"Individuals have tremendous power, and it is the power of non-violence.
Individuals have to mobilize to make a difference, but tragically
democracy is not really working in our world and a lot of the civil
community has been disenfranchised. Where do we have genuine democracy?
Let's listen to the voice of the people because it's a voice for peace."
- Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate 1976=20
I remember trembling with rage and fear but not questioning for a
moment that the right thing to do was to defend Michael. That was because I
had defended Stephen, my deaf brother. I think that that transferred to =
being angry when any larger power is "mean" to any weaker power. That =
translated into wanting to find ways to "defend" them. That wanting to
"defend" them has translated into the work that I have done over the =
past ten years.
- Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate 1997
Nobel Winners Arrested at White House War Protest
by Sue Pleming, Reuters
March 27th, 2003
=20
WASHINGTON - Police arrested two Nobel Peace prize winners along with =
more than 60 other people protesting on Wednesday near the White House
=
against the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Uniformed Secret Service police
arrest =
a protester, who passed the barricades to demonstrate against the war
in =
Iraq in front of the White House Wednesday, March 26, 2003.
Police handcuffed Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the prize in 1976 =
for peace activism in the Northern Ireland conflict, and Jody Williams,
=
a 1997 winner for her work to ban land mines, after they refused to =
leave Lafayette Park opposite the home of the U.S. president. The Nobel
=
laureates were detained along with religious leaders and Vietnam-era =
protester Daniel Ellsberg as they sat in a circle in the park and =
chanted "Peace, shalom." They held roses as well as gruesome posters =
showing civilian casualties from the war.=20
Maguire told Reuters before being taken away that she planned to stage
=
an anti-war protest each day outside the White House until April 18, =
Good Friday on the Christian calendar. "In Northern Ireland we were =
encouraged to resolve our problems with dialogue and I would like to
see =
that happen here," added Maguire, who said she had asked President Bush
=
to meet her. Williams hugged Maguire before they were both handcuffed =
and loaded into a police van. "This is what our democracy looks like,"
=
shouted Williams to reporters when she was handcuffed by police.=20
A spokesman for the U.S. Parks Police said nine people had been
arrested =
for crossing a police line opposite the White House and that the rest =
were held for protesting without a permit. "We expect them all to be =
released within a couple of hours," he said. Ellsberg, a former Marine
=
and high-level military analyst who leaked Pentagon secrets about the =
Vietnam war to the press in 1971, was cheered by supporters who stood =
behind police barriers when he was led away.=20
Catholic and Methodist bishops and a leading rabbi were also among
those =
arrested in the demonstration, which was organized by the Catholic
group =
Pax Christi. Bush was not in the White House at the time of the protest
=
but in Florida for a briefing on the war at Central Command
headquarters =
at MacDill Air Force Base.=20
About 250 opponents of the war protested in Tampa, a few miles away
from =
where the president addressed troops. The protesters, who came from =
across Florida and represented a host of anti-war and civil rights =
groups, could see Air Force One with Bush aboard landing at MacDill as
=
they gathered for the rally. "The people of Florida say no to war," =
Mauricio Rosas, a spokesman for the coalition, told reporters.=20
In New York, 16 anti-Israel demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday =
morning after chaining themselves together across Fifth Avenue near
47th =
Street and disrupting Manhattan traffic for about an hour, police said.
=
Protesters were splashed with fake blood and wore t-shirts saying =
"Witness to Israeli War Crimes."=20
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd
__
Mairead Corrigan Maguire's Letter to her son Luke
http://www.peacejam.org/maguire/luke.html
Dear Luke,
Today you picked a little yellow rosebud from the garden and carried it
=
into the house to give it to me. Your little baby face beamed up at me
=
as you gave me the rosebud. What joy that moment held for me-joy
knowing =
how deeply I love you, and then as I went to put the rose in water, I =
realised it had no stem, and that without water it would never grow
from =
a rosebud into a beautiful full rose, but that soon, all too soon, it =
would die.
