Category Archives: DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Canada: It’s time to let Iraq War Resisters stay!

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the War Resisters Support Campaign

Following the federal election, there is hope that there can finally be a positive and speedy resolution to the cases of U.S. Iraq War resisters. Your help is needed to make sure they are allowed to stay in Canada. Watch our new video below and then take a moment to write a letter to your MP in support of war resisters. For more information, see our backgrounder on the situation of U.S. Iraq War Resisters in Canada.

resisters

Video for campaign

Canadians voted for change and expect the new government to do the right thing and let the war resisters stay. It was the strong response of Canadians that has kept most U.S. war resisters in Canada – and out of U.S. military prison – for the past ten years.

U.S. Iraq War resisters have lived through a decade of unfair political interference in their cases by the previous Conservative government. Some were deported by the Harper government, and received harsh jail sentences in the U.S. for opposing the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq.

The new government should immediately heed the will of the majority of Canadians and stop any and all actions against U.S. war resisters, including halting the litigation against U.S. war resisters, as this litigation defends policies and decisions made by the previous Conservative government.

How you can help

1) Write a Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A2

2) Call, e-mail and write to your Member of Parliament:
To send a letter: address it to your MP, and send to House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

To find out your MP’s email and phone number, you can email info@parl.gc.ca
or call toll-free (Canada): 1 (866) 599-4999.

MP contact details will be up shortly at www.parl.gc.ca, under ‘Members of Parliament’.

Key points to mention:

• Resolve this issue swiftly as part of the change promised by the new government

• It is time to fix this issue – end over 10 years of unfair and unjust legal and political actions by the Harper government

• Stop the deportations

• Stop pursuing war resister cases in court, as doing so defends decisions and policies made by the former Conservative government

• Rescind Operational Bulletin 202

• Implement a new Operational Bulletin that restores fairness for all war resister cases and reverses the harm done

3) Donate to the War Resisters Support Campaign

4) Please join and follow us – and share us on Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Question for this article:
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Burundi agrees to accept African Union human rights monitors

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Deutsche Welle

Burundi has agreed to accept the deployment of 100 human rights observers and 100 military monitors as months of political violence raises concern the country could fall back into deadly civil war, the African Union said on Saturday.

Burundi
Photo of the AU delegation by Agence France Presse

The leaders of South Africa, Gabon, Mauritania, Senegal and Ethiopia have been in Burundi this week meeting with representatives of the opposition and government to prevent escalation of a crisis that has killed more than 400 people and displaced at least a quarter of a million in the past 10 months.

The AU said in a statement that “the solution to Burundi’s political problems can be attained only through inclusive and peaceful engagement.”

The African body assigned Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to act as a mediator to foster dialogue between President Pierre Nkurunziza and the opposition.

Nkurunziza had previously said he would oppose an AU mission in the country, which has been in crisis since last April when he announced a bid to run for a third term despite a constitutional two-term limit. He was elected to a third term in July in an election boycotted by the opposition.

The re-election turmoil and a failed coup attempt in May spawned a deadly wave of violence across Burundi, with the opposition and government tied to bombings, disappearances, murders and abuse.

Nkurunziza has accused neighboring Rwanda of fomenting violence and backing the opposition, charges that US officials have said carry some weight.

Earlier this week Nkurunziza met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and said he would engage in dialogue with the opposition.

(Click here for a version of this article in French.)

Question for this article:
Africa, DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Asia and the Middle East lead rise in arms imports; the United States and Russia remain largest arms exporters, says SIPRI

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A press release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

The volume of international transfers of major weapons has grown continuously since 2004 and rose by 14 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15, according to new data on international arms transfers published today (22 February 2016) by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI

Six of the top 10 largest arms importers in the 5-year period 2011–15 are in Asia and Oceania: India (14 per cent of global arms imports), China (4.7 per cent), Australia (3.6 per cent), Pakistan (3.3 per cent), Viet Nam (2.9 per cent) and South Korea (2.6 per cent). Viet Nam’s arms imports rose by 699 per cent. Arms imports by states in Asia and Oceania increased by 26 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15, with states in the region receiving 46 per cent of global imports in 2011–15.

