The Declaration of Peace - Civil Disobedience

July 5 - IOWA: Grassley and Harkin’s deadline is up

admin — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:17:40 -0500

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July 5, 2007
David Goodner

On Friday July 6, approximately 22 peacemakers, plus supporters, will nonviolently occupy the Cedar Rapids, Iowa offices of both Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA).

The coordinated occupations are a political consequence for the Senators’ pro-war votes last May giving President Bush a blank check to continue the illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

The Iowa Occupation Project - a coalition between the University of Iowa Anti-war Committee, the Des Moines Catholic Worker, the Chicago-based Voices For Creative Nonviolence, Women For Peace Iowa, the Linn County Green Party, and the UNI Campus Antiwar Network - is demanding that the Senators publicly pledge to de-fund the war.

In the interests of communication, dialogue, and negotiation, the Iowa Occupation Project has contacted the offices of both Senators regarding this direct action. We have given them a deadline of July 4th to publicly pledge to de-fund the war, or face occupation.

We refuse to leave until the Senators capitulate to our demands or we get hauled away in handcuffs.

The Cedar Rapids 11 will be sentenced in Linn County the morning of Friday, July 6. The Re-Occupation will commence immediately following the sentencing.

A press conference, public lecture, and nonviolent civil disobedience training seminar will commence on Thursday July 5 at the Old Brick Peace Center starting at 4pm. At 7 pm Jeff Leys, a coordinator for Voices For Creative Nonviolence, will give a speech titled “Never Ending Funding for Never Ending War”.

“War is not our baby,” said Voices founder Kathy Kelly.

“Pick up a bust for peace, now is the time,” said Des Moines Catholic Worker founder Frank Cordaro.

Please come and attend this exciting and informative workshop and training session.

Join us in helping to remind our Senators about their responsibilities as elected officials and as human beings.

Are Iowa’s Senators truly accessible to the people?

Iowa Occupation Project: Grassley and Harkin must de-fund the war

Your Name: scott

Your Email Address: scott@vcnv.org

Link to Published Item: http://blogs.dmregister.com/?p=6767

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June 18 - Trial of One of Largest Mass Arrests Protesting Iraq War Begins Friday

admin — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:56:57 -0500

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Defendants Participated in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq on March 17

The trial of fourteen of the 222 citizens arrested during the March 17 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq civil disobedience in front of the White House will begin Friday, June 22 in Superior Court.

Washington, D.C., June 20, 2007 – The trial of fourteen of the 222 citizens arrested during the March 17 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq civil disobedience in front of the White House will begin Friday, June 22 in Superior Court. The civil disobedience was one of the largest single civil disobedience actions at the White House, and the Christian Peace Witness was the largest Christian peace demonstration since the beginning of the Iraq war four years ago.

A worship service at the National Cathedral attended by thousands from across the country began the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, which was followed by a candlelit procession to Lafayette Park for a rally before the civil disobedience action began. More than one hundred local vigils took place the same day around the nation. Participants attending the public witness intended to repent of their complicity with the invasion and occupation of Iraq and to renew their commitment to peacemaking on the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

The trial is open to the media and the general public.

WHAT: Trial for 14 out of 222 arrested during the March 16, 2007 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq in front of the White House for either crossing a police line or failing to obey a lawful order.

WHEN: Friday, June 22, 9 am

WHERE: Superior Court, Courtroom on Third Floor (check with Information Desk, 500 Indiana Avenue, NW. Washington, DC. Phone 202-879-1010)

WHO: Defendants: Mary Pat Brennan, Debbie Churchman, Louie Vitale, Bill Streit, Vicky Andrews, Nancy Gowan, Liz McAlister, Jerry Zawada, Elizabeth Adams, Malachy Kilbride, Susan Crane, Garland Robertson, Eve Tetaz, and Kay Warren.

