From info at j-n-v.org Fri Oct 5 15:40:57 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 15:40:57 +0100 Subject: [JNV] Events & Activities Past and Upcoming Message-ID: Hi Folks Some essential events to attend this weekend and beyond, also a brief update on JNV activities and the successful climax of Faslane 365. 1. "Stop Bombing Afghanistan" Walk to mark the 6th anniversary of the 2001 invasion 2. "Banned" Stop the War Demo 3. Faslane 365 4. JNV activities 5. Other upcoming anti war events Have an active weekend! JNV --- 1. LONDON Sunday 7 October "Stop Bombing Afghanistan" Walk to mark the 6th anniversary of the 2001 invasion. Meet 10am, St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, 78 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AG. (tubes: Bank, Liverpool St) The walk, with leaflets and sandwich boards, will take in a number of locations connnected with the war in Afghanistan. Org. by Christian Peacemaker Teams UK, London & Oxford Catholic Worker, Voices UK. Supported by JNV Contact 0845 458 2564 or visit www.voicesuk.org. Please wear black or white if possible. TROOPS OUT In a March poll, 53% of the British public said that all British troops should be withdrawn from Afghanistan 'more or less immediately' [1]. This May the upper house of the Afghan Parliament passed a motion calling for a military cease-fire and a date to be set for the withdrawal of foreign troops [2]. NOTES [1] YouGov poll, 26-28 March 2007, http://tinyurl.com/24rear [2] 'Afghan lawmakers call for ceasefire', Associated Press, 9 May 2007, se= e http://tinyurl.com/39lmtq --- 2. LONDON Monday 8 October "Banned" Stop the War March Assemble 1pm Trafalgar Square for Rally- Speakers include Tony Benn, Brian Eno, Mark Thomas, Walter Wolfgang, George Galloway and Ben Griffin (ex SAS trooper) then march to Parliament. STW urges everyone who has opposed the British government's support for George Bush's war, and who agrees that our right to peaceful protest must be defended, to join them on Monday, the day Gordon Brown makes his long awaited speech on Iraq to the House of Commons. --- 3. Faslane 365 Climax Faslane 365 started a year this week and climaxed last Monday with mass arrests bringing the campaign arrest total to 1,100. An estimated 500 campaigners converged at dawn last Monday on the gates of HM Naval Base Clyde, overlooking the Gare Loch, to blockade the gates. Police were drafted in to tackle the protesters, many glued themselves to the road or chained themselves to the gates, while others linked themselves together with concrete tubes. By the end of the day Strathclyde Police had arrested 73 men and 98 women, bringing the total detained since the campaign began to 1,110. After the direct action, protesters turned the event into a colourful and noisy affair, with stilt walkers, clowns and musical instruments. People read poetry, danced and sang anti-war songs. Rebecca Johnston spokeswoman for the protest said: "First, we have raised public awareness of the illegality and immorality of Trident and that Scotland does not need to keep accepting nuclear weapons," said . "Second, it has been the public mobilisation. It has reinvigorated both the Scottish peace movement and the UK-wide one." See for full details and pictures --- 4. JNV arrest at U Turn for peace protest On Sunday 23 September, JNV, London Catholic Worker and Voices in the Wilderness UK held a sit-down protest in Bournemouth at Gordon Brown's first Labour Party Conference as leader. We demanded that the new leader makes radical changes in how Britain acts abroad - demanding a U-turn in British foreign policy, in line with the views of the majority of the British people. JNV member Maya Anne Evans was arrested for Obstructing the Highway along with Fr Martin Newell and Irene Willis of the Catholic worker. They all had charges bought against them but were dropped a week later after the plea hearing and a letter in The Guardian. A full account of the protest, proceeding activities and Guardian letter will be posted on the JNV website soon. Maya is still at large despite a warrant being out for her arrest. She will be taking part in the "Stop bombing Afghanistan" 6th anniversary walk this Sunday, demanding a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and a peaceful foreign policy from the current Government. --- 5. Other upcoming anti-war actions and events LONDON Wednesdays@housmans Weekly meetings at Housmans peace bookshop All events, 7pm, Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX. www.housmans.com. LONDON Every Friday Anti Guantanamo Bay protest outside the US embassy 6-7pm, outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1 (nearest tube: Marble Arch). Organised by the London Guantanamo Campaign. 07824 386 747 or london_gitmo@yahoo.co.uk. LONDON Every Month Iraq Occupation Focus Second Thursday of every month: 11 Oct, 8 Nov, 13 Dec. All meetings 7.30pm, Indian YMCA, 41 Fitzroy Square, W1T 6AQ. See www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk ALDERMASTON Every Month New Monthly Camp at Britain's Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to add further pressure to the 'Block the Builders' campaign to halt development of the next generation of nuclear weapons. Contact 0845 4588 368 or www.blockthebuilders.org.uk. MOULSCOMBE Every Wednesday Noise Demo outside EDO MBM - 'an arms company th= at makes bomb parts used in the Iraq war' (Guardian). 