‘China continues to expand its military capabilities with imported and domestically produced weapons,’ said Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘Neighbouring states such as India, Viet Nam and Japan are also significantly strengthening their military forces.’

Imports by Middle Eastern states on the increase

Arms imports by states in the Middle East rose by 61 per cent between 2006–10 and 
2011–15. In 2011–15 Saudi Arabia was the world’s second largest arms importer, with an increase of 275 per cent compared to 2006–10. In the same period, arms imports by the United Arab Emirates rose by 35 per cent and those by Qatar went up by 279 per cent. Egypt’s arms imports increased by 37 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15, primarily due to a steep rise in 2015.

‘A coalition of Arab states is putting mainly US- and European-sourced advanced arms into use in Yemen,’ said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘Despite low oil prices, large deliveries of arms to the Middle East are scheduled to continue as part of contracts signed in the past five years.’

Arms exporters: the USA remains well ahead

With a 33 per cent share of total arms exports, the USA was the top arms exporter in 
2011–15. Its exports of major weapons increased by 27 per cent compared to 2006–10.

(Article continued on the right column)

(Click here for a version of this article in French or here for a version in Spanish.)

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

(Article continued from the left column)

Russian exports of major weapons increased by 28 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15, and Russia accounted for 25 per cent of global exports in the recent 5-year period. However, in 2014 and 2015 Russian exports returned to the lower annual levels observed in 2006–10.

Chinese exports of major arms were just above those of France in 2011–15, growing by 
88 per cent compared to 2006–10. French exports decreased by 9.8 per cent and German exports halved over the same period.

‘As regional conflicts and tensions continue to mount, the USA remains the leading global arms supplier by a significant margin,’ said Dr Aude Fleurant, Director of the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘The USA has sold or donated major arms to at least 96 states in the past five years, and the US arms industry has large outstanding export orders, including for a total of 611 F-35 combat aircraft to 9 states.’

Other notable developments

Between 2006–10 and 2011–15 imports by states in Africa increased by 19 per cent. Algeria and Morocco remained the two largest arms importers in the region with a combined total of 56 per cent of African imports.

Due to economic constraints most sub-Saharan African states imported only small volumes of arms in 2011–15, despite many being involved in armed conflicts during that period.

Mexico’s arms imports grew by 331 per cent in 2011–15 compared with 2006–10.

Azerbaijan increased its arms imports by 217 per cent between 2006–10 and 
2011–15.

Arms imports by Iraq rose by 83 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15.

France concluded several major arms export contracts in 2015, including the first two firm contracts for its Rafale combat aircraft.

Imports by states in Europe decreased by 41 per cent between 2006–10 and 
2011–15.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

USA: ​United Methodist Kairos Response Welcomes Pension Fund Exclusion and Divestment of Israeli Banks

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

Press release by Kairos Response

UM Kairos Response is pleased to announce that the $20-billion Pension and Health Benefits Fund of the United Methodist Church has declared the five largest Israeli banks off limits for investment and has divested from the two that it held in its portfolios. This is the first time a major church pension fund has acted to preclude investment in Israeli banks that sustain Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

Kairos

The information has been posted on the Pension Fund’s website under Evaluating companies in our investment funds that pose excessive human rights risks. The banks are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank. These banks are deeply involved in financing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi were removed from the portfolios. The fund manager, known as Wespath, also divested from Shikun & Binui, an Israeli company involved with construction in the illegal settlements beyond Israel’s recognized borders. In addition, Wespath has placed Israel/Palestine on a list of regions where human rights violations occur.

UMKR is pleased to learn of these actions, while noting that Wespath still holds stock in ten companies located inside the illegal settlements and in several others that lend important support to Israel’s occupation. A list of those companies is available on the UMKR website.

According to UMKR Co-chair Rev. Michael Yoshii, “We commend the pension fund for taking this significant step in disassociating from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. But as United Methodist policy opposes the occupation, this is only a first step towards ending our financial complicity in the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.”

Rev. John Wagner, a member of the UMKR Divestment Committee, added, “Since the church’s policy-making body, the General Conference, has called on all nations to boycott products produced in the illegal settlements, we urge our fund managers to maintain consistency and divest from all companies that profit from these same settlements.”

