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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Thousands Oppose Continuation of Violence |
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by Peace Action
(No verified email address) |
23 Sep 2001
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Editor's Note: The News-Gazette ran an editorial today, saying that "[p]rotesters on some college campuses" are opposing violent reactions to the tragedy of Sept. 11. The N-G has chosen to ignore local protests, such as at the U of I, and is attempting to portray "dissenters" as people other than in our area. There have been a number of events locally opposing war--the N-G has ignored them all. If you want to know about these protests, break the N-G information blockade by reading U-C IMC, where we cover what the N-G finds to be unmentionable--public support for peace. ML |
WASHINGTON - September 21 - Thousands of American citizens are organizing in opposition to military retaliation in response to the WTC and Pentagon attacks. "While the President, congress and much of the media are calling for war," said Kevin Martin, Peace Action’s Executive Director. "many American citizens are calling for an end to the cycle of violence. People from across the nation are voicing opposition to the murder of innocent civilians inside and outside of US borders."
Peace Action chapters across the country, along with local peace groups, have organized vigils, demonstrations and educational events that have drawn crowds of thousands. Large crowds have gathered at peace vigils in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Maine, Oregon, and California. Thousands more have attended educational events such as those at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Goshen College.
In addition to voicing a call for restraint, the actions have denounced attacks on Muslims and Arab-Americans. In New Hampshire an emergency response network is being formed to respond to anti-Arab racism.
The Student Peace Action Network(SPAN), in association with local campus organizations, held actions at 105 colleges throughout the nation yesterday. SPAN has chapters on 42 college campuses and a presence on 80 more.
Dozens of local actions are planned across the country in the next few days. Vigils and teach-ins are planned in many states, including California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, North Carolina, Maine and Wisconsin. Many other locales are gearing up for events in the following weeks. Peace groups around the nation are being flooded with calls and emails from concerned citizens who want to get involved.
"Resorting to indiscriminate violence not only brings us to the level of the terrorists, but it plays right into their hands," said Martin, "such violence will produce the fear and hatred in the terrorists’ homelands that they need to prosper – it enables them to bring ever more violence against those they see as their enemy."
"People want justice, not vengeance." said Martin, "The perpetrators of these heinous crimes should be punished in the courts. Military strikes will take thousands of more innocent lives. A great nation does not punish the innocent to assuage its anguish."
Peace Action is the nation’s largest grassroots peace and disarmament organization with 85,000 members nationwide. Peace Action, formerly Sane/Freeze, organizes for the abolition of nuclear weapons, an end to the international arms trade, an end to excessive Pentagon spending, and peaceful resolution of violent conflicts. |
See also:
http://www.peace-action.org
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