4-6pm, EDO MBM, Home Far= m Road. Contact 07891 1405 923. www.smashedo.org.uk MENWITH HILL Every Tuesday Demo outside the US Spy Base used for (amongst other things) intelligence and surveillance gathering in the Middle East. 6-8 pm outside the main entrance to Menwith Hill Nr Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Contact the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases: www.caab.org.uk. CROUGHTON Sat 6 Oct Keep Space for Peace- No Bases for War. Demo outside th= e US Communications Base near Oxford. With Kate Hudson (CND) and Lindis Percy (CAAB). Meet 12 noon, "RAF" Croughton, 3 miles from M40 jnct 10. Transport available from Oxford and Bicester railway stations. Contact Oxfordshire Peace Campaign: oxonpeace@yahoo.co.uk or 07949 320 026. No step-free access= . LONDON Sat 6 Oct Fighting Over the Leftovers- Resource Depletion and the Potential for Conflict. AGM of Scientists for Global Responsibility. www.sgr.org.uk. BELFAST Mon 8 - Fri 12 Oct Nonviolent Training for Trainers. Intensive wor= kshop in Kingian Nonviolence. Course fee =A3100, some bursaries available. 9am - = 6pm each day, Forthspring Inter Community Group, 373-375 Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DG. Contact: 028 - 90313945 or mariamckenna@btconnect.com. MENWITH HILL Sat 13 Oct Drum the Out! protest outside the US spy base (which the UK government had given the US permission to use for its "missil= e defence" system). With the Honey Drummers, food and speakers. 12 noon - 4pm= , main entrance, Menwith Hill. Org. by CAAB. www.caab.org.uk or 01423 884076. LIVERPOOL Sat 13 Oct Merseyside STW Lunch for Trades Unionists. Welcoming all Trades Unionists to a day conference to discuss the role of Trade Unions in war. 10.45am - 3.30pm, The Friends Meeting House, 2= 2 School Lane, Liverpool City Centre. With Mark Serwotka (PCS Gen Sec), Sabah Jawad (Support Committee for Iraqi TU's) and others. Free Lunch. Free cr=E8che places available by request: please book places no later than 6th October: merseyside@stopwar.org.uk or 07845930610. NEWCASTLE Sun 21 Oct End Occupations Concert. Part of Tyneside Autumn Resistance to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. 8pm - midnight, The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, off Byker Bank. =A36/=A34 Bands includ= e the Calm from South Shields and International Bastards from Sunderland. Also featuring poetry and songs from the anti-war movement. All proceeds to the Tyneside and South Tyneside Stop the War Coalitions Tickets: phone Debbie 07742047500 or Roger (after September 16th) 07796267722. E: nestopwar@yahoo.co.uk DERBYSHIRE Fri 26 =96 Sun 28 Oct Called to be Peacemakers Conference 2007 Fellowship of Reconciliation's annual conference, offering a unique opportunity to learn what conflict transformation is and how it applies to us. With expert speakers, in-depth workshops and training. FoR subsidises theweekend to allow as many people as possible to attend. FoR also provides a limited number of travel bursaries and subsidised places. Conference places are only =A340 if booked before 1st October 2007 (and =A345 after), so please come join us! Venue Hollowford Centre, Derbyshire (http://www.hollowford.org.uk) Contact 01865 748 796 or Martha@for.org.uk. See http://tinyurl.com/2kmnya LONDON Sat 27 Oct STW National Conference. www.stopwar.org.uk 30 Tues Oct Trial of Activists who carried out "Torture Flight" inspections at Preswick Airport in August 2006. 10am, Ayr Sheriff Court, Wellington Square, Ayr, KA7 1EE. Contact davidmc@enterprise.net. LONDON Tues 6 Nov Celebration of the Life of Jim Addington 1924 - 2007. Ji= m was a great peace activist and passionate about UN reforms. He was chair of Action for UN Renewal for many years, former chair of LRCND, an active member of UNA, Kingston Peace Council and LAP. Please join in your tribute to Jim. Tea and coffee from 6:30pm, close 9pm. All welcome Friend's House, 173 Euston Road, London, NW1 (opposite Euston Station). Contac 0207 377 2111. BANGOR Sat 10 NOV Public Meeting with former Guantanamo detainee Moazzem Be= gg. 2-5pm, University Arts Block, Lecture Room 4, Bangor University. t: Linda Rogers 01248 490 715. LONDON Sat 10 Nov Movement for the Abolition for War Lectures by Craig Murray, for mer British ambassador to Uzbekistan. Methodist Hall, Old Street, London EC1. Contact 01908 511948. www.abolishwar.org.uk. From info at j-n-v.org Sun Oct 7 07:00:40 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 23:00:40 -0700 Subject: [JNV] Invite a speaker to your peace group Message-ID: [A] 13 - 17 November, around the UK: 'Battlefields Without Borders: Iraqis in Crisis' speaking tour. Invite Legendary US Peace Activist Kathy Kelly to Speak to Your Local Group. [B] 14 - 28 November, around the UK: 'Hands Off Iraqi Oil' speaking tour: invite a speaker to come and talk to your local group. ********************************************* [A] 13 - 17 NOVEMBER: 'BATTLEFIELDS WITHOUT BORDERS: IRAQIS IN CRISIS' SPEAKING TOUR. INVITE