UMKR has submitted four proposals to the next General Conference, which will meet May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. Three would require divesting from companies involved with the occupation and one would establish a screen to preclude investments in companies doing business in illegal settlements anywhere in the world.

United Methodist Kairos Response is a global grassroots group within the United Methodist Church seeking to respond to the urgent call of Palestinian Christians for actions that can end the Israeli occupation of their land. For more information, visit www.kairosresponse.org.

Question related to this article:
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Join the Palestine Museum of Natural History: Why doing so is so important

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

From the website of the Palestine Museum of Natural History

You are invited to join Global Friends of Bethlehem University (BU) Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS). We are excited to announce this 2016 initiative so fill out this form http://goo.gl/forms/Z7nmOGFC9i (if you have difficulty email us at info@palestinenature.org) to tell us your location and a bit on your background so that we can connect you with other friends of BU-PMNH/PIBS in your country. We will send you more information about HOW YOU can become part of such a global network.

For now let us explain WHY doing so is important.

Mazin-3
Frame from video about museum

PMNH/PIBS team members and volunteers work locally and globally to protect our environment, educate people around the world on environmental threats in Palestine (such as effect of apartheid wall, industrial and other Israeli colonial activities), and implement programs of environmental and agricultural sustainability on the ground especially in marginalized Palestinian areas. With limited resources and time, we have already achieved much:

– Published many research papers on areas from environmental health to biodiversity

– Held over 20 workshops on areas ranging from permaculture to cancer

– Over 1000 students visited us either in the science festival programs held at the museum or outside

– We developed our museum and its botanical garden in terms of infrastructure, human resource, and volunteers. This includes a wetland ecosystem, an aviary, a green house, three aquaponic systems, beginnings of an exhibit hall, a local tree garden, and more.

– Implemented projects of recycling, up-cycling, composting, green walls, and other permaculture projects.

– Developed projects for transfer of technology in our experimental garden to farmers and potential farmers.

– Undertook outreach and partnerships with hundreds of local, regional, and global entities (governments, schools, universities, NGOs, etc.) and had several hundred internationals visit the museum grounds (Prof. Qumsiyeh also traveled to five countries promoting the museum work and discussing potential collaborations during invited speaking tours). Several join projects are already underway as a result.

The museum (palestinenature.org) and its botanical garden are also important in providing young people with options, directions, and a new way of looking at themselves and their environment (empowerment and nature conservation). We now have an integrated system for research and education to address areas in need in Palestine: healthcare, environment, and agriculture (especially permaculture). We have dozens of volunteers but we can accelerate our progress with YOUR help and accomplish much more. So fill out this form http://goo.gl/forms/Z7nmOGFC9i (if you have difficulty email us at info@palestinenature.org) to tell us you can help from your location (any and all countries including Palestine). Tentative name is “Network for Palestine Nature” (your suggestions on name would be appreciated).

Question for this article:
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

Obama’s speech on gun control: the ‘fierce urgency of now.’

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Some excerpts from President Obama’s speech on gun safety reform

“In Dr. King’s words, we need to feel the ‘fierce urgency of now.’ Because people are dying. And the constant excuses for inaction no longer do, no longer suffice. That’s why we’re here today. Not to debate the last mass shooting, but to do something to try to prevent the next one.”


Obama
Photo from Video of Obama speech

“How did we get here? How did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people’s guns? Each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, or the one before that, so why bother trying. I reject that thinking.”

“So let me outline what we’re going to be doing. Number one, anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions … We’re also expanding background checks to cover violent criminals who try to buy some of the most dangerous firearms by hiding behind trusts and corporations and various cutouts … And these steps will actually lead to a smoother process for law-abiding gun owners, a smoother process for responsible gun dealers, a stronger process for protecting the public from dangerous people.”

“All of us should be able to work together to find a balance that declares the rest of our rights are also important — Second Amendment rights are important, but there are other rights that we care about as well. And we have to be able to balance them. Because our right to worship freely and safely — that right was denied to Christians in Charleston, South Carolina. And that was denied Jews in Kansas City. And that was denied Muslims in Chapel Hill, and Sikhs in Oak Creek. They had rights, too.