SPONSOR ORGANIZATIONS: Adventist Peace Fellowship, American Friends Service Committee, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Brethren Witness, Catholic Peace Fellowship, Christian Alliance for Progress, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Declaration of Peace, Disciples Justice Action Network, Disciples Peace Fellowship, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Every Church a Peace Church, Faith in Public Life; Kairos: A Time to Speak, A Time to Act; Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Lutheran Peace Fellowship, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA, National Council of Churches, No2Torture, On Earth Peace, Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, Pax Christi USA, Pentecostal Chari smatic Peace Fellowship, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Protestants for the Common Good, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Sojourners/Call to Renewal.

Your Name: Scott

Your Email Address: scott@vcnv.org

Link to Published Item: http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2007/06/1734091.php

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Mar. 21 - Mikulski sit-ins; Three others head back to senator's office

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:59:52 -0500

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March 21, 2007
By HALLIE C. FALQUET
Capital News Service

WASHINGTON — Four anti-war protesters, including Kristin Sundell of Hampden, were arraigned on unlawful entry charges March 13 in District of Columbia Superior Court.

Then, three of the four — but not Sundell — headed right back to the scene of their arrests on Feb. 27, the Washington office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

For the second time in as many weeks, Stephen Lane, 66, of Bethesda; Jean Athey, 61, of Brookville, and Peter Perry, 37, of Derwood were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police for failing to leave the senator’s office after its 6 p.m. closing.

They were among 20 protesters; but the three stayed after the others left.

They were ordered by Magistrate Judge Michael J. McCarthy to return to court April 2 for a hearing to determine whether or not they will proceed to trial.

If the case does move to that point, they will plead either “no-contest” or “guilty,” the three said. In the meantime, they will return to Capitol Hill to appeal for their cause.

Sundell, an outreach coordinator for the world debt-reduction advocacy organization Jubilee USA Network, said she wasn’t going back to Mikulski’s office because she had to go to work.

Gordon Clark, organizer of the March 13 protest, said he planned to occupy the office until Mikulski met the groups’ demands or until he was arrested in the same fashion as Lane, Sundell, Athey and Perry had been Feb. 27.

Mikulski has not been the only official visited by unhappy constituents demanding an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops. Many of the same protesters occupied the office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, March 8 and said they plan to return soon.

“We’d like to do the whole congressional delegation,” Athey said.

At issue is a Bush administration supplemental appropriations bill that is expected to contain billions of dollars to finance the Iraq war. Anti-war protesters contend that the war should not be funded in any form.

Mikulski voted against authorizing the war, but has pledged to support the latest request because it provides essentials for troops on the ground and for them once they return to the United States.

An anti-war stance isn’t enough to appease the protests. Even outspoken war critic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is not immune.

Members of CodePink, a women’s anti-war movement, visited Pelosi’s office March 13 and camped in front of her California home to urge her “to be a leader and lead us out of the Iraq war,” said CodePink member Nancy Mancias.

CodePink and the Maryland protests are part of the Occupation Project, a nationwide effort by the organization Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

So far, more than 160 participants have been arrested in more than 30 states during peaceful sit-ins, targeting Republicans and even Democrats who have opposed the war, including Mikulski.

Your Name:

Your Email Address: info@declarepeace.org

Link to Published Item: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=574&NewsID=791831&CategoryID=8012&on=

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Mar. 19 - Eleven Occupy Federal Building Offices in Rochester, NY

dopeditor — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 05:43:14 -0500

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ELEVEN OCCUPY FEDERAL BUILDING OFFICES IN ROCHESTER, NY MARCH 16TH

Rochester New York, Friday, March 16, 2007.
Keating Federal Building, State Street— Eleven people calling themselves the “War No More 11 ” occupied the offices of Senators Hillary Clinton, Charles Schumer, and Congressperson Louise Slaughter.

These groups now consider any further delay to ending the Iraq war unacceptable. One of the eleven, Eli Yewdall of the Catholic Workers, said prior to going into Slaughter’s office, “The Democrats plan for troops staying in Iraq an additional 18 months…[that] means at least another 1200 U.S. soldiers killed, and countless more terribly wounded. It means another 100,000 Iraqi war dead.”