LEGENDARY US PEACE ACTIVIST KATHY KELLY TO SPEAK TO YOUR LOCAL GROUP - SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS. Legendary US peace activist Kathy Kelly will be in the UK this November, speaking to groups around the UK about war, resistance and Iraq's refugee crisis. BACKGROUND Kathy - who recently returned from four months spent living amongst Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria - is the co-founder Voices in the Wilderness US, which sent scores of sanctions-breaking delegations to Iraq during the 90s and early 2000s, and is now co-ordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org). She has visited Iraq twenty six times since 1991, and lived in Baghdad during the 2003 Shock and Awe attack and invasion. She has also helped organize, and participated in, nonviolent direct action teams in Haiti (summer of 1994), Bosnia (December, 1992, August, 1993) and Iraq (Gulf Peace Team, 1991). In April of 2002, she was among the first internationals to visit the Jenin camp in the West Bank. In 1988 she was sentenced to one year in prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites, and served nine months of the sentence in a Lexington, KY maximum security prison. In the spring of 2004, she served three months at Pekin federal prison for crossing the line as part of an ongoing effort to close an army military combat training school at Fort Benning, GA. In 2000 the American Friends Service Committee nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INVITE KATHY TO COME AND SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP then please e-mail gabriel@voices.netuxo.co.uk or leave a message on 0845 458 2564. Please specify: * which group you are from * the likely size of the meeting etc... the better * any date preferences / dates to avoid during 13 - 17 November * your e-mail and phone number Deadline for requests is 6pm, Thursday 11th October. ********************************************************** [B] 14 - 28 NOVEMBER: 'HANDS OFF IRAQI OIL' SPEAKING TOUR. INVITE A SPEAKER TO TALK TO YOUR LOCAL GROUP. www.HandsOffIraqiOil.org "The Hands Off Iraqi Oil campaign is on the front lines of the global battle against disaster capitalism" - Naomi Klein, author 'No Logo' and 'The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism' TO INVITE A SPEAKER: contact gabriel@voices.netuxo.co.uk or 0845 458 2564. Deadline for invitations: 6pm, Friday 12th October. In September, Iraqi civil society and the global anti-war movement scored a major victory against the occupation's oil privatisation agenda, when Iraq's Parliament failed to pass a draft oil law in time for General Petraeus' report to Congress. If passed, the law - which was written in secret under intense pressure from the US/UK governments, the IMF, and Big Oil - would have allowed multinational oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon to take the primary role in developing Iraq's oilfields, under contracts of up to 30 years. Passing the law was one of Bush's "benchmarks". However, despite massive the military and political violence of the occupation, and relentless pressure from Washington, a combination of grassroots opposition (from the Iraqi oil unions) and internal conflict (within the Iraqi Government) has derailed the law, at least temporarily. Nonetheless, Iraq's oil ministry is now saying that it hopes to sign contracts with foreign firms, law or no law, and with Iraq still under foreign occupation. IRAQ'S FUTURE IS BEING STOLEN. ITS PEOPLE NEED OUR SUPPORT. Big Oil - with US/UK assistance - is, in effect, trying to force privatisation on the Iraqi people. Indeed, according to a recent poll, 63% of Iraqis believe that Iraq's oil should be developed and produced by Iraqi public sector companies, rather than foreign companies. To build the campaign to stop the theft - including a national day of action early next year - 'Hands Off Iraqi Oil' is organising a whirlwind UK speaking tour, to take place during the last two weeks in November. Speakers include GREG MUTTITT (Platform) - author of 'Crude Designs: The Rip-off of Iraq's Oil Wealth' (www.crudedesigns.org), and one of the world's leading experts on oil and Iraq - and renowned activist and journalist EWA JASIEWICZ, recently returned from the 'Iraq Petroleum 2007' conference in Dubai. In 2003 Ewa spent 9 months living in occupied Iraq, working with the Iraqi oil workers union and she is the co-founder of the union's UK support committee 'Naftana' (see www.basraoilunion.org). INVITE A SPEAKER To invite a speaker to come and talk to your group, please e-mail gabriel@voices.netuxo.co.uk or telephone 0845 458 2564. Please specify: * which group you are from * the likely size of the meeting etc... the better * any date preferences / dates to avoid during 14 - 28 November * your e-mail and phone number Deadline for invitations: 6pm, Friday 12th October. For more information and background see www.HandsOffIraqiOil.org "We call on all people who want peace and organisations which opposed the war to help us in our struggle" - Hassan Juma'a Awad al-Asadi, President of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions From info at j-n-v.org Mon Nov 5 11:29:34 