Our right to peaceful assembly — that right was robbed from moviegoers in Aurora and Lafayette. Our unalienable right to life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — those rights were stripped from college students in Blacksburg and Santa Barbara, and from high schoolers at Columbine, and from first-graders in Newtown. First-graders. And from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”

Question for this article:

Will Obama’s initiative help reduce gun violence?

See below for comment form.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Global arms industry: West still dominant despite decline; sales surge in rest of the world, says SIPRI

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A press release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

(Stockholm, 14 December 2015) Sales of arms and military services by the largest arms-producing companies—the SIPRI Top 100—totalled $401 billion in 2014 according to new international arms industry data launched today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

sipri

For the fourth consecutive year, sales of arms and military services by the SIPRI Top 100—the largest arms-producing companies by arms sales—have decreased. However, with a reduction of 1.5 per cent in real terms between 2013 and 2014, the global decline in SIPRI Top 100 total arms sales remains moderate. Falls in 2014 are due to lower arms sales for companies based in North America and Western Europe, as Top 100 companies located in other regions of the world have collectively increased their arms sales.

Companies based in the United States continue to dominate the Top 100, with a 54.4 per cent share of the total. US companies’ arms sales decreased by 4.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014, which is similar to the rate of decline seen in 2012–13. One company bucking the downward trend is Lockheed Martin, which has occupied the first position in the Top 100 since 2009. Its arms sales grew by 3.9 per cent in 2014 to $37.5 billion. Lockheed Martin’s lead over the second ranked company Boeing, which had total arms sales of $28.3 billion, increased by $4.4 billion in 2014.

‘With the acquisition of helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in 2015, the gap between Lockheed Martin and other companies ranked in the Top 10 will widen even further next year,’ says Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Programme.

Western European companies’ arms sales decreased by 7.4 per cent in 2014. Only German (+9.4 per cent) and Swiss (+11.2 per cent) companies show overall growth in their arms sales in real terms. The rise in German arms sales was due to a significant growth in turnover for German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp (+29.5 per cent), while Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft benefited from growing demand for its trainer aircraft, boosting Swiss sales. The companies representing the seven remaining Western European countries in the Top 100 all show an overall decline in their sales.

Despite difficult national economic conditions, the Russian arms industry’s sales continued to rise in 2014. The number of Russian companies ranked in the Top 100 went up from 9 to 11, amounting to a share of 10.2 per cent of total Top 100 arms sales in 2014. The two completely new entrants are High Precision Systems (39th) and RTI (91st), while the newly established United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC) has entered the list in 24th position, replacing Sozvezdie, which merged with a number of other companies to form UIMC. The Russian company showing the most significant growth in arms sales is Uralvagonzavod, with an increase of 72.5 per cent in its arms sales. Almaz-Antey, with a near 23 per cent increase in arms sales, is now in 11th position.

(Article continued on the right column)

(Click here for a version of this article in French or here for a version in Spanish.)

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

(Article continued from the left column)

‘Russian companies are riding the wave of increasing national military spending and exports. There are now 11 Russian companies in the Top 100 and their combined revenue growth over 2013–14 was 48.4 per cent,’ says SIPRI Senior Researcher Siemon Wezeman.

In contrast, arms sales of Ukrainian companies have substantially declined. UkrOboronProm has fallen from 58th position in 2013 to 90th in 2014, with a drop in sales of 50.2 per cent. Motor Sich, the other Ukrainian company that was ranked in the 2013 Top 100, has left the list altogether. ‘The noticeable decline in sales for Ukrainian companies was largely due to disruption caused by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the loss of the Russian market, and the fall in the value of the local currency,’ says Siemon Wezeman.