I felt sad for a moment at this thought and as I watched you toddle =
across the room, I wondered how I might help you, my little rosebud, =
grow and 'blossom' into manhood. What can I teach you? What can I say
to =
you that will help you to grow up in this 'thorny' world, and yet know
=
peace, joy and happiness, which, dear Luke, are the greatest treasures
=
anyone can possess.
Always know, Luke, that you are deeply loved. You are Ioved by Daddy
and =
me, and your brothers and sisters. But as you grow up and begin to ask
=
questions for yourself you will know that men and women have a need in
=
their hearts for something more, something deeper than that found even
=
in the very best of human love.
As you walk along a beach at night and listen to the waves lapping =
gently on the shore, or look up into a night sky at millions of stars,
=
know too that He who created all this, created it for you because HE =
loves you. You are part of this beautiful creation and you are =
beautiful, special and unique in this Universe. Love, and believe in =
yourself, because only then can you love and believe in others.
Luke, do not be afraid to love others unselfishly. Yes, many times you
=
will get your fingers pricked on the thorns of disappointment or =
rejection, but many more times you will pluck the rose of love and =
receive great happiness and joy from its sweet scent and colour. Don't
=
be afraid to risk loving and remember that, as the little rosebud
needed =
the water to live, so much more you and I, and all the people of the =
world need to love and be loved. Know that 'love' is the greatest gift
=
you personally can give to another fellow traveller along the 'thorny'
=
path of life.
As you grow up in the Christian tradition, struggle each day to be more
=
'Christ' like. Pray to be more loving, compassionate, courageous,
gentle =
and peaceful. Try to see Christ in every man, especially the suffering
=
Christ, and serve and help to remove the causes of that suffering where
=
you can. Remember it is a dead faith that has only words. Acts of love
=
and compassion for the spiritually and materially poorest of the poor
is =
where true faith blossoms.
With ever so gentle steps, walk side-by-side with all the travellers on
=
this 'thorny' path of life. They will differ from you in colour, creed
=
(there are many paths to God) culture and politics-but above all =
remember your fellow travellers have the same needs as you. Our common
=
humanity is far more important than any religious or political =
ideologies. Treat every man and woman justly and gently as you would =
have them treat you.
In your life Luke, pray to be a 'just' man. Your life is precious and =
sacred, Luke, and your first right as a human being is your right to =
your life. So as you would ask natural justice of your fellow
travellers =
in respecting your right to life, then you too must give 'justice' and
=
respect every person's right to life. This means, my little son, that =
you must never kill another human being.
It will not be easy for you to refuse to kill. Sadly we live in a world
=
where those who refuse to kill and choose to live nonviolent lives are
=
looked upon as naive or as cowards. Yes, it will take all of your =
courage to walk unarmed and refuse to hate and kill, in a world which =
insists that you must have enemies and be prepared to kill them before
=
they kill you.
Stand tall and strong, armed only with love, dear Luke, and refuse to =
hate, refuse to have enemies, refuse to let Fear master your life. Only
=
love can bring down the barriers of hate and enmity between men and =
nations. Hate and weapons only fuel the fear and bring closer the day
of =
war.
Let no man plant in your heart the false seed of pride in any country's
=
flag, a seed that produces the flower of narrow nationalism which grows
=
so wildly, trampling and killing all life around it. Remember always, =
Luke, people are more important than countries.
I would not give one hair of your precious head for any country-you are
=
more important than any country. And if I feel this passionate love for
=
you, and for my other children, Mark, Joanne, Marie Louise and John, I
=
too feel passionately for the lives of the little children who are mine
=
too, who to day die of starvation in Ethiopia; for the little children
=
in Moscow and the little children in New York who are told they must be
=
enemies and may end up someday killing each other -in the name of the =
'flag'. Remember, Luke, you have no country. The world is your country.
=
You have not only 2 brothers and 2 sisters but millions of brothers and
=
sisters.
Pray also for the gift of wisdom. It is a wise man who soon comes to =
know that the human family's real enemies are those of injustice, war,
=
starvation, poverty. But wise men also know that it is only by men =
becoming different and thinking in new ways, that these things will =
become different.