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 11:29:34 +0000 Subject: [JNV] Maya Anne Evans faces prison Message-ID: Maya Anne Evans faces prison 1) Present situation and Bournemouth arrest 2) Maya's statement 'Why I go to jail' *** 1) Present situation and Bournemouth arrest Dear friends, Maya Anne Evans is in Horseferry Magistrates court tomorrow (Tuesday 6 November) at 2pm, for refusing to pay two fines imposed for reading the names of the Iraq war dead in the vicinity of Parliament - without police permission. She faces two two-week prison sentences (almost certainly to run concurrently) for these breaches of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA). This is likely to mean a week actually in prison, in Holloway women's prison in North London. BOURNEMOUTH Maya risked prison in late September when she was arrested outside the Labour Party Conference for a sit-down anti-war protest ('U-turn for peace') co-organised by Justice Not Vengeance, London Catholic Worker and Voices in the Wilderness UK. She took part in the action (which she had been a key organiser in preparing for several months) despite receiving a warning just beforehand that a warrant had been issued for her arrest (and therefore possible imprisonment, given her refusal to pay the SOCPA fines). Maya was arrested, but not taken to court for her unpaid fines. The charges against her for the Bournemouth protest have now been dropped. MAYA'S THOUGHTS Maya wrote about her possible impending imprisonment for the monthly magazine Peace News, which she is now writing a diary column for. Her piece about facing prison is reproduced below. In the most recent PN, Maya has written her own account of her arrest in Bournemouth. SUPPORT Support at court is very welcome. We will send out an email tomorrow evening confirming whether Maya was sent to prison or not, with details of her prison address. Maya would very much appreciate cheerful, colourful postcards if she is in prison. If she is sent down, we will either email her release time and date, or post it on the JNV website j-n-v.org (Please accept our apologies for the difficulties with/frozen state of the website. We are working to fix this.) We will be outside prison to greet Maya the morning she comes out. (Note: this may take some time. Milan Rai's release from prison in August was delayed by his refusal to give his date of birth. Gabriel Carlyle of Voices ended up waiting for six hours outside Wandsworth.) Prison support is being coordinated by David Polden of the Nonviolent Resistance Network: 0207 607 2302. Please phone David to find out the latest information. It is unlikely that Maya will be able to have any visitors during her week inside due to the slow pace of prison bureaucracy. Best wishes JNV PS Maya's excellent book 'Naming the Dead', praised by Shami Chakrabati of Liberty and campaigning comedian Mark Thomas, is available from Justice Not Vengeance for =A37 including p&p. (JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN38 0HE. Phone: 0845 458 9571.) *** 2) Maya's statement on facing prison (Originally published by Peace News http://peacenews.info/issues/2490/2490011.html ) INTRODUCTION In October 2005, Maya Anne Evans was arrested opposite the Cenotaph for reading the names of British soldiers who had died in the Iraq war. She was later convicted of participating in an "unauthorised" demonstration under the "Serious Organised Crime and Police Act" (2005). Maya has refused to pay her =A3200 fine, or the =A3100 fine she received for a similar protest a year later at the 'No More Fallujahs' peace camp in Parliament Square. At the beginning of September 2007, Maya learned that a warrant had been issued for her arrest. She faces two 14-day prison sentences. * Why I go to jail Maya Anne Evans In my heart I can't help feeling that paying this fine would be a compromise of how strongly I feel about the Iraq war and the right to protest against it. Paying the fine would be an acceptance of my "guilty" conviction. This is a point I would never concede. It is important for me to stand by my actions of opposing the war and the erosion of free speech. I made my decision when I stood on the front line protesting against war. I decided that I wanted to try and stop the destruction of peoples' lives. I wanted to say I don't agree with the killing of people for the sake of this country's economy. On a personal level I think I am emotionally capable of spending a short amount of time in prison. What will it be like? I try to imagine what it would be like in prison. What my cellmate will be like, my daily routine, being in an environment alien to the one I'm used to. I'm now assuming I will definitely be going to prison. I've been speaking to activists who have been to prison in preparation. I've been told prison is unbearably noisy and most people have mental health problems or drug addictions. Now I feel slight disbelief that I am actually facing prison for my actions. Part of me feels it won't happen, as I've skirted so close before. And besides, everyone from UKIP to Radio 4 thinks this law is wrong. I've read and heard about activists becoming depressed as a result of going to prison. Although my likely sentence will be minimal, the