Emerging producers continue to strengthen their presence in the Top 100
In 2013, SIPRI introduced an ‘emerging producers’ category to better track the evolution of companies based in countries that have stated goals of military industrialization. For 2014, this category covers Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey. The combined arms sales of companies located in these countries represents 3.7 per cent of SIPRI Top 100 total arms sales. Their revenues rose by 5.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

There are two Turkish arms-producing companies ranked in the Top 100: ASELSAN, which increased its sales by 5.6 per cent in 2014, but has moved down in the ranking from 66th to 73rd; and Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI), which has entered the Top 100 at rank 89, with a growth in arms sales of 15.1 per cent. ‘Turkey is seeking more self-sufficiency for its arms supplies and this, coupled with an aggressive export drive, has contributed to the rapid growth in revenue for ASELSAN and TAI,’ says Pieter Wezeman, a Senior Researcher at SIPRI.

South Korean companies have also raised their profile in the Top 100 in 2014. ‘Fifteen companies from Asia (not including China) have made it into the Top 100,’ according to Siemon Wezeman. ‘Many of them showed quite stable levels of sales but South Korean companies increased their total sales in 2014 by 10.5 per cent compared to 2013.’ The latest South Korean entrant to the Top 100 is Hyundai Rotem, a military vehicle manufacturer.

The SIPRI Arms Industry Database was created in 1989. It contains financial and employment data on arms-producing companies worldwide. Since 1990, SIPRI has published data on the arms sales and employment of the 100 largest of these arms-producing companies in the SIPRI Yearbook.

Arms sales are defined by SIPRI as sales of military goods and services to military customers, including sales for domestic procurement and sales for export. Changes are calculated in real terms and country comparisons are only for the same companies over different years.

This is the first of three major data set pre-launches in the lead-up to the publication of the next edition of the SIPRI Yearbook. In the first half of 2016, SIPRI will release its international arms transfers data (details of all international sales, transfers and gifts of major weapons in 2015) as well as its world military expenditure data (comprehensive information on global, regional and national trends in military spending). All data will feature in the SIPRI flagship publication SIPRI Yearbook 2016 to be published in late 2016.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

2015 Black Solidarity Statement with Palestine

. DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A statement by Black activist individuals and organizations

The following statement was signed by Black people in 25 different countries, 37 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia, including South Africa, Australia, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Palestine, & Puerto Rico. Of the 1,100+ signatories, there are 650 activists or organizers, 400 current students, 240 artists, 165 scholars or professors, and 22 clergy. 11 currently incarcerated political prisoners, at least 5 former members of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and 6 professional hip-hop artists signed the statement. Nearly 50 organizations signed onto the statement:

blackforpalestine
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hazou

The past year has been one of high-profile growth for Black-Palestinian solidarity. Out of the terror directed against us—from numerous attacks on Black life to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and chokehold on the West Bank—strengthened resilience and joint-struggle have emerged between our movements. Palestinians on Twitter were among the first to provide international support for protesters in Ferguson, where St. Louis-based Palestinians gave support on the ground. Last November, a delegation of Palestinian students visited Black organizers in St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit and more, just months before the Dream Defenders took representatives of Black Lives Matter, Ferguson, and other racial justice groups to Palestine. Throughout the year, Palestinians sent multiple letters of solidarity to us throughout protests in Ferguson, New York, and Baltimore. We offer this statement to continue the conversation between our movements:

On the anniversary of last summer’s Gaza massacre, in the 48th year of Israeli occupation, the 67th year of Palestinians’ ongoing Nakba (the Arabic word for Israel’s ethnic cleansing)–and in the fourth century of Black oppression in the present-day United States–we, the undersigned Black activists, artists, scholars, writers, and political prisoners offer this letter of reaffirmed solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and commitment to the liberation of Palestine’s land and people.

We can neither forgive nor forget last summer’s violence. We remain outraged at the brutality Israel unleashed on Gaza through its siege by land, sea and air, and three military offensives in six years. We remain sickened by Israel’s targeting of homes, schools, UN shelters, mosques, ambulances, and hospitals. We remain heartbroken and repulsed by the number of children Israel killed in an operation it called “defensive.” We reject Israel’s framing of itself as a victim. Anyone who takes an honest look at the destruction to life and property in Gaza can see Israel committed a one-sided slaughter. With 100,000 people still homeless in Gaza, the massacre’s effects continue to devastate Gaza today and will for years to come.

