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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 20:38:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kathy Kelly <kkelly@igc.apc.org>
To: kkelly@igc.apc.org
Dear Friends,
Here are updates on two compelling actions that deserve our attention.
Appended to this note is an action alert from Gulf War veteran Erik
Gustafson regarding current legislative efforts. Erik, who traveled with
Voices in the Wilderness in May 1997, has been working in Washington, D.C.
where he opened the Education for Peace in Iraq Center.
Thank you very much for your continued support and involvement.
Soyun Kim
for Voices in the Wilderness
************************************************************************
(1) A group of Voices in the Wilderness members have gathered in Duluth, MN
for a
ten-day, water-only fast. The fast started on September 19 and will end on
September 28. The first eight days of the fast are dedicated to
commemorating the eight years of suffering the Iraqi civilians have had to
endure since the imposition of the sanctions in 1990. During the last two
days, they will come together in the hope of a future beyond the cruel
sanctions.
The fasters have been holding a daily vigil in front of the federal building
in Duluth. The vigil ends each day at 5 pm with a prayer led by members
from local Jewish, Quaker, and Catholic communities and from local
organizations -- including Veterans for Peace, Food Not Bombs, and Pax
Christi. Three people are committed to the entire duration, and estimated
20 people will be joining for a shorter period.
Following the initial reports of the fast, many people have come out to
visit and sign their petition. Their leaflets also brought positive
feedback from passers-by. If you would like to get in touch with them,
please call 218-724-2054 or 218-728-0629. They will greatly appreciate your
encouragement.
************************************************************************
(2) We felt very moved and touched when we learned that two Australian peace
activists, Ciaron O'Reilly and Treena Lenthall, decided to use the title
"Voices in the Wilderness" to name a very momentous, nonviolent disarmament
action which they
undertook at the Jabiluka uranium mines in Australia. We urge our
supporters to express solidarity with these Jabiluka Ploughshares activists,
who are committed to stopping the mining of uranium at Jabiluka, inside
Kakadu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. (46% of the uranium
mined there is purchased by the U.S.)
In their statement, printed in _The Nuclear Resister_
(nukeresister@igc.org), they
denounce the hypocrisy of the Australian government "in allowing the
production of
uranium while condemning French nuclear testing in Muroroa Atoll." They
expose the
uranium mines as the "first stage of the nuclear war assembly line."
MAKING THE CONNECTION WITH IRAQ, THEY FURTHER STATE, "BOTH THE U.S. AND
BRITAIN ALSO FIRED THOUSANDS OF ROUNDS MADE FROM DEPLETED URANIUM DURING THE
1991 GULF WAR. THIS TOXIC DU HAS LEFT MUCH OF THE DESERT RADIOACTIVE. IT
HAS LEFT THOUSANDS OF IRAQI CIVILIANS AND THE U.S. AND BRITISH VETERANS WITH
CANCER, LEUKEMIA AND RADIOACTIVE POISONING."
The jailed Ploughshares activists, Treena Lenthall and Ciaron O'Reilly, were
arrested for pouring blood, hammering and writing on the uranium mining
equipment. The blood they poured was symbolic of the blood spilt by nuclear
weapon strikes, nuclear weapons
testing, nuclear accidents and the use of depleted uranium rounds against
the people of Iraq.
In the tradition of nonviolence and inspired by Isaiah's prophesy to "beat
swords into
Ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks," Ploughshares activists around
the world
work towards disarmament, especially of nuclear weapons.
Voices in the Wilderness opposes the development, storage, sale and use of
any weapons, be they conventional, chemical, biological, or nuclear, in any
locale, at any time. It's heartening to know that Australian peacemakers
have acted so vigorously to resist further development of nuclear weapons.
To render support or to get involved, please contact: Jabiluka Blockade
[Hundreds of
people were arrested during nonviolent actions of trespassing and blockading
organized by this group], POB 227, Jabiru, NT 0886, Australia (email:
blockade@jabiluka.net); Treena Lenthall and Ciaron O'Reilly c/o Jabiluka
Ploughshares, Berrimah Prison, PO Box 1407, Darwin NT 0801, Australia.
