The Declaration of Peace

Activists are joining efforts being held nationwide against the war in Iraq.

By Shirley Ragsdale
Des Moines Register
September 19, 2006

Des Moines-area peace activists will ramp up their anti-war efforts with a week of events and demonstrations they hope will persuade Congress to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

The flurry of activity is set to coincide with a series of nationwide anti-war events that begin Thursday, the United Nations’ International Day of Peace.

Four events, from an ecumenical prayer service to threatened nonviolent acts of civil disobedience, are planned through Sept. 27.

Locally, more than a dozen faith and political-action groups have collected signatures that ask Iowa’s congressional delegation to commit to a “comprehensive, concrete and rapid end to the U.S. war in Iraq.”

“We had a booth at the Tom Harkin steak fry over the weekend, and at times people were standing in line waiting to sign the ‘Declaration of Peace,’ ” said Charles Day of Johnston, national chairman of Stop the Arms Race Political Action Committee. “Only one or two walking past declined to sign.”

If Congress doesn’t take action, Iowans are prepared to stage “creative nonviolent expressions” at regional offices and in Washington, D.C.

“We’ll be witnessing at the congressional offices of Iowa Rep. Leonard Boswell and Sen. Charles Grassley,” said Chet Guinn, a member of the Des Moines Ecumenical Peace Ministry. “Basically, they’ll be holding a sit-in until something happens. Sen. Tom Harkin gets a pass because he has introduced a bill that calls for U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of this year.”

Kathleen McQuillen, Iowa program coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, said the group has permits to demonstrate at the federal building in Des Moines.

The peace declaration is sponsored by more than 330 national, regional and local religious, peace, veterans and student groups that include the United Church of Christ justice and witness ministries, Iowa Peace Network, Iowa chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, American Friends Service Committee, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Catholic Peace Ministry and the Des Moines Area Ecumenical Committee for Peace - groups that demonstrated even before U.S. troops were deployed in Iraq.

“There’s no satisfaction in knowing we were right about the war,” said Brian Terrell, director of Catholic Peace Ministry. “The reason people are on the street goes deeper than just believing that this war isn’t going the way the Bush administration thought it would. People are looking deeper and they’re horrified.”

Iowa peace groups will participate in a weeklong nationwide campaign to persuade Congress to demand a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq. Some local events:

• THURSDAY: International Peace Day interfaith prayer service, 7 p.m., Oak and Willow rooms of the Des Moines Botanical Center. Sponsored by the Des Moines Area Ecumenical Committee for Peace. For more information, call 225-2314 or e-mail .
• SATURDAY: Peace Fair, noon to 5 p.m., Gateway Park, downtown Des Moines between 12th and 13th streets. Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. Call 274-4851, extension 22.
• MONDAY: Central Iowa Declaration of Peace rally and sit-in, noon, Nollen Plaza, downtown Des Moines. Groups will also demonstrate at the offices of members of Congress. For more information, call 274-4851, extension 22.
• SEPT. 27: “Iowa’s Role in Stopping the Iraq War,” a public meeting featuring Ron Volk, executive secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation, 7 p.m., First Unitarian Church, 1800 Bell Ave. Sponsored by the Friends Committee and STAR*PAC. For more information, call 276-5060 or 279-7312.

By Brian Terrell
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Betsy gets carried away

More than one hundred people gathered at noon yesterday in downtown Des Moines’ Nollen Plaza in solidarity with communities around the nation making a Declaration of Peace. State Representative Ed Fallon and Betsy Keenan along with the ‘Raging Grannies’ provided musical entertainment and inspiration and members of the various organizations sponsoring the event spoke. A proclamation by Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie encouraging citizens to act for peace to commemorate the UN’s International Day of Peace was read. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa released a statement for the occasion that was also read, saying. ‘President Bush saying “stay the course” is not a strategy, it is a slogan. It effectively means to stay in Iraq forever, to “stay and pay.” Already we have paid with nearly 2700 US servicemen and women dead and more than 32000 wounded.’

