| WASHINGTON - October 25 - The Green Party of the United
States calls the growing suppression of open debate
about the U.S. response to the September 11 attacks
anti-democratic, anti-American, and unacceptable.
"Prudent measures to keep knives off airplanes is one
thing," said Starlene Rankin, Illinois Green Party
Media Coordinator. "But allowing the FBI, CIA, or
other police agencies to spy on American citizens is
quite another. The Greens absolutely oppose any
restriction on civil political dissent. We must
remain free to question and challenge the political
status quo and to hold our elected officials
accountable -- our cherished civil liberties must not
be compromised!"
"President Bush says 'either you're with us, or you're
against us' in the war on terrorism -- and calls
anyone who criticizes the U.S.'s unilateral bombing of
Afghanistan or questions the failed U.S. foreign
policies that have alienated people around the world a
supporter of terrorism."
One dissenting organization targeted by the FBI is
Women in Black. An international network of peace
activists founded in 1988, Women in Black has stood in
silent vigil against military attacks and occupations
around the world, often placing themselves in harm's
way. Women in Black currently hold vigil every
Wednesday evening at the New York Public Library as a
call for peace and in remembrance of those lost to
terrorism on September 11. In Pennsylvania, the
Lancaster Greens join Women In Black in vigils in
front of the Lancaster County courthouse every
Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Women in Black counts several Green Party activists
among its members, including Annie Goeke, formerly of
the party's national steering committee and now the
chair of the International Committee. Other groups
under suspicion by the FBI for potential terrorism
include harmless dissident groups like Reclaim the
Streets and Carnival Against Capitalism.
"How profoundly ironic it is that as we claim to be
defending the freedom for democracy, we are silencing
the voices of women and others that are part of the
growing movement for peace," said Goeke. "Our civil
liberties are being threatened when the FBI labels the
international movement Women in Black as a potential
terrorist group and threatens it with a grand jury
investigation. Only 9 months ago Women in Black was
awarded the U.N. Millennium Peace Award and was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001."
"Groups like Women in Black are under suspicion
because they protest U.S. policy, while condemning the
September 11 attacks," said Kara Ceriello, chair of
the Green Party of Washington State. "But the Bush
Administration won't criticize the drug companies,
such as Bayer, and drug stores that have been
price-gouging and blocking low-cost generic forms of
antibiotics that effectively fight Anthrax. The White
House won't hold Unocal responsible for past business
deals with the Taliban or discuss American business
interests in an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. And
the White House won't acknowledge the Northern
Alliance's multi-million-dollar opium crop, a source
of illegal narcotics throughout the West."
Many Green activists point to groups like the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
(RAWA) as a hope for peace in Afghanistan and the
surrounding region. RAWA demands that both the
Taliban and the Northern Alliance be disarmed, calling
both sides violent, brutally misogynistic, and
anti-democratic. RAWA members, active for two
decades, have risked their lives providing secret
education for Afghani girls, providing medical aid for
Afghani women, and documenting the Taliban's
atrocities.
"The example set by RAWA should be the foundation of a
humane solution to the international crisis," said Tod
Sloan, social psychologist and co-chair of the
International Committee of the Green Party. "Greens
call for a response to the September 11 atrocities
that ensures justice for the victims and seeks peace,
stability, and the protection of human rights and
democracy."
Greens across the U.S. continue to protest the
military attacks on Afghanistan, asserting that
violence will not bring a solution to the current
crisis but instead risks escalation of the conflict
into the 'holy war' sought by Osama bin Laden and his
fanatical movement if the attacks continue. The Green
Party issued a statement in early October calling for
international cooperation in treating the September 11
attacks as a crime against humanity, with the
perpetrators indicted and tried in an ad hoc
international tribunal in accord with treaties such as
1971 Montreal Sabotage Convention, which both the U.S.
and Afghanistan signed.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://gpus.org
Green Party statement on the September 11 attacks
http://gpus.org/articles/9_11_01.html
Women in Black
http://www.igc.org/balkans/wib/index.html#top
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
http://www.rawa.org
Letter from Ralph Nader and James Love to HHS
Secretary Thompson Regarding Ciprofloxacin, October
18, 2001
http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/1018-08.htm
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