When 'human' life is held as so sacred that no one can kill, then =
justice will reign in people's hearts and in all lands. Wars will be no
=
more. Justice will mean that no man has too much, while some have =
nothing. Greed and selfishness will turn into feeding the hungry and =
removing all poverty. It is possible, Luke, to change to this kind of =
world. You just have to refuse to accept the old ways of 'thinking' and
=
'doing' things, and begin to 'think' and 'act' in a way more in tune =
with the magnificent goodness in man. All men know today that killing =
and starvation is wrong-it is just that not enough are prepared to =
change themselves and to work on making things different.
And now, my little son, before you fall asleep, let me say the most =
important thing of all to you. Be happy, be joyous, live every minute
of =
this beautiful gift of life. When suffering comes into your life, and =
sadly I cannot, much as I would love to, protect you from all
suffering, =
and when you come through the winter of your life, remember that summer
=
will return, the sun will shine again, and the road will be covered in
=
beautiful, oh so very, very beautiful, yellow roses of love.
God bless you and keep you, my little Luke.=20
Interview with Mairead Corrigan Maguire
http://www.peacejam.org/maguire/interview.html
____
Iraqi use of antipersonnel mines condemned
Sue Wixley
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/104825021941.htm
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) - USA
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) today condemned Iraq
=
for using antipersonnel landmines at the outset of the conflict with
the =
United States. Reuters reported on Thursday that Iraqi troops were =
laying mines near the Kuwaiti border when they were intercepted by U.S.
=
Marines. There have been other reports that Iraqi forces were laying =
mines around Kirkuk in the north and elsewhere in the country.=20
"There is no justification for using this appalling weapon," said Jody
=
Williams, ICBL Ambassador and co-winner with the ICBL of the 1997 Nobel
=
Peace Prize. "Like chemical and biological weapons, any use of =
antipersonnel mines for any purpose is both illegal and repugnant to
the =
civilized world," said Williams. Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren
=
Christopher and others have referred to antipersonnel mines as "weapons
=
of mass destruction in slow motion."=20
..
Iraqi Use of Antipersonnel Mines Condemned=20
http://www.icbl.org/
(21-Mar-2003) ICBL reacts to press reports of Iraqi mine-laying near
the =
Kuwaiti border, around Kirkuk in the north and elsewhere.=20
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) today condemned Iraq
=
for using antipersonnel landmines at the outset of the conflict with
the =
United States. Reuters reported on Thursday that Iraqi troops were =
laying mines near the Kuwaiti border when they were intercepted by U.S.
=
Marines. There have been other reports that Iraqi forces were laying =
mines around Kirkuk in the north and elsewhere in the country.
"There is no justification for using this appalling weapon," said Jody
=
Williams, ICBL Ambassador and co-winner with the ICBL of the 1997 Nobel
=
Peace Prize. "Like chemical and biological weapons, any use of =
antipersonnel mines for any purpose is both illegal and repugnant to
the =
civilized world," said Williams. Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren
=
Christopher and others have referred to antipersonnel mines as "weapons
=
of mass destruction in slow motion."
Neither Iraq nor the United States is among the 146 governments that =
have joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits use, production,
=
transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. But the ICBL believes
=
that any use of antipersonnel mines is prohibited by customary =
international humanitarian law, because they are inherently =
indiscriminate weapons whose limited military benefits are far =
outweighed by the long-term cost to civilian populations.
Iraq has been a significant producer and exporter of antipersonnel
mines =
in the past, and has been notable for its complete lack of involvement
=
in global efforts to eradicate the weapon. Current U.S. policy is to =
join the Mine Ban Treaty in 2006 if suitable military alternatives have
=
been found. However, the United States has deployed at least 90,000 =
antipersonnel mines to the region and incorporated them into war plans.