The rally ended about 1 pm and many walked across the plaza to the Federal Building where Senator Chuck Grassley (Rep) has his office and others walked to Congressman Leonard Boswell’s (Dem) office in a commercial building six blocks way. Previous unsuccessful efforts had been made to convince Senator Grassley to sign on to the Declaration of Peace and commit to taking steps to end the war in Iraq. The senator’s lack of response to these entreaties and his statements quoted in the Des Moines Register on September 14 that critics of the war have a ‘demoralizing impact on our troops’ and ‘embolden the enemy,’ the group did not expect a warm welcome and did not get one.

A dozen or so protestors entered the lobby of the Federal Building and were met with the senator’s representative who met with them for less than one minute, just to tell the group that he was not going to talk with them and that the group would not be allowed in the senator’s seventh floor office. An officer of the Federal Protection Service backed by a large contingent of Des Moines City police, several sheriffs’ departments and state troopers told the group that since they had exercised their rights to address their grievances it was time for them to go. Members of the group declined to go and began reading aloud the litany of 2700 and more names of US service members killed in Iraq. Four, Betsy Keenan, Rev. Chet Guinn, Brian Terrell and Chris Gaunt attempted to walk to the elevator to the senator’s office but were blocked by police officers. When these four, continuing to read the list of names of the dead, explained to the police that they would remain standing in the hall until the officers would step aside to let us through, police cleared the lobby, threatening any who remained with arrest. Each of the four were then handcuffed and taken to police wagons to the police station and were quickly released with federal citations requiring them to pay a $100 fine or appear in US District Court. The police were professional, respectful and even friendly in their response, even as Gaunt and Keenan refused to walk with them out of the building and were carried to the van on stretchers.

While Congressman Boswell supports continued war in Iraq and refuses to sign the declaration, his Des Moines office staff spent many hours in earnest conversation with Declaration organizers in the days leading up to their action. When protestors arrived on Monday after the rally they were welcomed at the Congressman’s office. A 45 minute telephone conference with the congressman was arranged and while he would not relent in his position on the war, there was a respectful exchange of views. The rest of the afternoon was spent in conversation with the Congressman’s aides, in silent worship in the manner of the Quakers and in reading the names of Iraqi and US war dead. When the office building closed at 5pm and the protestors held to their commitment to remain until Mr. Boswell joined with them to end the war, the office staff reluctantly called the Des Moines Police. Seven, Ed Bloomer, Wendy Vasquez, Lynne Howard, Dr. David Drake, Kathleen McQuillen, John Findley and Elton Davis, were arrested and taken to the police station. They were given a state charge of trespassing and released with citations to appear in court on October 10.

Des Moines Register
By JASON CLAYWORTH
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

September 25, 2006

About a dozen war protestors were ticketed Monday when they refused to leave the offices or buildings of elected officials, a group spokesman said.

The tickets carry a $100 fine.

The protestors Monday went to the Des Moines offices of U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell as part of “Declaration of Peace,” a national effort that has staged more than 300 demonstrations across the country since Sept. 22.

The activists wanted the lawmakers, both of whom were in Washington, D.C., to push for an end to the war in Iraq. Sept. 21, referred to as the “International Day of Peace,” was a deadline set by anti-war groups for the government to forge a plan to end the war. About 100 people protested in Des Moines. Most gathered at Nollen Plaza.

Brian Terrell, the director of Catholic Peace Ministry, said he and his wife were issued two of the 11 tickets for “failure to comply with directions” from Federal Protection Services officials. An employee of the department declined to comment Monday.

“I think, historically, civil disobedience has always helped create the situation where things can change,” Terrell said.

Boswell, whose offices are about four blocks from Grassley’s, spoke with the group by telephone for about 45 minutes. Neither signed the agreement.

“I have urged the president to level with the American people on when he thinks the Iraqi forces will be trained and ready to defend themselves. When that goal is achieved, we can begin phased withdrawal of U.S. forces,” Boswell said. “In that absence, I do not support a timetable. I certainly respect the group’s right to their beliefs on this matter, and hope that they will respect mine.”