feeling of undergoing an experience which has disturbed other individuals similar to myself is a scary prospect. I draw courage from the fact that protest against an illegal war is not wrong; solidarity with the people of Iraq is not wrong. From info at j-n-v.org Tue Nov 6 18:14:20 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 18:14:20 +0000 Subject: [JNV] Maya free / Kathy speaks Message-ID: 1) Maya walks free but for how long? Today Maya Anne Evans appeared in Court 7 of Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, for refusing to pay two fines in connection with anti-war protests in contravention of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (2005). The district judge listened to Maya's statement explaining she would not be paying on grounds of conscience, to stand up for the right to protest, and in remembrance of the 1.2 million Iraqis who are estimated to have died as a result of the war and occupation (see JNV home page www.j-n-v.org ). He then decided to prolong the agony still further by giving her another 28 days to pay, to be followed once again by pressure from the bailiffs. Maya is determined not to pay, and to resist any attempt by bailiffs to seize goods from her home. 2) Kathy Kelly speaking tour and premiere of Sonia Azad's film 'Giving a voice to Iraqi children', based on her recent trip to Jordan. BATTLEFIELDS WITHOUT BORDERS: IRAQ'S REFUGEE CRISIS. A UK SPEAKING TOUR WITH RENOWNED US PEACE ACTIVIST KATHY KELLY, 13 - 17 NOVEMBER. MAIN LONDON EVENT: 7pm-9pm, Thursday 15 November 2007 Human Rights Action Centre 17-25 New Inn Yard London EC2A 3EA (tube: Liverpool Street) With: * KATHY KELLY, renowned US peace activist * LOUSISE MOOR, Amnesty International, co-author 'Millions in Flight: the Iraqi Refugee Crisis' * SONIA AZAD, Children Against War * A speaker from the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq (www.csdiraq.com) Also featuring the world premiere of Children Against War's new film 'Giving a voice to Iraqi children', shot in Jordan this August. Kathy Kelly is the co-founder Voices in the Wilderness US, which sent scores of sanctions-breaking delegations to Iraq during the 90s and early 2000s. She has visited Iraq 26 times since 1991, lived in Baghdad during the 2003 invasion, and has recently spent four months in the Middle East living with Iraqi refugees. She has helped organize - and participated in - nonviolent direct action teams in Haiti ('94), Bosnia ('92 & '93) and Iraq (Gulf Peace Team, '91), and was among the first internationals to visit Jenin, following the massive 2002 Israeli assault on the West Bank refugee camp. In 1988 she was sentenced to one year in prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites, and served nine months of the sentence in a Lexington, KY maximum security prison. In 2000 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee. Organised by Iraq Occupation Focus, Justice Not Vengeance and Voices UK. www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk | www.j-n-v.org | www.voicesuk.org OTHER EVENTS: BANGOR 7pm, Tuesday 13 November Lecture Room, Main Arts Building, University of Bangor HEBDEN BRIDGE 7.30pm, Wednesday 14 November Trades Club, Holme St, HX7 8EE LEEDS 12 noon - 1pm, Thursday 15 November Room MB.B11, University of Leeds, (Woodhouse Lane) Parkinson building. SHERBORNE 7.30pm, Friday 16 November Sherborne House, Newland, DT9 3JG EASTBOURNE 1.15pm, Saturday 17 November Our Lady of Ransom Church, 2-4 Grange Rd, BN21 4EU Kathy will also be taking part in an: ACTIVISTS' ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON WAR AND RESISTANCE 7pm, Saturday 17 November London Mennonite Centre, 14 Shepherds Hill, N6 5AQ tube: Highgate. For further information contact Voices UK: www.voicesuk.org, 0845 458 2564 From info at j-n-v.org Wed Nov 14 09:23:51 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:23:51 +0000 Subject: [JNV] Last minute reminder for 'Giving a Voice to Iraqi Children' Message-ID: [A] Thursday 15 November, London: Film Premiere of 'Giving a Voice to Iraqi Children', with Renowned US Peace Activist Kathy Kelly [B] Ordering details for 'Giving a Voice to Iraqi Children' DVD. ************************************************************** [A] THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER, LONDON: FILM PREMIERE OF 'GIVING A VOICE TO IRAQI CHILDREN', WITH RENOWNED US PEACE ACTIVIST KATHY KELLY 7pm-9pm, Thursday 15 November 2007 Human Rights Action Centre 17-25 New Inn Yard London EC2A 3EA (tube: Liverpool Street) With: * KATHY KELLY, renowned US peace activist * LOUSISE MOOR, Amnesty International, co-author 'Millions in Flight: the Iraqi Refugee Crisis' * SONIA AZAD, Children Against War * A speaker from the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq (www.csdiraq.com) Also featuring the world premiere of Children Against War's new film 'Giving a voice to Iraqi children', shot in Jordan this August (see http://tinyurl.com/356u2b). Kathy Kelly is the co-founder Voices in the Wilderness US, which sent score= s of sanctions-breaking delegations to Iraq during the 90s and early 2000s. She has visited Iraq 26 times since 1991, lived in Baghdad during the 2003 invasion, and has recently