Israel’s injustice and cruelty toward Palestinians is not limited to Gaza and its problem is not with any particular Palestinian party. The oppression of Palestinians extends throughout the occupied territories, within Israel’s 1948 borders, and into neighboring countries. The Israeli Occupation Forces continue to kill protesters—including children—conduct night raids on civilians, hold hundreds of people under indefinite detention, and demolish homes while expanding illegal Jewish-only settlements. Israeli politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu, incite against Palestinian citizens within Israel’s recognized borders, where over 50 laws discriminate against non-Jewish people.

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Are we making progress against racism?

(Article continued from left column)

Our support extends to those living under occupation and siege, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the 7 million Palestinian refugees exiled in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. The refugees’ right to return to their homeland in present-day Israel is the most important aspect of justice for Palestinians.

Palestinian liberation represents an inherent threat to Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid, an apparatus built and sustained on ethnic cleansing, land theft, and the denial of Palestinian humanity and sovereignty. While we acknowledge that the apartheid configuration in Israel/Palestine is unique from the United States (and South Africa), we continue to see connections between the situation of Palestinians and Black people.

Israel’s widespread use of detention and imprisonment against Palestinians evokes the mass incarceration of Black people in the US, including the political imprisonment of our own revolutionaries. Soldiers, police, and courts justify lethal force against us and our children who pose no imminent threat. And while the US and Israel would continue to oppress us without collaborating with each other, we have witnessed police and soldiers from the two countries train side-by-side.

US and Israeli officials and media criminalize our existence, portray violence against us as “isolated incidents,” and call our resistance “illegitimate” or “terrorism.” These narratives ignore decades and centuries of anti-Palestinian and anti-Black violence that have always been at the core of Israel and the US. We recognize the racism that characterizes Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is also directed against others in the region, including intolerance, police brutality, and violence against Israel’s African population. Israeli officials call asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea “infiltrators” and detain them in the desert, while the state has sterilized Ethiopian Israelis without their knowledge or consent. These issues call for unified action against anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and Zionism.

We know Israel’s violence toward Palestinians would be impossible without the US defending Israel on the world stage and funding its violence with over $3 billion annually. We call on the US government to end economic and diplomatic aid to Israel. We wholeheartedly endorse Palestinian civil society’s 2005 call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and call on Black and US institutions and organizations to do the same. We urge people of conscience to recognize the struggle for Palestinian liberation as a key matter of our time.

As the BDS movement grows, we offer G4S, the world’s largest private security company, as a target for further joint struggle. G4S harms thousands of Palestinian political prisoners illegally held in Israel and hundreds of Black and brown youth held in its privatized juvenile prisons in the US. The corporation profits from incarceration and deportation from the US and Palestine, to the UK, South Africa, and Australia. We reject notions of “security” that make any of our groups unsafe and insist no one is free until all of us are.

We offer this statement first and foremost to Palestinians, whose suffering does not go unnoticed and whose resistance and resilience under racism and colonialism inspires us. It is to Palestinians, as well as the Israeli and US governments, that we declare our commitment to working through cultural, economic, and political means to ensure Palestinian liberation at the same time as we work towards our own. We encourage activists to use this statement to advance solidarity with Palestine and we also pressure our own Black political figures to finally take action on this issue. As we continue these transnational conversations and interactions, we aim to sharpen our practice of joint struggle against capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and the various racisms embedded in and around our societies.

Towards liberation,

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

International Peace Delegation to Syria 24-30 Nov. 2015

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Mairead Maguire for Transcend Media Service

Our delegation has just spent five days with the people of Syria visiting the cities of Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Qara and Ma’alula. We have been deeply moved by the kindness and warmth of the Syrian people whom we have had the privilege and joy of meeting. Although they have suffered unimaginable violence, they have inspired us by their vision of a peaceful Syria and deep commitments to solutions in their country. These are the findings of our delegation, consisting of eleven peace and human rights advocates from six countries. Over the course of five days, we met with internally displaced persons, refugees, affected communities, religious leaders, combatants, government representatives and many others in Syria.

maguire
Mairead Maguire

We call on the international community to protect the territorial integrity of Syria and to respect the fundamental rights of Syria as a sovereign State. We deplore any intent to breach the integrity of Syria’s frontiers or to damage the unity and rich diversity of the Syrian people.