Beth Levine, the press secretary for Grassley, said he “has said many times that a prearranged timeline would only embolden the insurgency and undermine the efforts of the troops.”

KCCI 8 - Des Moines
September 25, 2006

People Charged With Trespassing

DES MOINES, Iowa — Eleven peace activists were arrested Monday after trying to pressure two members of Iowa’s congressional delegation into signing a declaration to support a new course of action in Iraq.

Four activists were taken into custody after attempting to enter elevators that lead to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley’s office at a federal office building in downtown Des Moines. Seven others were arrested during a sit-in at U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell’s office nearby, according to former Roman Catholic priest Frank Cordaro, who was among the activists taking part in a weeklong national campaign for The Declaration of Peace coalition.

The 11 protesters were issued citations for simple misdemeanors and must appear in court on the charges.

The effort, backed by more than 330 organizations, asks lawmakers to publicly support a plan to bring troops home, oppose future military invasions and co-sign legislation for a comprehensive peace plan.

Boswell, a Democrat, said in a statement that he wouldn’t sign such a pledge because he does not support a specific timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq.

Grassley spokeswoman Beth Levine said that along with a bipartisan majority of his Senate colleagues, Grassley, a Republican, contends that a pre-arranged timeline would only embolden the insurgency and undermine the efforts of the troops.

Similar stories: WOI-TV ABC5, KWWL-TV NBC7, WHO TV-Des Moines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Brian Terrell, 515-255-8114, or Frank Cordaro, 515-490-2490

September 25, 2006

Local Groups to Engage in Nonviolent Action to Support New Course on Iraq
Protests Today at Des Moines Offices of Senator Grassley and Representative Boswell Protestors will refuse to leave offices until Grassley and Boswell endorse plan to end war in Iraq

12:30 today at Nollen Plaza

National Coalition Taking Action as Congress Refuses to Make Comprehensive Iraq Withdrawal Plan

In a coordinated campaign called the Declaration of Peace, with more than 300 demonstrations across the United States that began on September 22 with 34 arrests at the White House in Washington, DC, there will be a rally today in downtown Des Moines at Nollen Plaza today beginning at 12:30 pm.

The rally will feature speakers representing local peace groups and music lead by State Representative Ed Fallon, Betsy Keenan and the Raging Grannies. A statement from Senator Tom Harkin and an International Day of Peace Proclamation by Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie encouraging citizens to act for peace will be read.

At 1:00 pm, the group will march to Senator Grassley’s office in the Federal Building at 210 Walnut Street and to Representative Boswell’s office, 300 East Locust. Some participants will attempt to remain in these offices until our representatives agree to support the Declaration’s plan for peace, including the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq by the end of this year.

In the weeks leading up to September 21, the day recognized by the United Nations as the International Day of Peace, people across America called on their Senators and Representatives to publicly support a comprehensive plan and to co-sign current legislation, including a resolution introduced by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin calling for U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of this year. In Des Moines, visits and phone calls were made to offices of Representative Leonard Boswell and Senator Chuck Grassley, urging them to publicly support the Declaration’s goals for a comprehensive plan for peace by September 21.

The Declaration of Peace is a coalition of over 330 national, regional and local religious, peace, veterans and student groups. Local coalition members include Iowa Peace Network, Physicians for Social Responsibility, American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Peace Ministry, Iowa Veterans for Peace, Catholic Worker, Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Goals of the Declaration of Peace

The Declaration of Peace is a commitment to take nonviolent steps for a comprehensive, concrete and rapid end to the US war and occupation in Iraq, including:

Withdrawal of US troops and all coalition forces

No permanent US military bases and installations

Support for an Iraqi-led peace process, including a peace conference to shape a post-occupation transition and an international peacekeeping presence if mandated by this peace process

Return of Iraqi control over its oil resources and the political and economic life of the nation

Reparations and reconstruction to address the destruction caused by the US war and thirteen years of sanctions

Increased support for US veterans of the Iraq war, and

No so-called “preventive” war against Iran or any other nation

Establish a “peace dividend” for job creation, health care, education, housing, and other vital social needs

www.declarationofpeace.org