The eleven are representative of over thirty secular and religious anti-war and peace organizations active in the Rochester area. The eleven are demanding that Clinton, Schumer, and Slaughter not allow U.S. military aggression on Iran, and that they fulfill their November election promise to bring the troops home from Iraq.

During the office occupations, the eleven delivered a list of demands previously ignored by the representatives. The eleven also read the names and ages of the war dead in memoriam. Demands delivered to the representatives today include that our government defund the war and occupation in Iraq, co-sponsor legislation calling for the safe and rapid withdrawal of all U. S. troops from Iraq, closure of all military bases in Iraq, establishment of a comprehensive plan for peace including an Iraqi-led peace process, return of the control of Iraqi economy to the Iraqis, and opposition to all plans to attack Iran.

The eleven took action locally in solidarity with hundreds of peace and antiwar groups who began occupying congressional offices across the nation, and took part in protests and non-violent civil disobedience in Washington on March 16-19 with groups organized by The Declaration of Peace, The Christian Witness for Peace, The Occupation Project, Voices for Creative Non-violence, United for Peace and Justice, and A.N.S.W.E.R. at the Pentagon, the White House and other locations in the nation’s capitol.

Discussing the occupation of Senator Clinton’s office before entering the Keating Federal Building Jan Bezila, local director of Pax Christi, said “If the Democratic leadership feels embarrassed by this interruption of business as usual, we feel that many Americans feel embarrassed and betrayed by congressional inaction on issues the Democrats were given a majority to attack assertively.”

Your Name: Eli Yewdall

Your Email Address: hlrichards@frontiernet.net

Link to Published Item:

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Mar. 19 - Remembrance & Resistance: Lockheed Martin, Valley Forge, PA - Noon

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 06:57:33 -0500

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Remembrance & Resistance - 4th Anniversary of the War: Today Noon at Lockheed Martin

On March 19, 2003 the U.S. Air Force Stealth Fighter Wing - made up of Lockheed Martin Stealth fighter jets - began “precision” airstrikes on a location in southern Baghdad.

What followed has been 4 years of war - hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead, nearly 3200 U.S. troops dead (many more maimed for life).

MARCH 19, 4th Anniversary of the Iraq War
Lockheed Martin, Valley Forge, PA
It’s Time to Resist the War and the War-makers!

Noon, Nonviolent Resistance to the War at the War’s chief profiteer, Lockheed Martin, Mall & Goddard Boulevards, Valley Forge/King of Prussia, PA (behind the King of Prussia Mall).

Circle of “Mourning to Resistance”, Indictment of Lockheed Martin for aiding and abetting War Crimes and Nonviolent Civil Disobedience by those prepared to face arrest.

Brandywine Peace Community
P.O. Box 81, Swarthmore, PA 19081
610-544-1818
www.brandywinepeace.com

Endorsers: American Friends Service Committee [AFSC], Catholic Peace Fellowship; Community of the Christian Spirit (Elkins Park); Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia; House of Grace Catholic Worker; Phila. Catholic Worker; Philly Delaware River Area Code Pink; The Shalom Center; United Christian Church, Levittown, PA; and Phila. Veterans for Peace, Chapter 31.

Your Name:

Your Email Address: info@declarepeace.org

Link to Published Item:

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Die-In and Protest - San Diego, March 19

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:34:31 -0500

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Die-In and Protest
Monday, March 19th 2007 3 PM
San Diego, CA USA

There will be a Die-In at the intersection of A Street and Park Blvd, in front of the City College, at 3 pm on Monday March 19th. Show your outrage in an outrageous manner. Be prepared to make a sacrifice in the name of all those who have sacrificed so much already.

Sidewalk support will be greatly needed too. There are plenty of “safe” events being sponsored around town, but I hope, for those of you who really want to make a stand, and take attention getting to the next level, will join us.

Okay, so what I really want to know is: ARE YOU IN? Reply to for details…

Location:
1313 Park Blvd San Diego CA 92101

Contact:
Matt -

Sponsored By:
I am a member of the activist community in San Diego. I can get other groups involved, but I cannot list their endorsement just yet. I have organized rallies that drew as many as 500 people to Horton Plaza, and lead marches down Broadway, the Gas Lamp District, and a protest at SPAWAR. Just ask me for whom, and I will tell you. But I am a free thinking liberal, and not bound by any political group, religion, or affiliation. I am an American Patriot. I’ll email details to all interested persons who reply. So please contact me to for more information.