One creative idea comes from a group of dedicated German peace activists who are
organizing to stop the uranium mine in Jabiluka. They encourage us to go to
Australian consulates in our own cities and demand the closure of the
Jabiluka uranium mines. For more information about the German action plan,
contact Voices in the Wilderness at [kkelly@igc.apc.org] or at (773)784-8065.
************************************************************************
(3) Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) - ACTION ALERT!
A contact in the office of the Minority Whip recently told me that the voice
of concern for the plight of the Iraqi people is beginning to be heard, and
as Richard Butler told Voices in the Wilderness, there is a growing debate
in national capitals (which I am seeing in Washington, DC) about the
political & humanitarian failure of economic sanctions in pressuring
compliance to international law. Of course, economic sanctions are in and
of themselves, clearly, a gross violation of international law and human rights.
URGENT ACTION is needed before October 6th! - The delivery date for Rep.
Conyers' "Dear President" letter has been postponed (from Sept.15) to Oct.
6. If your REPRESENTATIVE is not listed below, then please CALL THEM and
URGE them to sign the letter to President Clinton calling for lifting the
economic sanctions on Iraq. ASK them to help bring the humanitarian
catastrophe in Iraq to an end. To sign on, your
REPRESENTATIVE should call Carl LeVan in Rep. Conyers' office at 225-5126.
You can reach your REPRESENTATIVE via the Congressional switchboard at
(202)224-3121.
41 Signatures as of 9/22/98:
CA: Tom Campbell-Campbell
Anna Eshoo-Palo Alto
Sam Farr-Santa Cruz/Salinas
Barbara Lee-Oakland/Berkeley
Nancy Pelosi-San Francisco
Pete Stark-Fremont
Maxine Waters-Los Angeles
Lynn Woolsey-Santa Rosa
CO: Diana DeGette-Denver
FL: Alcee Hastings-Ft. Lauderdale
GA: Cynthia McKinney-Decatur
IL: Danny Davis-Chicago
Jessie Jackson, Jr.-Chicago
Bobby Rush-Chicago/Evergreen Pk.
LA: Bill Jefferson-New Orleans
MA: William Delahunt-Quincy/Hyannis
James McGovern-Worcester
John Olver-Pittsfield/Holyoke
MI: Dave Bonior-Mt. Clemens
John Conyers-Detroit
Carolyn Kilpatrick-Detroit
Lynn Rivers-Ann Arbor/Wayne
Bart Stupak-Marquette/Escanaba
MN: James Oberstar-Duluth/Brainerd
MO: William Clay-St. Louis
MS: Bennie Thompson-Greenwood
NC: Eva Clayton-Greenville/Fayetteville
MelvinWatt-Charlotte/Greensboro
NY: John LaFalce-Buffalo
Maurice Hinchey-Ithaca/Binghamton
Major Owens-Brooklyn
OH: Sherrod Brown-Middlefield/Elyria
Marcy Kaptur-Toledo
Dennis Kucinich-Lakewood
OR: Earl Blumenauer-Portland
Peter DeFazio-Eugene
Elizabeth Furse-Portland
TX: Shiela Jackson-Lee-Houston
Eddie Bernice Johnson-Dallas
Ciro Rodriguez-San Antonio
VT: Bernard Sanders-Burlington
Iraq activists now have a voice in Washington, DC.
Help support the EDUCATION for PEACE in IRAQ CENTER (EPIC)
747 10th St. SE Suite #2, Washington DC 20003
ph (202) 543-6176 - fax (202) 546-5103
erikgustafson@hotmail.com
Internships and staff positions available. Send brief bio &/or resume by Oct.1!
Any donations of time, funds, equipment, etc. is very much appreciated.
In Peace, Erik Gustafson
EDUCATION for PEACE in IRAQ Center (EPIC)
Voices in the Wilderness
A Campaign to End the US/UN Economic Sanctions Against the People of Iraq
1460 West Carmen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
ph:773-784-8065; f: 773-784-8837
email: kkelly@igc.apc.org
--
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