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=========Iraq Action Coalition ========http://iraqaction.org/ ======= To subscribe, send an e-mail to "majordomo@iraqaction.org" with 'subscribe iac-list' in the body of the message ================================================================== Official Institutional Statements Against the Sanctions: Resolutions Condemning the War (Academic Institutions, Municipal Governments, Religious Bodies, Gulf War Vets, and More) Since January, six universities have issued resolutions condemning the sanctions war against the people of Iraq. Following the lead set by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, universities nationwide have successfully passed resolutions opposing the sanctions war: the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Anderson University (a Christian university in Indiana), Yale University (in Connecticut), and Macalester College (in Minneapolis). Many more universities are currently working on submitting resolutions, and adding their voice to the growing anti-sanctions, pro-peace movement. In April, the City Council of Ann Arbor (Michigan) unanimously passed a resolution commending Bishop Thomas Gumbleton's "challenge to the genocidal policy of sanctions and [joining] him in urging the immediate end to this policy." A year earlier, the Detroit City Council had passed a resolution "[saluting] the humanitarian efforts of Ramsey Clark" and commending "his challenge to the genocidal policy of sanctions and [joining] him in urging the immediate end to this policy." In January, the National Gulf War Resource Center called for an "immediate end to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq." In November 1998, in response to the catastrophic looting of Iraq's cultural heritage, which has been one of the lesser publicized crises precipitated by the UN sanctions, an international group of 145 preservation authorities unanimously adopted a resolution urging all governments to support international efforts in behalf of Iraq's endangered heritage. And in Iceland, the Left-Green Party denounces "the trade sanctions against the people of Iraq as immoral, illegitimate and contrary to fundamental principles of humanity and human rights" and demands that "the Icelandic government end immediately its participation in the sanctions and support international efforts to lift the sanctions." Furthermore, numerous religious institutions have issued various statements regarding the sanctions and bombing war against the people of Iraq. In addition, the UN Human Rights Commission, in 1997, issued an appeal "to all States concerned to reconsider their adoption of or support" for the economic sanctions. One of the strongest statements, thus far, has come from the International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD). In 1995, EAFORD wrote, in reference to the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq, that "the liquidation of people by murder, starvation and destruction of economic, industrial, educational and cultural basic structures on which a society is built still take place, due to ethnic, racial, religious or ideological reason. ... The continuation of the sanctions against the people cannot be due to anything but to unhealthy and unjustified political reasons, with the purpose of exerting, directly or indirectly, coercion on the sovereign decisions of this country." All these institutions have proved that the movement to end the sanctions war upon the people of Iraq encompasses a wide array of issues and angles, all united in the struggle for peace and justice. Utilize these voices in your actions to end the war, and work to pass similar resolutions through your own university, municipal government, church, and organizations. And let's take it one step further -- let's introduce anti-sanctions resolutions at party conventions. This would involve running activists as delegates, and, as delegates, they will introduce and vote on the resolutions. In 1988 resolutions in support of Palestinian statehood passed at party conventions in many states. It is possible then to pass anti-sanctions resolutions at the state level and at least bring the issue to the fore at the national level. (For more information on these resolutions, access the Iraq Action Coalition website at http://iraqaction.org. Also access the IAC site for updated information and action alerts.) ================== http://iraqaction.org -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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