[Peace-discuss] Fw: [ufpj] possible new UFPJ statement

[Randall Cotton]

possible new UFPJ statementFYI, here is a recent draft of the "Unity
Statement" on which delegates such as Robert and I expect to vote on at the
United for Peace and Justice in Chicago this weekend. At present, over 400
attendees are expected from 325 groups. The revision below is pretty hefty
(pared down from an even longer version) and wide-ranging, but still
parallels AWARE's current interests closely.

R

----- Original Message -----
From: Hany Khalil
To: UFPJWork
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 7:59 PM
Subject: [ufpj] possible new UFPJ statement

 [draft 5/30/03]
UNITY STATEMENT
United for Peace and Justice
When the U.S. government invaded and occupied Iraq though it posed no
imminent threat, it broke international law and defied world public opinion,
killed thousands of Iraqi civilians and soldiers unnecessarily, and
devastated Iraq's ancient cities and modern infrastructure. The Bush
administration sold the war by claiming it sought to prevent terror attacks,
eliminate weapons of mass destruction, and liberate Iraq through "regime
change," but these were lies and half-truths. Now, with a colonial-style
occupation underway, Washington is moving to place the reins of power in
U.S. hands, establish permanent military bases there, and shift control over
Iraq's oil reserves and companies to foreign corporations.
George W. Bush has declared the war on Iraq officially over, but the threat
posed by the Bush administration's militaristic policies has only grown. It'
s now clear the war on Iraq was the leading edge of a relentless drive for
U.S. empire. Exploiting the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the Bush
administration has sought to use aggressive military action to pursue a
strategic agenda: to forcibly dominate the world and impose right-wing
policies at home under the cover of fighting terrorism. This reckless
pursuit of empire is endangering the lives and rights of people abroad and
at home.
The U.S.' September 2002 National Security Strategy explicitly states that
the goal of U.S. foreign policy is to maintain and expand the enormous gap
between the military, economic, and political power of the U.S. and the rest
of the world. It defines any nation or group of nations thinking of
matching, let alone surpassing, US military and economic power as a threat,
and calls for the use of "pre-emptive war" to prevent the emergence of
potential rivals. Emboldened by its military victory in Iraq, the Bush
administration has warned Syria, Iran, Cuba, N. Korea, and other countries
that if they don't comply with U.S. demands, they could be subject to
"pre-emptive war" and "regime change," too.
In its run up to the war on Iraq, the Bush White House dismissed any notion
of accountability to international law or the UN Charter. Instead, it
operated on a litany of assertions that UN resolutions meant whatever
President Bush said they meant, and that anyway the U.S. doesn't need any UN
resolutions because it had the god-given right to go to war when and where
and against whomever it chooses.
But sovereign nations have the right to determine their own future, free
from military occupation, the threat of foreign intervention, and outside
control of their economies. We call upon the U.S. to immediately end its
military occupation of Iraq and cease threatening or planning to invade any
other country, including but not limited to those mentioned above.
US military involvement is on the rise in Latin America, Africa, and Asia,
ranging from increased aid to repressive governments such as Colombia's, an
increase in U.S. troops in the Philippines, and the expansion of a network
of military bases stretching from East Africa to South Asia. U.S. political,
economic, and military aid is fueling Israel's rise as an unchallengeable
regional military power and sustains Israel's illegal occupation of the
Palestinian W. Bank, Gaza, and E. Jerusalem and its denial of equal rights
to Palestinians.
While undermining from international treaties restricting the development of
nuclear weapons, the White House publicly stated its commitment to
developing a new generation of nuclear weapons intended for actual
battlefield use. Fearing "pre-emptive" attacks by the United States, a
number of countries appear to be undertaking or accelerating nuclear weapons
programs. This situation underscores the urgent need for the worldwide
elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, including the U.S.' massive
stockpile, and the use of peaceful, diplomatic means to resolve conflicts
wherever possible.
By fostering injustice and unilaterally disregarding the will of people
around the world, these arrogant foreign policies foment resentment against
the U.S. and actually reduce our own security.
At home, the Bush administration has officially sanctioned racial profiling
in the name of "homeland security." It has forced thousands of innocent
Arab, African, Asian, Latino and Muslim immigrants to engage in "Special
Registration," deprived them of due process, and detained and deported them
secretly. Congress deprived all of us of critical Constitutional rights by
passing the USA PATRIOT Act. Now, the administration has fashioned an even
more draconian PATRIOT Act II.
Bush's increase of the military budget by 35%, the launching of a $100-200
billion war in Iraq, and tax cuts for the wealthy, combined with the
economic downturn, have caused the deepest budgetary crises of U.S. states
and cities since the 1930s Depression. Service cuts from public education to
Medicaid and veterans benefits are ravaging seniors, young people, and
people of color. Low-income students of color, denied access to good schools
and decent jobs, face bleak futures and are increasingly being targeted for
U.S. military recruitment.
We declare our unequivocal opposition to these policies and the
empire-building agenda behind them. We must stop this use of war and racism
to concentrate power in fewer and fewer hands, domestically and
internationally.
Our strategy to achieve these goals is to build a broad mass movement for
peace and justice composed of all those threatened by the new war program.
To do so, we will pay special attention in all facets of our work to the
inclusion and leadership of underrepresented constituencies, such as people
of color, youth, women, and workers. We will link the wars abroad with the
assaults at home. We will work to make the peace movement a strong ally to
the U.S.-based and global social justice movements. We will be pro-active in
addressing internal power dynamics within our movement, especially regarding
issues of race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation or gender
identity, nationality, cultural heritage or ethnicity. We will strive to
embody in our day-to-day work the values we espouse and the world we seek to
build.
We will work for peace and justice through nonviolent means.
[end]