller
bødestørrelse. I disse tider, hvor
terrorspøgelset ustandselig manes frem, er det vigtigt at
normale, demokratiske protestformer ikke bliver straffet og
ytringsfriheden ikke kriminaliseret. Derfor vil vi søge
procesbevillingsnævnets tilladelse til, at sagen taget op ved
landsretten.
Under retssagen og vidneførelsen stod anklagerens og
forsvarerens påstande skarpt over for hinanden. Mens der ikke
var tvivl om, at der var tale om en politisk aktion, var der skarp
uenighed om, hvorvidt folketinget faktisk blev forstyrret.
Folketingsmedlemmerne Søren Søndergaard og Villy
Søvndal erindrede ikke at være blevet forstyrret af
aktionen, mens folketingets fungerende formand under den daglange
debat Kaj Ikast hævdede, at afstemningen var blevet udskudt
med flere minutter, mens hele folketingssalen skræmt havde
stirret op mod episoden i tilhørerlogen.
En videooptagelse, der blev gennemset af retten, viste imidlertid,
at hele situationen varede under et halvt minut, og at afstemningen
ikke blev hverken udskudt eller afbrudt, men gennemført som
normalt.
Forsvareren Bjørn Elmquist appellerede i sin procedure om at
retten ikke tog udgangspunkt i en formalistisk fortolkning af
lovparagraffen, men konstaterede, at der ikke var tale om en
forstyrrelse af folketinget. Han henviste til, at Danmark ofte
roser sig af at have vide rammer for ytringsfriheden, f.eks. i
forbindelse med Jyllands Postens 12 tegninger af profeten Muhammed,
og at det så også må gælde, når
protesten vender en anden vej.
På trods af dette valgte dommeren altså at følge
anklageskriftet.
Se mere om sagen her
http://www.stopterrorkrigen.dk/emner/aktioner/050901_fredsaktivister_pligt_til_protest.htm
http://www.stopterrorkrigen.dk/emner/fred_dk/050106_politisk%20aktion_paa_anklagebaenken.htm
11/02/2005
Council: Bring troops home
By Phillip Reese -- Bee Staff Writer
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/v-print/story/13802614p-14644069c.html
The Sacramento City Council called Tuesday night for the "rapid and
comprehensive withdrawal of United States military personnel and
bases from Iraq," citing the financial and human costs of the war
on local resources.
The resolution, sponsored by council members Lauren Hammond and Ray
Tretheway, puts Sacramento on a short but growing list of cities
nationwide pressing for a quick withdrawal. Chicago's council
recently approved a similar measure. San Francisco made the same
call a year ago. And dozens of towns in Vermont have called for a
withdrawal.
11/02/2005
Military Recruits by High School, Zip Code, Community,
State
By Pamela Schwartz National Priorities Project Bulletin
In the long tradition of National Priorities Project turning data
into action, NPP releases today a major expansion of the NPP
Database. With the addition of military recruitment data, we're
once again highlighting the cost of war and militarism on local
communities.
As of today, from anywhere in the country, you can find out the
number of military recruits in 2004 that came from your high
school, zip code, county or your state, along with breakdowns by
race, ethnicity, gender and income levels. Get your local numbers
at: www.nationalpriorities.org/database.
To get a snapshot overview and analysis of the military recruitment
data, which includes tables and charts, go to
www.nationalpriorities.org/militaryrecruitment
Working with Peacework Magazine ( www.afsc.org/peacework), which
submitted the Freedom of Information Act request for military
enlistment data, NPP's analyses reveal the disproportionate impact
of military recruitment on low and middle-income communities.
The data also show:
The highest recruitment rates -- defined as the number of recruits
per thousand of the 18-24 year-old population -- were found in
counties that were relatively poorer than the rest of the nation.
All of the top 20 counties had median household incomes below the
national level, and 19 of the 20 had median household incomes below
their respective state level.
The three largest schools or programs in the country from which
recruits were drawn included the GED Test Center in the New York
State Education Department, the Gary Job Corps Center in San
Marcos, Texas and another GED-based program in New York. Montana --
a state with low median household income and high poverty rates --
led the country in state recruitment rates. Rhode Island was at the
bottom.
High income neighborhoods are under-represented. Low and
middle-income neighborhoods are over-represented.
As the Iraq War continues and the number of soldiers killed and
wounded mounts, this data makes clear that low- and middle-income
kids are paying the highest price. It's young people with limited
opportunities that are putting their lives on the line.
Parents, students and concerned activists by the thousands have
voiced their concerns in recent months about military recruitment
tactics. Now, the NPP Database will be used to help people focus
their efforts on the states, counties, zip codes, and schools
mostly heavily impacted by military recruitment. Please contact the
National Youth and Militarism Program of American Friends Service
Committee, at youthmil@afsc.org or call 215-241-7176 to connect
with activists in your region.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions as to how the NPP Database
in general and the military recruitment data in particular can best
serve your needs. We hope this resource will provide you with tools
to better understand and respond to federal government practices
that can be a matter of life and death in your communities.
11/02/2005
AT LAST - DEMOCRATS STAND AND FIGHT!!!
AFTER DOWNING STREET NEWS
Democrats forced the Senate into an unusual closed session to
discuss the Senate Intelligence Committee Chair's refusal to
conduct the "phase 2" investigation into White House war lies that
his committee agreed in February 2004 to conduct. Republicans
howled in outrage at being outmaneuvered by the Democrats, but
ultimately they capitulated and agreed to issue the long-promised
report by November 14.
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