Your Name: Matt

Your Email Address: sandiegocalltoaction@cox.net

Link to Published Item:

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9/28 - The Cincinnati Post - Chabot's office the site of war protest

admin — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 10:54:57 -0500

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By James Proffitt
The Cincinnati Post

A generally cordial sit-in - in which Iraq war protesters eventually gave their “hosts” a thank-you note for their hospitality - ended Wednesday evening after eight hours with the arrest of seven people at the downtown office of U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot.

Those arrested included two 15-year-old students from Clark Montessori in Hyde Park and a 78-year-old nun, Mary Evelyn Jegen, who said she considered her willingness to go to jail to drive home the need for getting out of Iraq “an act of patriotism.”

The protesters, members of a group called the Greater Cincinnati Declaration of Peace, gathered on the sidewalk on Vine Street in front of the Carew Tower about 1 p.m. and passed out fliers and held up signs bemoaning U.S. involvement in Iraq. About 2 p.m., about 20 of them went to Chabot’s office on the 30th floor, demanding that he meet with them or that he sign a “Declaration of Peace.”

That document demanded an immediate and concrete plan to end U.S involvement in Iraq and reparations for damage the war has done to the country.

Protesters spent the next six hours in a sit-in with ceremonial readings of Americans and Iraqis killed in the war, protest songs and political conversation.

Beth Bryan, the congressman’s scheduler, did arrange an Oct. 16th meeting for the group with Chabot. But she said he was tied up in a House session and he could not deal with the declaration Wednesday.

Protesters ignored requests from Chabot’s office staff that they leave, so police were called.

After another request to leave, building security and police arrived and ordered protesters to leave. About 8 p.m., three hours after the office was supposed to have closed, some 50 police officers moved in and arrested the visitors still in the office. They did not resist.

Chabot’s chief of staff, Gary Lindgren, said, “This is the first time in my 12 years in this office I can remember a sit-in protest like this.”

During a conversation with Ellen Dienger, the group’s spokesperson, Lindgren assured her that Chabot wants troops out of Iraq as soon as possible too, but not before Iraqi forces are properly trained for success.

Adults arrested were charged with criminal trespassing and released from the Justice Center later. The two teens were transported to Juvenile Detention and released to their parents.

Your Name: Scott

Your Email Address: scott@vcnv.org

Link to Published Item:

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Resistance Actions in Wisconsin Focused on Senator Kohl

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:11:07 -0500

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Dear Friends,

We had very energized peaceful resistance actions in Wisconsin over the past two days. Lots of people participated and we got lots of good coverage, listed below. All of our Declaration actions focussed on Senator Kohl, urging him to sign on to the Declaration & the Harkin bill.

There were arrests at Kohl’s office in Milwaukee, and we occupied his office in Madison for 27 hours (they brought in federal marshals as we slept there overnight, then continued vigiling today), and activists in Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Appleton went to his offices too. In Madison about 20 core people participated for the 27 hours. We disrupted business as usual and risked arrest by reading names of the dead in Kohl’s office through the day. Some fasted for 26 hours. 50+ came to the candlelight vigil last night. We leafleted outside the office which is in a heavy pedestrian area on our state capital square. Many passersby took time to write to the senator (52 comment cards were written just today).

Below are links to some of the coverage.

Thanks to everyone for the work around the country so far, and the work to come next week!

Janet Parker, Joy First, and Steve Burns Madison, WI 608-257-2748

2 Wisconsin Public Radio stories Thursday about actions in Milwaukee and Madison:

Text of one story is below.

Listen to “Arrests In Milwaukee Peace Protests 09/22/06”
“Rally Held Pressuring Senator Kohl 09/22/06”

Big photo on front page of the local section today and summary caption in The Capital Times. Also an editorial there today congratulating our many state legislators who signed on to the Declaration during a press conference earlier this week.