spent four months in the Middle East living with Iraqi refugees. She has helped organize - and participated in - nonviolent direct action teams in Haiti ('94), Bosnia ('92 & '93) and Iraq (Gulf Peace Team, '91), and was among the first internationals to visit Jenin, following the massive 2002 Israeli assault on the West Bank refugee camp. In 1988 she was sentenced to one year in prison for planting corn on nuclea= r missile silo sites, and served nine months of the sentence in a Lexington, KY maximum security prison. In 2000 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee. Organised by Iraq Occupation Focus, Justice Not Vengeance and Voices UK. www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk | www.j-n-v.org | www.voicesuk.org ************************************************************8 [B] GIVING A VOICE TO IRAQI CHILDREN A 20 minute film by Sonia Azad (12) In August 2007 Sonia Azad, a 12-year-old British Muslim girl, went to Amman, Jordan, to interview Iraqi refugee children. Sonia, who founded Children Against War when she was eight, has made a compelling, moving 20-minute film. (Sonia was assisted in fundraising and editing by Milan Rai from JNV). Behind the headlines and the statistics are resilient young Iraqis like Abeer, 15, and Noor, 16, driven from their homes by violence, struggling to make new lives, offering words of resistance and hope. "I don't like the war. When the exploding happen, I really go running to the windoe to see the exploding, and picture it in my mobile. We were seeing that every day. We wasn't afraid." =96 Abeer, 15. TO ORDER THE FILM please send a cheque (made payable to 'JNV') to JNV, 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN38 0HE. Price: =A35 each + P&P (=A31.50 for one copy and =A31 per copy for orders of more than one cop= y). Please include your name and address and how many copies you want. From info at j-n-v.org Mon Dec 17 19:18:31 2007 From: info at j-n-v.org (Justice Not Vengeance) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:18:31 +0000 Subject: [JNV] Maya Wins Award / Basra Poll Condemns British Troops / US Intelligence Report on Iran Message-ID: Justice Not Vengeance Email Briefing 17 December 2007 1) Maya Book Offer 2) Basra Handover - Locals condemn British troops in new poll 3) The US National Intelligence Estimate and Iran - Opportunities for activ= ists 4) Maya's Acceptance Speech ***** 1) MAYA WINS Dear friends Please find below some interesting information which we hope you will find useful in any pre- or post-Christmas campaigning you find the time to engage in. We are also very proud to announce that JNV co-ordinator Maya Anne Evans has won the Peter Duffy Young Campaigner of the Year Award, given by Liberty the human rights group. The text of Maya's acceptance speech is at the end of this email. To mark the occasion, we are offering Maya's book Naming the Dead as a last-minute Christmas present at =A35 post-free first class. Please just email us the address you would like a copy to be sent to, and we will send it off before Thursday (and post a cheque made out to 'JNV' to 29 Gensing Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex!). Best wishes for the holiday season Emily Johns Milan Rai *** 2) BASRA HANDOVER - LOCALS CONDEMN BRITISH TROOPS On Thursday 13 December, the ORB agency published a poll conducted in Basra in the run-up to the British handover of responsibility to local forces. Part of the poll was conducted for Newsnight, the other part for the Sunday Times. (The poll was first spotted by Voices in the Wilderness UK.) The full results of the polls can be found here: http://www.opinion.co.uk/newsroom.aspx For the BBC programme Newsnight, ORB asked: 'Do you feel that once the British troops have handed over the security files to the local security forces in Basrah, the security situation in the immediate weeks following troop withdrawal will improve, deteriorate or perhaps you think it will stay the same?' 5% think the situation will deteriorate. 12% think it will stay the same. 66% think the situation will now improve. (16% don't know or refused to answer.) The same question was asked about the long-term. 5% think the situation will deteriorate. 6% think it will stay the same. 72% think the situation will improve in the long term now that British troops have withdrawn. (17% don't know or refused to answer.) ORB/Newsnight then asked: 'What effect has the presence of British troops had on the level of militia violence in Basrah?' 3% think it has reduced the overall level of militia violence. 14% think it has made no difference. 56% think the presence of British troops 'has increased the overall level of militia violence.' (27% don't know or refused to answer.) 'Which of the following would you like to see happen to the British troops?= ' 0% want them to have a presence on the streets of Basra. 9% want them 'to remain in the province but based in a camp on the outskirts where they could be called upon in a time of crisis'. 19% want them 'to leave Iraq but to be present in a nearby country where they could be called upon in a time of crisis'. 63% want them to 'leave the Middle East altogether and return to Britain'. (9% don't know or refused to answer.) 