We recognize the legitimacy of the aspirations of the Syrian citizens for change, reforms and an end to all violence and we support those working for the implementation of a democratic life that respects and protects the fundamental rights of all citizens and we believe that effective and lasting reforms can only be achieved through non-violent means.

Our primary appeal is that all countries stop their interference in Syrian affairs, more specifically, that they halt the supply of arms and foreign combatants. If foreign countries agree to stop the influx of arms and fighters, we are confident that Syrians can find their own solutions to their problems and achieve reconciliation.

We consider it beyond debate that the Syrian people have the right to determine their own government and their own future. Foreign interference is currently preventing the Syrian people from exercising their right to self-determination. We are concerned that such pernicious intervention is tearing apart the fabric of the country itself, with long-term consequences that can only be imagined.

The cautionary examples of Iraq, Libya, Yemen and other countries serve to remind us of the dire consequences of such international folly. This humanitarian crisis is already spilling into neighboring countries. A collapse of Syrian society will destabilize the entire region. We appeal to the international community that it can learn from history and make better choices in the case of Syria that will spare further tragedy for the courageous Syrian people.

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

How can there be a political solution to the war in Syria?

(Article continued from left column)

Secondly we appeal to the international media to stop the flow of misinformation regarding the Syrian conflict. We believe that every Syrian should be given the right to be heard and we do not see this reflected in the international coverage of this crisis.

Thirdly, we urge the international community to review and reconsider the crippling sanctions that are taking such a heavy toll on Syrian people.

Fourthly, we urge the international community to take seriously the vast numbers of refugees and persons who have been internally displaced by this conflict.

We appeal to the entire religious community to call the faithful to nonviolence and peacemaking, and to reject all forms of violence and discrimination, and we express our admiration and respect for the many Syrian religious leaders who have refused to endorse the use of violence and have dedicated their lives to working for a peaceful solution to this conflict.

We pay tribute to the Patriarch Gregorios III Laham and Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun for their inspirational work for peace and reconciliation for Syria and the Patriarch Gregorios III Laham for his kind invitation to our delegation. Our delegation would like to express to Mother Agnes Mariam and Sheik Sharif Martini our deep gratitude and appreciation for all their commitment to peace and reconciliation in beloved Syria.

As we leave Syria we are filled with hope that the Syrian people will have peace and so be a light of hope to the world.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

USA Exclusive: Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A video and article from Democracy Now! (abridged)

Has the U.S. drone war “fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS”? That’s the conclusion of four former Air Force servicemembers who are speaking out together for the first time. They’ve issued a letter to President Obama warning the U.S. drone program is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism. They accuse the administration of lying about the effectiveness of the drone program, saying it is good at killing people—just not the right ones. The four drone war veterans risk prosecution by an administration that has been unprecedented in its targeting of government whistleblowers. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, they join us in their first extended broadcast interview.


drones

Video of story

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Since the Paris attacks one week ago, France has escalated bombings of Syria, and the U.S. has vowed an intensification of its war on the Islamic State. With only a small number of U.S. special forces on the ground, Iraq and Syria have become new fronts in a global drone war that has launched thousands of strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.

But now an unprecedented group is calling for the drone war to stop. In an open letter to President Obama, four U.S. Air Force servicemembers who took part in the drone campaign say targeted killings and remote control bombings fuel the very terrorism the government says it’s trying to destroy. The four whistleblowers write, quote, “We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world.”

They continue, saying, quote, “We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country’s leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home.”

AMY GOODMAN: On top of the toll on civilian victims, the letter also addresses the personal impact of waging remote war. All four say they have suffered PTSD and feel abandoned by the military they served, with some now homeless or barely getting by. The letter brings together the largest group of whistleblowers in the drone war’s history. Three of the signatories operated the visual sensors that guide U.S. Predator drone missiles to their targets. Two are speaking out for the first time; three in a TV broadcast, they’ve never done it before. The other two have previously raised their concerns about the drone program, including in the documentary, Drone. The film, premiering in New York City and Toronto today, reveals how a regular U.S. Air Force unit based in the Nevada desert is responsible for flying the CIA’s drone strike program in Pakistan.