The ICBL calls on Iraq to halt immediately its deployment of =
antipersonnel mines and calls on the US to give assurances that it will
=
not use any type of antipersonnel mine during the conflict. "We urge
all =
parties involved to respect the international norm which rejects mine =
warfare," said Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator. The campaign also =
reiterated its call to States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty to
"respond =
vigorously to this and any use of antipersonnel landmines."
Iraq already suffers greatly from landmines laid in the 1991 Persian =
Gulf War, the Iraq-Iran War and previous conflicts. Landmines have been
=
killing and maiming hundreds of Iraqi civilians every year, and new =
minefields will only add to these woes. The United Nations has
suspended =
its major mine clearance program in northern Iraq. Once there is peace,
=
landmines will greatly complicate the task of reconstructing Iraq, and
=
will pose dangers to returning refugees and to the provision of =
humanitarian assistance and deployment of peacekeepers.
Iraq and Landmines
>From bad to worse
Nine year old Iraqi, Fanar Zekri Baker, was cutting grass when he set =
off a landmine. Photo: ICRC =20
Iraq is a severely mine-affected country - a legacy of the Gulf War,
the =
Iran-Iraq War, decades of internal conflict and World War II.=20
Mines kill and maim hundreds of civilians every year in Iraq. In =
Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) about one person a day steps on a mine.
=
For the rest, comprehensive statistics on mine-related injuries and =
deaths are not available.=20
The northern part of the country, including Iraqi Kurdistan, and the =
border with Iran in the central and southern regions are the most =
mine-affected.=20
Baghdad has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty. It still produces =
antipersonnel mines and is the last known exporter of the weapon
(having =
neither instituted a ban/moratorium nor declared there is no current =
export). It probably holds large stockpiles. Iraq has not used the =
weapon recently (according to a 2002 report).
__
Speech by Jody Williams
Ban Landmines Week Press Conference, Thursday March 8, 2001
http://www.banminesusa.org/urg_act/995_speech/jwilliamspch.html
Excerpt:
I've asked Song Kosal to stand with me so we don't forget for one
second =
why we're here. My name is Jody Williams, and I was the founding =
coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. I currently
=
serve as its international ambassador. In 1997 the International =
Campaign to Ban Landmines and myself were the recipients of the Nobel =
Peace Prize.=20
When we were awarded the prize, the Nobel committee said that we had =
made a utopian dream a reality. Unfortunately there is still a huge gap
=
in that reality. I am a US citizen and yet my country stays outside the
=
treaty. The sole remaining superpower needs to join this treaty.
We're told that American citizens don't care about this issue. I ask
the =
new administration to look out the window and rethink that position. =
There are people from 47 states of the United States of America here to
=
show that yes, in fact, we do care about this issue. Last week I went
to =
Missouri - Is Ken Rutherford here? Professor Rutherford at SMSU, =
Southwestern Missouri State University, a founder of the Landmine =
Survivors Network, was blown up by a landmine helping others in
Somalia, =
knows personally the pain, invited me to come and speak with his =
students and the people of Missouri. There were hundreds in the =
audience, so don't tell me US citizens don't care.=20
When Ken introduced me, he kind of cracked me up, he said, "The first =
time I ever saw this woman I called my wife into the room to look at
her =
on the TV and I said, "Here's this able-bodied person caring about =
landmines, you know, she never got blown up, why does she care?" I'll =
tell you why I care. My brother was born deaf, he cannot hear a sound.
=
My brother cannot speak. In adolescence he developed severe violent =
schizophrenia. He is 54 years old. My family has lived with severe =
disability my entire life. I have no doubt about the impact of =
disability on a family and a community.
I live in the United States of America where there is some possibility
=
to help the disabled. But let me tell you there's still a lot of gaps =
here, too. And when I think about that reality, and I think about the =
people here from the poorest countries in the world trying to live with
=
disability, trying to provide for their families when they can barely =
manage on a daily basis, I care very deeply and very profoundly. I feel
=
it in my bones because of my own experience.
