The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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Hey, Please take a moment to read the following and register your name by sending a message to <docspid@hotmail.com> Thanks! Student Call to Action Against U.S. / U.N. Imposed Sanctions Upon Iraq Dear fellow students, For more than a century, student movements have had an important place among the agents of social change. Students have a history of fighting for peace and justice. In the 1960s, students spurred debates in Congress about the war in Vietnam and led the protests for peace. Students also struggled against discrimination and racism-both in the civil rights movement in the U.S. and in the fight to end apartheid in South Africa. Now, in the 1990s, there is another war we must end; another struggle for peace and justice in which we, as students, must make our voices heard. For more than eight years, our government has been waging a silent war against the people of Iraq. This month, the US-led sanctions will kill 4,500 infants and toddlers, according to UNICEF reports. Today, this policy will kill 250 people in Iraq, as it did yesterday... and as it will tomorrow. Since 1991, more than one million people have died due to the scarcity of food and medicine and the spread of water-borne diseases - all direct consequences of the sanctions. Since 1991, United Nations agencies and independent human-rights organizations have been reporting on the devastating impact of the sanctions on human life in Iraq. Four years ago, UNICEF reported that: "Sanctions are inhibiting the importation of spare parts, chemicals, reagents, and the means of transportation required to provide water and sanitation services to the civilian population of Iraq. ? What has become increasingly clear is that no significant movement towards food security can be achieved so long as the embargo remains in place." And what is our government's response? When asked on "60 Minutes" about the death of half a million children in Iraq - more children than died in Hiroshima, Madeline Albright responded "we think the price is worth it." We say NO! The death of one child is a death too many. As Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman, and Edward Said recently stated, in their national call for action, "The time has come for a call to action to people of conscience. We are past the point where silence is passive consent-when a crime reaches these proportions, silence is complicity." We refuse to be silent in the face of this war. We denounce the trade sanctions against the people of Iraq as immoral, illegitimate and contrary to fundamental principles of humanity and human rights. We demand that Congress and the President immediately end the ongoing sanctions war against the people of Iraq. We support the University of Michigan's Student Assembly which passed a resolution in January condemning the sanctions against the people of Iraq. We call upon all students dedicated to peace to join the growing movement to end the war against Iraq. Get more information on how you can help end the war by sending an e-mail to studentinfo@leb.net. Check our website at http://leb.net/iac/students.html . It was the collective voice of the students that woke our nation to the horror of the Vietnam War. We must once again issue the wake up call to the conscience of our nation. Sincerely, [Name, University] ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html