Front page, above the fold story, yesterday in Wisconsin State Journal about Joy and other civil resisters in Wisconsin: (you can click on “virtual newsprint to see the photo etc

We did live interviews from Kohl’s office on our listener sponsored WORT radio last night and this morning, and an interview this morning on our local Air America affiliate too.

Wisconsin Public Radio story: Rally Held Pressuring Senator Kohl

By Brian Bull
Friday, September 22, 2006

(MADISON) In Madison yesterday, peace activists gathered outside Senator Herb Kohl’s office, to launch a 27-hour “Fast for Peace.”

About 15 people stood on the sidewalk, reading the names of the sixty Wisconsin soldiers who’ve died so far in the Iraq war. Organizers, including Janet Parker of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, say Senator Kohl has been “recalcitrant” in taking a stance on the conflict. She says the group wants Senator Kohl to represent the people of Wisconsin, who overwhelmingly want to see the troops home by the end of the year. She says Iraqi citizens also believe that it’s time for the occupation to end. She says they want Senator Kohl to take a stand by signing on to legislation to bring the troops home.

The fast and a candlelight vigil is among 400 other national events planned this week to commemorate International Peace Day.

Kohl’s office has issued a statement saying the Democratic Senator has been critical of President Bush’s handling of the war, and that he supports a resolution stating to the Iraqi government that U.S. troops will not be there indefinitely.

On Thursday, police arrested four people who were blocking traffic outside of Kohl’s Milwaukee office in an act of civil disobedience.

Your Name: Scott

Your Email Address: scott@vcnv.org

Link to Published Item:

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9/21 - Washington Post - Antiwar Push Starts Near White House; 34 Arrested

Cynthia — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:45:51 -0500

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By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; 2:34 PM

Link to article in the Washington Post online

A group of ministers, veterans and peace activists attempted to deliver a “declaration of peace” to the White House today, kicking off a week of vigils and other activities in 350 communities across the country calling for the prompt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Thirty-four people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after they demanded to speak with President Bush, then refused to leave the west gate of the White House. As part of an initiative of more than 400 groups, many of them religiously affiliated, they said they had to “bear moral witness” against the U.S. military role in Iraq.

“We are in a time of peril and people of morals have got to stand up,” said the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., a minister who founded the D.C.-based Hip-Hop Caucus to involve youth in political and social action and helped lead today’s protest. “If we don’t stand now in the 21st century, there will not be a 22nd century. We will destroy ourselves—we will either solve this together or die as fools together.”

The day’s activities also featured vigils for peace in dozens of cities and towns, including Little Rock, Ark.; Tucson, Ariz.; Pasadena, Ca.; Miami, Fla.; Decatur, Ga.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Austin, Tex. In San Diego Friday, there will be a Dance Action for Peace; on Saturday in Cincinnati, a Peace Tent City will be erected. San Francisco is hosting a mass bicycle ride to protest the conflict, and Madison, Wisc., is holding community forums on the issue.

The week of activity also will include civil disobedience actions at the U.S. Capitol, organizers said, as participants try to persuade members of Congress to sign the declaration of peace, a document demanding that the Bush administration “establish a concrete and rapid plan to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.”

The declaration of peace was created after a group of religious leaders and secular peace groups, including the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness ministries, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, and Iraq Veterans for Peace, began discussions together in January. Since then, the document has received more than 12,000 signatures of support online, and thousands more have signed through person-to-person campaigns, organizers said.

At today’s event outside the White House, about 75 people listened as Yearwood and others explained their purpose. Some held small red stop-signs, to show their support for ending the war, and chanted, “No to war, we declare peace.”

“Today, here in front of the White House, we kick off a week of intensive antiwar action throughout the nation,” said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, which she described as the country’s largest antiwar coalition, representing 1,400 groups. “It is time to end the war in Iraq. It is time to bring all of the troops home.”

Your Name: Cynthia

Your Email Address: info@declarationofpeace.org

Link to Published Item: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092100924.html

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