86% of respondents believe the British troops have, overall, had a negative effect on the Basra province since March 2003. The Sunday Times ORB poll found that 70% of respondents expected to feel a lot safer (27%) or somewhat safer (43%) after the British troops withdrew from the city. 71% of respondents were somewhat unfavourably inclined towards the British government (29%) or very unfavourably inclined towards the British government (42%). (68% felt unfavourably towards the British people.) The biggest threat to the security situation in Basra was seen to be 'the presence of British troops' (32%). The next most serious perceived threats were Iran (21%) and unemployment (16%). 'Armed militias', the armed Bader Organisation, Moqtada al-Sadr's Al Mahdi Army, and other politico-military groups between them accumulated only 2% of 'votes'. ****** 3) US INTELLIGENCE, THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE (NIE) AND THE IRAN C= RISIS The latest report from US intelligence on Iran's nuclear programme gives concerned citizens the opportunity to focus the public's attention on the possibility of a negotiated solution to the Iran crisis; and to emphasize the importance of uranium ore contamination as an obstacle to any effort to develop an Iranian nuclear weapon. A) TOWARDS A SOLUTION One crucial sentence in the US National Intelligence Estimate (published on 3 December) points to the possibility of a negotiated solution. Iran's leaders might be persuaded to give up any ambition to develop nuclear weapons, says the NIE, if there were (a) 'threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures', along with (b) 'opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence' by non-nuclear means. This is followed by the Big Lie of the NIE: 'It is difficult to specify what such a combination might be.' In fact, we do have a very good idea what carrots Iran might respond to, because they were set out in considerable detail by Iran in 2003. In that year, Iran sent a secret negotiating proposal to the State Department (via the Swiss government), laying out a broad array of concessions it was willing to make to Washington, including an end to military support for the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, tighter controls on its nuclear programme and Iranian support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question (recognizing Israel for the first time). In return, Iran sought an end to US financial and economic sanctions, full access to peaceful nuclear technology and a recognition of Iran's 'legitimate security interests', among other goals . Flynt Leverett, then a senior director on the US National Security Council staff, saw the Iranian proposal. He described it as "a serious effort, a respectable effort to lay out a comprehensive agenda for U.S.-Iranian rapprochement" . Leverett added: 'The message had been approved by all the highest levels of authority. They wanted us to deal with sanctions, security guarantees, normalization of relations, and support for integration of Iran into the World Trade Organization' . Crucially, Iran sought a security guarantee from the United States, a cast-iron commitment not to try to overthrow the Iranian government, in particular a promise not to invade or attack Iran. This was the central element of the 'grand bargain' offered by Iran, as this line from the proposed 2003 'roadmap' indicates: 'US refrains from supporting change of the political system by direct interference from outside'. (A pdf of the 2003 fax is available at .) PRESSURE POINTS: > Journalists and politicians should be reminded of the 2003 offer from Ira= n. > Particularly because the 3 December US National Intelligence Estimate say= s that Tehran might be persuaded to forego nuclear weapons if offered 'oppo= rtunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regiona= l influence' by non-nuclear means. > Iran explained to Washington what it wanted in terms of 'security, presti= ge and goals for regional influence' in 2003. > Therefore, to strengthen regional security, and the global nonproliferati= on system, and to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the agenda s= et out in the 2003 negotiating offer should be pursued rather than dismisse= d out of hand. B) THE DIFFICULTY/IMPOSSIBILITY OF AN IRANIAN BOMB Hawks on both sides of the Atlantic have pointed to the increasing number of centrifuges being operated by Iran as a sign of its increasing uranium enrichment capability, allegedly creating a springboard to the early development of an Iranian nuclear bomb. The latest US National Intelligence Estimate indicates that there are significant technical problems for any Iranian bomb programme dependent on gas centrifuge enrichment, which will not be overcome for many years. It is possible that these problems include the difficulties created by contamination of Iranian uranium ore by molybdenum and other heavy metals. Former nuclear weapons scientist Frank Barnaby states that: 'These impurities could condense and block pipes and valves in the gas centrifuges. In spite of this problem, the Iranians should be able to enrich uranium to the low enrichment needed for civil nuclear-power