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News :: Miscellaneous |
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GREENS CALL SUPRESSION OF DEBATE ABOUT THE WAR A THREAT TO U.S. DEMOCRACY |
Current rating: 0 |
by Starlene Rankin, Illinois GP Media Coord
Email: starlene (nospam) greens.org (unverified!)
Phone: 773 907 9845 |
25 Oct 2001
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*** A humane response, including restored rights
for Afghani women, is the only hope for regional
stability, say Greens
*** Greens are outraged by the FBI's threat
against Women in Black, a peace network with
Green support and Green members |
THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release:
Thursday, October 25, 2001
National Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator
207-326-4576, nallen (at) acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator
202-518-5624, scottmclarty (at) yahoo.com
Local Contact:
Starlene Rankin, Illinois GP Media Coordinator
773-907-9845, starlene (at) greens.org
GREENS CALL SUPRESSION OF DEBATE ABOUT THE WAR A
THREAT TO U.S. DEMOCRACY
*** A humane response, including restored rights
for Afghani women, is the only hope for regional
stability, say Greens
*** Greens are outraged by the FBI's threat
against Women in Black, a peace network with
Green support and Green members
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United
States calls the growing suppression of open
debate about the U.S. response to the September
11 attacks anti-democratic, anti-American, and
unacceptable.
"Prudent measures to keep knives off airplanes is
one thing," said Starlene Rankin, Illinois Green
Party Media Coordinator. "But allowing the FBI,
CIA, or other police agencies to spy on American
citizens is quite another. The Greens absolutely
oppose any restriction on civil political
dissent. We must remain free to question and
challenge the political status quo and to hold
our elected officials accountable -- our
cherished civil liberties must not be
compromised!"
"President Bush says 'either you're with us, or
you're against us' in the war on terrorism -- and
calls anyone who criticizes the U.S.'s unilateral
bombing of Afghanistan or questions the failed
U.S. foreign policies that have alienated people
around the world a supporter of terrorism."
One dissenting organization targeted by the FBI
is Women in Black. An international network of
peace activists founded in 1988, Women in Black
has stood in silent vigil against military
attacks and occupations around the world, often
placing themselves in harm's way. Women in Black
currently hold vigil every Wednesday evening at
the New York Public Library as a call for peace
and in remembrance of those lost to terrorism on
September 11. In Pennsylvania, the Lancaster
Greens join Women In Black in vigils in front of
the Lancaster County courthouse every Wednesday
at 5:30 p.m.
Women in Black counts several Green Party
activists among its members, including Annie
Goeke, formerly of the party's national steering
committee and now the chair of the International
Committee. Other groups under suspicion by the
FBI for potential terrorism include harmless
dissident groups like Reclaim the Streets and
Carnival Against Capitalism.
"How profoundly ironic it is that as we claim to
be defending the freedom for democracy, we are
silencing the voices of women and others that are
part of the growing movement for peace," said
Goeke. "Our civil liberties are being threatened
when the FBI labels the international movement
Women in Black as a potential terrorist group and
threatens it with a grand jury investigation.
Only 9 months ago Women in Black was awarded the
U.N. Millennium Peace Award and was nominated for
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001."
"Groups like Women in Black are under suspicion
because they protest U.S. policy, while
condemning the September 11 attacks," said Kara
Ceriello, chair of the Green Party of Washington
State. "But the Bush Administration won't
criticize the drug companies, such as Bayer, and
drug stores that have been price-gouging and
blocking low-cost generic forms of antibiotics
that effectively fight Anthrax. The White House
won't hold Unocal responsible for past business
deals with the Taliban or discuss American
business interests in an oil pipeline through
Afghanistan. And the White House won't
acknowledge the Northern Alliance's
multi-million-dollar opium crop, a source of
illegal narcotics throughout the West."
Many Green activists point to groups like the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA) as a hope for peace in
Afghanistan and the surrounding region. RAWA
demands that both the Taliban and the Northern
Alliance be disarmed, calling both sides violent,
brutally misogynistic, and anti-democratic. RAWA
members, active for two decades, have risked
their lives providing secret education for
Afghani girls, providing medical aid for Afghani
women, and documenting the Taliban's atrocities.
"The example set by RAWA should be the foundation
of a humane solution to the international
crisis," said Tod Sloan, social psychologist and
co-chair of the International Committee of the
Green Party. "Greens call for a response to the
September 11 atrocities that ensures justice for
the victims and seeks peace, stability, and the
protection of human rights and democracy."
Greens across the U.S. continue to protest the
military attacks on Afghanistan, asserting that
violence will not bring a solution to the current
crisis but instead risks escalation of the
conflict into the 'holy war' sought by Osama bin
Laden and his fanatical movement if the attacks
continue. The Green Party issued a statement in
early October calling for international
cooperation in treating the September 11 attacks
as a crime against humanity, with the
perpetrators indicted and tried in an ad hoc
international tribunal in accord with treaties
such as 1971 Montreal Sabotage Convention, which
both the U.S. and Afghanistan signed.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://gpus.org
Green Party statement on the September 11 attacks
http://gpus.org/articles/9_11_01.html
Women in Black
http://www.igc.org/balkans/wib/index.html#top
Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan http://www.rawa.org
Letter from Ralph Nader and James Love to HHS
Secretary Thompson Regarding Ciprofloxacin,
October 18, 2001
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/1018-08.htm
END
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See also:
http://gpus.org
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