BRANDON BRYANT: We are the ultimate voyeurs, the ultimate peeping Toms. I’m watching this person, and this person has no clue what’s going on. No one’s going to catch us. And we’re getting orders to take these people’s lives.

MICHAEL HAAS: You never know who you’re killing, because you never actually see a face. You just have a silhouette. They don’t have to take a shot. They don’t have to bear that burden. I’m the one that has to bear that burden. . .

AMY GOODMAN: [The above is from the ] trailer for the documentary Drone, premiering today in New York City and Toronto. In speaking out together, the four former servicemembers risk prosecution under the Espionage Act by an administration that’s waged an unprecedented campaign against government whistleblowers. They also set their sights on a cornerstone of President Obama’s national security policy just as it threatens to escalate in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. After being elected to office on a platform of Iraq War opposition and a vow to bring the troops home, President Obama has quietly expanded the drone war far beyond its size and lethality under President George W. Bush.

Today, in this Democracy Now! exclusive, these four war whistleblowers join us in their first extended broadcast interview. We’re joined by Brandon Bryant and Michael Haas, who have spoken out to a certain extent before, both former sensor operators for the U.S. Air Force Predator program. Stephen Lewis, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is also a former sensor operator for the Air Force Predator program and this week is speaking out for the first time. Also going public for the first time is Cian Westmoreland, a former Air Force technician who helped build a station in Afghanistan used to relay drone data. . . .

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Question for this article:

Drones (unmanned bombers), Should they be outlawed?

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JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’d like to ask Brandon Bryant—we’ve had you on Democracy Now! a couple of years ago, and these guys here worked with you, as well. Could you talk about the decision to come out as a group, how you came to that and why at this particular point?

BRANDON BRYANT: Well, you know, when I first started talking out about my experiences, it was more to get a bunch of stuff off my chest and to actually try to come clean with what I have done and reveal what exactly is going on. And I’m actually really honored to be with these gentlemen right here, is that I trust them. And this is their decision to come out, and I’m here to support them, because I’ve already been doing this for three years, and it’s time that we just get a bigger coalition of people together to attack this issue.

AMY GOODMAN: Why did you sign this letter? And what are you calling on President Obama to do?

BRANDON BRYANT: We want the president to have more transparency in this issue, and we want the American people to understand exactly what’s being done in their name. And I think that all this fear and hatred that keeps going on is just out of control, and we need to stop it somewhere.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Michael Haas, I wanted to ask you, in terms of your experience in the drone program and the culture that the military basically allowed to flourish in the drone program, you’ve talked about how your fellow servicemembers talked about the children that they were targeting, as well.

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes, the term “fun-sized terrorists” was used to just sort of denote children that we’d see on screen.

AMY GOODMAN: What was it?

MICHAEL HAAS: “Fun-sized terrorists.”

AMY GOODMAN: “Fun-sized terrorists”?

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes. Other terms we’d use would be “cutting the grass before it grows too long,” just doing whatever you can to try to make it easier to kill whatever’s on screen. And the culture is—that mentality is very much nurtured within the drone community, because these—every Hellfire shot is sort of lauded and applauded, and we don’t really examine who exactly was killed, but just that it was an effective shot and the missile hit its target.

AMY GOODMAN: When did you start to have questions?

MICHAEL HAAS: Shortly after I became an instructor and I started to see how much the mentality had shifted since I had been in. And the 11th hadn’t really changed how they had trained their sensor operators from a basic-level standpoint.

AMY GOODMAN: The 11th is?

MICHAEL HAAS: The basic training squadron up at Creech. They train all the sensor operators.

AMY GOODMAN: This is at Creech in Nevada.

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you were a video game addict as you were growing up. Can you talk about this whole impact of sort of the video game approach to war?

MICHAEL HAAS: The thing that makes the gamers a prime target for this job field is that ability to just multitask and do a lot of things subconsciously and just sort of out of reflex. And you don’t really even have to think about it, which is, you know, paramount to doing this job. But a lot of it is getting used to just seeing something on screen, killing it and then going about your business as though you don’t really—you don’t really pay it a second thought. It was just an objective to be completed.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America