reactor fuel. But they would not be able to enrich above about 20% in uranium-235. Therefore, Iran would not be able to produce uranium enriched enough for use in nuclear weapons unless most of the molybdenum was removed.' (Would Airstrikes Work? ) The NIE suggests that Iran is unlikely to be technically capable of producing weapons-grade uranium before 2010, and may not be able to produce it even after 2015: 'We assess centrifuge enrichment is how Iran probably could first produce enough fissile material for a weapon, if it decides to do so.... Iran made significant progress in 2007 installing centrifuges at Natanz, but we judge with moderate confidence it still faces significant technical problems operating them. We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough HEU for a weapon is late 2009, but that this is very unlikely. We judge with moderate confidence Iran probably would be technically capable of producing enough HEU for a weapon sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame. (INR [State Deparment Bureau of Intelligence and Research] judges Iran is unlikely to achieve this capability before 2013 because of foreseeable technical and programmatic problems.)' PRESSURE POINTS: > Journalists and politicians should be reminded that, according to the NIE= , Iran is 'very unlikely' to be 'technically capable' of producing weapons-= grade uranium before 2010, and may well not be able to do so even after 201= 5. > They should also be forcefully reminded that so long as Iran is inspected= by the IAEA, especially if Tehran agrees to a rigorous Additional Protocol= monitoring system, the civilian uranium enrichment facilities cannot be us= ed to generate material for weapons. > They should be asked if there is any information indicating that Iran has= overcome its heavy metal contamination in its uranium ore. > If not, they should be informed of the publicly-available evidence which = suggests that Iran is physically incapable of producing weapons-grade urani= um, quite apart from the technical and logistical challenges of operating l= arge numbers of centrifuges successfully. ***** A more detailed version of these briefing points, with references, will be on the JNV website by the weekend. Unfortunately we continue to have problems with our website. Please bear with us. ***** 4) MAYA'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH I would like to thank JUSTICE, Liberty and the Law Society for organising these awards which recognise and celebrate the efforts and achievements of individuals working together in a movement to make a difference. I feel very happy to accept this award not just on my own behalf but for the countless number of people in the movement. This award doesn't just represent my efforts, it represents everyone who campaigns in one form or another. Those who go on marches, write letters to MP's, those who question government policy. In October 2005 my colleague Milan Rai and myself were arrested while conducting a peaceful anti war demonstrating opposite the Cenotaph in Whitehall. We were in breach of s132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which prohibits peaceful protest around parliament without authorisation. While at the police station Mil got chatting to his arresting officer (he's more of the chatty type when he gets arrested) who was very critical of this time-consuming/unworkable piece of legislation. He commented "these MP's are half asleep when they pass these laws, they've got no idea what they're passing". And indeed a couple of weeks ago a story appeared in the newspapers of an MP Daniel Kawczynski who was arrested at the gates of Downing Street with a placard protesting the closure of his local ambulance call centre. After his arrest he complained that it was unfair that an MP couldn't make their views known outside Downing Street. Maybe 2 years too late but there you go. And these are the people who make decisions shaping our country. Legislation does need to be monitored. It can't be left to a small bunch of people in a large building making decisions affecting millions of people. It's everyone's responsibility to be concerned about laws and decisions made on our behalf. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, the wars with Afghanistan (responsible for the death of thousands of Afghans) Iraq (1.2m), the detention of terror suspects without evidence, Guantanamo Bay, the list goes on=85. Governments can not be trusted to create laws and make decisions. We need to keep challenging and monitoring the government especially in the area of human rights, the foundation of a healthy and fair society. This award is a great honour for me. I hope that it will help to publicise some of the reasons which moved me to become involved in the movement. The issues of Liberty, Justice, Non Violence and Equality. I hope this award will encourage others to become involved in politics and pro-active about decisions which shape the world we live in. This award represents the work of everyone in the movement and it is on their behalf I gratefully collect it. Let's continue working together and supporting one another and we will achieve justice not vengeance. Maya Anne Evans *****