WASHINGTON -- January 12 --

Saturday, January 15
New Haven Green

10:00 am – 2:30 pm: Reading the Names

of all US Soldiers who have died in Iraq since the invasion and an equal number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed as a result of the war

PHOTO OP: Portable 60-ft Wall with the Names and Photos

Noon: Media Event
featuring readings from Dr. King’s 1967 sermon against the Vietnam War, a public signing of A Call to Resist the War in Iraq, and launching a new action campaign

Religious leaders and people of faith from around the state will hold a public witness and press conference at Noon on January 15, 2005, on the New Haven Green near the Corner of College and Chapel Streets*. The event will mark the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, highlighting his opposition to militarism and war and responding to his call to seek out “every creative means of protest.” The group will honor those who have died in the war in Iraq by reading many of their names.

Challenging faith communities to speak out against the torture of prisoners and other war crimes, religious leaders will publicly sign a pledge of resistance and launch a campaign of coordinated activities to oppose the war, including providing counseling to military personnel questioning the justification and morality of the ongoing war and occupation in Iraq.

“Responsibility for US war crimes in Iraq doesn’t lie with the soldiers who have been called to serve,” said the Rev. Allie Perry. “The responsibility lies with the high government officials who gave the orders in this illegal and immoral war, sending men and women, physically and morally, into harm’s way. And now the responsibility lies with us, as citizens of the world, to bring these crimes and this illegal war to a halt.”

On April 4, 1967, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke out prophetically against the war in Vietnam. He urged other people of faith to join him, saying, "We in the churches and synagogues have a continuing task to urge our government to disengage itself from a disgraceful commitment. We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative means of protest possible…."

"Our generation needs to heed Dr. King’s words today", said the Rev. Kathleen McTigue, of the Unitarian Society of New Haven. "Religious people in this country must begin to live up to the mandates of our faiths. We must raise our voices against the growing slaughter and destruction in Iraq. We must speak and act, loudly and consistently, against the torture and other crimes being committed in our names."

Both Rev. Perry and Rev. McTigue are members of the Steering Committee for Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice, a statewide interfaith network of religious leaders and people of faith promoting nonviolent alternatives to war.

The group will announce a new campaign to oppose the war by publicizing the national GI Rights Hotline, providing training to clergy in counseling military personnel about their rights, and supporting efforts around the state to discourage young people from enlisting in the military and educate them about conscientious objection. Preparing for the March 20 anniversary of the invasion, they will collect humanitarian aid for Iraq, sponsor educational events, and organize meetings with Congressional representatives.

Volunteers of all ages will read names of the war dead in 15-minute shifts, alternating the name of a US soldier with the name of an Iraqi civilian. Event organizers estimate that reading the more than 2700 names will take nearly five hours. The text of the Call to Resist is posted at http://internationallaw.pro-se-institute.org/ct_clergy.html.

###