[Peace-discuss] NYC a city for peace

[Ricky Baldwin]

New York council passes resolution opposing war

By Frank Lombardi, NY Daily News, March 13, 2003

NEW YORK _ The New York City Council voted Wednesday
to give peace a chance.

But a third of the normally go-along members opposed
the resolution against war with Iraq.

Many cited the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the need to
support the war on terrorism and U.S. troops in the
field. 

Resolution supporter Oliver Koppell argued, "This is
not an anti-war resolution or a pro-war resolution. It
is a resolution that says killing people should always
be a last resort."

"I suggest that you take a walk down the street and
take a long, hard look at that gaping hole in the
ground, at that gaping hole in our lives," Councilman
Andrew Lanza said during the vote, referring to the
World Trade Center site.

The hour-long debate put the Council in a media
spotlight _ drawing coverage from CNN and a dozen
other TV crews, as well as reporters from France,
Germany, Japan, Spain and England.

The debate drew such attention because it has taken so
long for New York, considered one of the most liberal
cities in the country, to pass a resolution against a
war with Iraq. More than 100 other cities have
approved such legislation.

The measure has remained bottled up for months because
of bickering over the language.

The final Council measure, introduced in a tougher
version in October, now opposes "a pre-emptive
military attack on Iraq unless Iraq poses a real and
imminent threat" to the U.S. or its allies. It also
opposes war unless all other options fail to make Iraq
comply with U.N. resolutions to eliminate weapons of
mass destruction.

A resolution merely expresses the Council's opinion.
But the vote spotlighted the deep division on the
issue. Normally, only a handful of members buck the
majority.

Supporters said the Bush administration had not proven
its case against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or
exhausted diplomatic efforts.

"We cannot impose democracy on the rest of the world
by ourselves," said Councilman David Yassky.

"Councilman Michael Nelson, an opponent, sarcastically
noted that Saddam "would enjoy some of this" on CNN.

Resolutions are decided by voice vote. But immediately
after the session, 17 of the 48 members present used a
procedure to record "no" votes.

-----------------

City Council approves anti-war resolution

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, AP, March 13, 2003

 
The City Council in New York, where 2,792 people died
in the Sept. 11 terror attack, approved a resolution
opposing war with Iraq except as a last resort.

Wednesday's 31-17 vote came after months of debate
about whether the council should take a position,
particularly given the city's status as a symbol in
the war on terrorism.

"We of all cities must uphold the preciousness and
sanctity of human life," said Councilman Alan Gerson,
a Manhattan Democrat who voted for the resolution and
whose district includes the World Trade Center site. 

Those who opposed the resolution said that because
terrorism had struck so close, the city should not
ignore an opportunity to depose another potential
threat. City Council chambers are just blocks away
from the trade center site.

Staten Island Republican Andrew Lanza urged fellow
council members to look at the hole in the ground
where the twin towers once stood.

"That is the price of doing nothing," said Lanza, who
opposed the resolution.

The anti-war resolution was drawn up in October but
stalled in back-room battles over semantics. It
carries no legal weight.

The wording of the original resolution opposed a war
without United Nations authority and said that such a
war would pave the way for "similar actions by other
rival states."

The redrawn resolution used language that allows for a
pre-emptive attack if "other options for achieving
compliance with United Nations resolutions calling for
the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and the
means of their development have failed."

Recent polls show that 75 percent of New Yorkers
oppose a war without the support of the United
Nations. Last month, more than 100,000 people took
part in an anti-war protest near U.N. headquarters.

Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined to say
whether he supports a war. His spokesman Ed Skyler
said Wednesday: "The mayor does not have an interest
in formulating a separate foreign policy for New York
City."

--- Lisa Chason <chason at shout.net> wrote:
> Today New York City became the 141st city for peace!
> I heard about it in an NPR report that I only caught
> the end of. Apparently passing the resolution was
> quite a struggle because this was the city that had
> been attacked, but it did finally win by a large
> majority. There's no info on the citiesforpeace
> website. Anyone know the details?


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