[Reader-list] Fw: NY / Statement from the War Resisters League

[Shekhar Krishnan]

From: "Jairus Banaji" <banaji at bom3.vsnl.net.in>
To: <bennet14 at hotmail.com>, <hrln at vsnl.com>, <kshekhar at bol.net.in>,
         <comrade_dt at indiatimes.com>, <otisunion at hotmail.com>
Subject: Fw: NY / Statement from the War Resisters League
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 12:44:06 +0530
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-----Original Message-----
From: Harsh Kapoor <aiindex at mnet.fr>
To: aiindex at mnet.fr <aiindex at mnet.fr>
Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 4:31 AM
Subject: NY / Statement from the War Resisters League


http://www.warresisters.org/attack9-11-01.htm

                 Statement from the War Resisters League

                 New York, New York
                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                 September 11, 2001

As we write, Manhattan feels under siege, with all bridges, tunnels, and
subways closed, and tens of thousands of people walking slowly north
from Lower Manhattan. As we sit in our offices here at War Resisters
League, our most immediate thoughts are of the hundreds if not
thousands of New Yorkers who have lost their lives in the collapse of the
World Trade Center. The day is clear, the sky is blue, but vast clouds
billow over the ruins where so many have died, including a great many
rescue workers who were there when the final collapse occurred.

Of course we know that our friends and co-workers in Washington, D.C.
have similar thoughts about the ordinary people who have been trapped
in the parts of the Pentagon which were also struck by a jet. And we
think of the innocent passengers on the hi-jacked jets who were carried
to their doom on this day. We do not know at this time from what
source the attack came.

We do know that Yasser Arafat has condemned the bombing. We
hesitate to make an extended analysis until more information is
available but some things are clear. For the Bush Administration to talk
of spending hundreds of billions on Star Wars is clearly the sham it was
from the beginning, when terrorism can so easily strike through more
routine means.

We urge Congress and George Bush that whatever response or policy
the U.S. develops it will be clear that this nation will no longer target
civilians, or accept any policy by any nation which targets civilians. This
would mean an end to the sanctions against Iraq, which have caused
the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. It would mean not only
a condemnation of terrorism by Palestinians but also the policy of
assassination against the Palestinian leadership by Israel, and the
ruthless repression of the Palestinian population and the continuing
occupation by Israel of the West Bank and Gaza.

The policies of militarism pursued by the United States have resulted in
millions of deaths, from the historic tragedy of the Indochina war,
through the funding of death squads in Central America and Colombia,
to the sanctions and air strikes against Iraq. This nation is the largest
supplier of "conventional weapons" in the world—and those weapons fuel
the starkest kind of terrorism from Indonesia to Africa. The early policy
support for armed resistance in Afghanistan resulted in the victory of the
Taliban—and the creation of Osama Bin Laden.

Other nations have also engaged in these policies. We have, in years
past, condemned the actions of the Russian government in areas such
as Chechnya, the violence on both sides in the Middle East, and in the
Balkans. But our nation must take responsibility for its own actions. Up
until now we have felt safe within our borders. To wake on a clear day to
find our largest city under siege reminds us that in a violent world, none
are safe. Let us seek an end of the militarism that has characterized
this nation for decades.

Let us seek a world in which security is gained through disarmament,
international cooperation, and social justice not through escalation and
retaliation. We condemn without reservation attacks such as those
which occurred today, which strike at thousands of civilians—may these
profound tragedies remind us of the impact U.S. policies have had on
other civilians in other lands. We also condemn reflexive hostility
against people of Arab descent living in this country and urge that
Americans recall the part of our heritage that opposes bigotry in all
forms.

We are one world. We shall live in a state of fear and terror or we shall
move toward a future in which we seek peaceful alternatives to violence,
and a more just distribution of the world’s resources. As we mourn the
many lives lost, our hearts call out for reconciliation, not revenge.

                                         ****************

This is not an official statement of the War Resisters League but was
drafted immediately after the tragic events occurred. Signed and issued
by members of the staff and Executive Committee of War Resisters
League at the national office, September 11, 2001:

                 asif ullah
                 Carmen Trotta
                 Chris Ney
                 David McReynolds
                 Joanne Sheehan
                 Judith Mahoney Pasternak
                 Melissa Jameson

                 Contact: David McReynolds, 212-674-7268
                 Joanne Sheehan, 860-889-5337
                 War Resisters League, 212-228-0450



                                         War Resisters League
                                          339 Lafayette Street
                                          New York, NY 10012
                                            (212) 228-0450
                                           fax (212) 228-6193
                                          wrl at warresisters.org

Believing war to be a crime against humanity, the War Resisters
League, founded in 1923, advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the
method for creating a democratic society free of war, racism, sexism,
and human exploitation.
_____

Shekhar Krishnan
9, Supriya, 2nd Floor
Plot 709, Parsee Colony Road No.4
Dadar, Bombay 400014
India