And all of you came here because all of you care. I will go next Monday
=
to South Africa. The day after I get back I will go to Washington state
=
to speak to people about this issue. In April-May I will go to India
and =
Pakistan to speak to those governments about this issue. In October I =
will go to the Koreas to speak to the governments about this issue. In
=
November I will go to Armenia and the Caucuses, former Soviet States =
plagued by landmines to speak about this issue. And I can tell you, in
=
every one of those countries, I will be asked: "Where is the United =
States of America?" In every one of those countries, I will be asked: =
"Why should we sign if the sole remaining superpower, who has every =
weapon and more, cannot give up this little weapon? Why should I?" What
=
can I say?
Please, President Bush, please listen to the cries of the people of
your =
own country and the world. I echo the words of Congressman McGovern,
and =
Reverend Edgar, in the assessment of the needs of the military for the
=
next century, recognize landmines are not part of that need. Please
give =
them up so when I go around the world I can say, "Yes, yes, yes. We
have =
joined so please join, too."
Before I ask the children to sing again - I hope they'll tolerate my =
obsession with their fabulous song - I want to say one thing about the
=
young people of America. I think we've all been horrified at the recent
=
shootings in the last couple of days. Southern California; the child =
yesterday in Seattle who was holding students hostage with a gun, and =
somehow they were able to disarm him. And that's the image we have of =
young people in America, unfortunately. We have an image of violence
and =
guns in schools. I want you to look at these young people. These are
the =
young people of America - the future generations of activists who =
understand that you work toward peace every single day.
Peace is not a vision for the future. Peace is something, as Song Kosal
=
said, that you work on every single day to make the flower of peace =
grow. And I am profoundly moved and appreciative that these young kids
=
are part of the future and they=F4re grabbing the future now when =
they're eleven, ten, nine, twelve, thirteen. At that age, I didn't know
=
what activism was. So I want to say these kids rock, they roll, they =
rule, they're going to make this country come on board. Will you sing =
one more time and close the conference?=20
[Children sing]
__
Female Nobel Prize Laureates
http://www.almaz.com/nobel/women.html
In 1903, only two years after the Nobel Foundation was established, a =
Nobel Prize was awarded to a woman, Marie Curie, for the first time. =
Women have been winning Nobel Prizes ever since. In fact, one woman, =
Bertha von Suttner was influential in convincing Alfred Nobel to set =
aside a Prize for peace. Women have won Prizes in all categories with =
the exception of Economics (which was established in 1968 and first =
awarded in 1969).=20
Physics:=20
1903 Marie Sklodowska Curie=20
1963 Maria Goeppert Mayer=20
Chemistry:=20
1911 Marie Sklodowska Curie=20
1935 Irene Joliot-Curie=20
1964 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin=20
Physiology & Medicine:=20
1947 Gerty Radnitz Cori=20
1977 Rosalyn Sussman Yalow=20
1983 Barbara McClintock=20
1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini=20
1988 Gertrude Elion=20
1995 Christiane Nusslein-Volhard=20
Peace:=20
1905 Baroness Bertha von Suttner=20
1931 Jane Addams=20
1946 Emily Greene Balch=20
1976 Betty Williams=20
1976 Mairead Corrigan=20
1979 Mother Teresa=20
1982 Alva Myrdal=20
1991 Aung San Suu Kyi=20
1992 Rigoberta Menchu Tum=20
1997 Jody Williams=20
Literature:=20
1909 Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlof=20
1926 Grazia Deledda=20
1928 Sigrid Undset=20
1938 Pearl Buck=20
1945 Gabriela Mistral=20
1966 Nelly Sachs=20
1991 Nadine Gordimer=20
1993 Toni Morrison=20
1996 Wislawa Szymborska=20
"Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary
change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing
event LIKE A NEW PEARL HARBOR."
excerpt, pg. 51 of "Rebuilding America's Defenses," a document that
strategizes about the future American conquest of Iraq (among other things)
drawn up by the Project for a New American Century - a think tank that
includes many influential members of the current U.S. administration, dated
SEPTEMBER, 2000.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
"Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring" -- Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950
"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country." -- Hermann Goering, 1939
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