[WestMALocals] Fwd: [GPUS-PAX] RE: Propose: PAX endorsement of Stan Heller's petition to UFPJ ("Time to Shake-up the Peace Movement")

[Owen Broadhurst]

Please sign!

OB

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Justine McCabe <justinemccabe at earthlink.net>
Date: Apr 17, 2006 1:13 PM
Subject: [GPUS-PAX] RE: Propose: PAX endorsement of Stan Heller's petition
to UFPJ ("Time to Shake-up the Peace Movement")
To: GPAX <peace at lists.gp-us.org>


 Dear all,

I recently posted CT Green Stan Heller's Counterpunch article "Time to
shake-up the peace movement" http://www.counterpunch.org/heller04132006.html .
Pasted  below is a petition to the UFPJ steering committee that Stan
has initiated calling for the inclusion of the issues of Iran,
Israel/Palestine in the 4/29 peace NYC march as described in his
Counterpunch essay.   While the time is short, I'd like to propose that 1)
GPAX endorsethe petition and 2) send a separate message to the UFPJ steering
committee indicating our support for it as part of the UFPJ coalition.

Clearly, US aggression  in Iraq is but one part of a US policy
for domination in the ME that includes US attacks on Iran, and decades of
 unequivocal financial and political support for Israeli  racism and
dispossession of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories.   This
is an opportunity for USGP to push UFPJ to educate people about the
inextricable links among these US policies of endless war.


Best regards,
Justine McCabe
CT Greens

========================================
  *From:* Stan H <MECC at comcast.net>

We have two weeks to go before the UFPJ march in New York City.  At present
the demands of the rally have nothing to say about Iran, Israel or
Palestine. THERE ISN'T EVEN GOING TO BE A RALLY WITH SPEECHES.  Just a march
and a "festival".  Please consider signing the MECC petition to the UFPJ
leadership.

See http://thestruggle.org/campaign1.htm




 UFPJ Leadership:
Change Course on April 29 Demo My article on
Counterpunch.org<http://counterpunch.org/> "Time
to Shake-Up the Peace
Movement"<http://www.counterpunch.org/heller04132006.html>criticizing
UFPJ plans for April 29 has gotten a very good response with
emails and requests for reprints. Though no one on the UFPJ steering
committee has deigned to send me a reply, the day after my piece came out
UFPJ sent out their first mass emailing calling for "No War on Iran". Still
no change yet in the demands for the demo and THERE ARE NO PLANS TO HAVE ANY
SPEAKERS, just a march and a "festival". - Stanley Heller

The link below will go to a petition MECC created to the UFPJ leadership.
Please look it over and consider signing.

We'll contact signers from time to time about other anti-war actions.

Petition to the UFPJ Steering
Committee<http://campaigns.ajjp.org/campaigns/signStatement.php?cid=6>


*Petition to the Leaders of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)*

UFPJ is organizing a massive anti-war march in New York City on April 29th,
but is ignoring critical dimensions of the war.  The so-called "war on
terror," which in reality is a violent drive re-colonize the Middle East,
stretches far beyond Iraq.

The Bush Administration is provoking a confrontation with Iran.  Its
diplomats are demanding UN action against Iran.  The Washington
Post*reports that it is even "contemplating tactical nuclear devices"
against
that country.  All this is done even though Iran has neither attacked nor
occupying any other country, even though the Bush Administration winks at
Israel's hundreds of nuclear bombs, even though it has recently accepted
India into the club of nuclear armed powers. *
**

*The escalation of rhetoric and threats against Iran has gone on for many
months without a suitable reaction from UFPJ.  Neither on its own website
nor on the April 29 website created for the demonstration do the demands
mention threats to attack Iran. *
**

*Apparently the rally will not mention Israel or Palestine either, despite
the fact that the US has used Israel to fight Arab national aspirations for
decades, despite the fact that Israeli government leaders were strongly in
favor of the invasion of Iraq and urged their Christian and Jewish
enthusiasts in this country to press for war, despite the fact that the 2006
AIPAC convention was filled with demands for war, despite the fact that
Israel threatens to attack Iran by itself, despite the fact that Israeli
militarism and war-mongering is an outgrowth of its oppression of the
Palestinians. *
**

*We suspect UFPJ is reining in the demands of the rally to be acceptable to
Democratic party politicians in the false belief that only by electing a
Democratic Congress and President can the war be stopped.  It is false
because the Democrats are complicit in this war from end to end. It is false
because the peace movement was able to stop the Vietnam War despite the fact
that anti-war Democrats were always a small minority of Congress and were
routed in presidential elections. *
**

*For unknown reasons UFPJ is not having speakers at the demonstration.
There is no rally, just a march and a "peace festival."  The chance for new
activists to hear about all the dimensions of the war is lost.  The chance
to have substantial speeches shown on CSPAN and other media is thrown away.
*
**

*We, the undersigned, urge the UFPJ to immediately reconsider the demands
and program for April 29th *
**

*to call for:*
**

   *
   1. An end to the threats of attack or sanctions against Iran
   2. Full exposure of the role of the Israeli militarism in the Middle
   East and in U.S. politics

   and as part of the demonstration:
   3. That it have a brief program of speakers
   4. That it have Palestinian and Israeli speakers who will protest the
   Wall, the occupation, the prison-like conditions in the territories and all
   aspects of human and national rights denied Palestinians.
   5. That it have a speaker who will denounce the threats to attack Iran
   *

**

*Signed,*




--
Owen R. Broadhurst
Candidate for State Representative
Third Hampden District
http://www.owenbroadhurst.org