February, 25 2019, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kevin Martin, Peace Action, 301-537-8244 cell, kmartin@peace-action.org
Gabe Murphy, Peace Action, 510-501-3345 cell, gmurphy@peaceaction.org
Peace Action Applauds Legislation Calling for Peace Agreement to End the Korean War
WASHINGTON
In response to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introducing legislation to support diplomacy and the pursuit of peace on the Korean Peninsula, Kevin Martin, President of Peace Action and Coordinator of the Korea Peace Network, released the following statement:
"This legislation offers a common sense vision for achieving peace and advancing nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula that all members of Congress should be able to get behind. With its timely introduction on the eve of the second summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, this bill offers a blueprint for diplomacy that rightly acknowledges that real progress cannot be made in negotiations without reciprocal steps and confidence-building measures by all parties at the table.
"Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and the original cosponsors of this bill are wisely rising above the fraught politics of Washington D.C. to express their unequivocal support for the diplomatic process, while also holding the administration accountable to Congress by requesting a plan to achieve lasting peace and nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula.
"By supporting a declaration of the end of the Korean War and calling for a formal peace agreement to officially end the war, this legislation represents an emerging understanding in Congress that denuclearization cannot be achieved without peace. Establishing a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is critical to removing North Korea's rationale for maintaining its nuclear arsenal, which it sees as a deterrent against invasion by countries that it is still technically at war with. Declaring an end to the war or signing a formal peace agreement are not concessions, they are mutually beneficial steps towards reducing the risk of conflict and advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament."
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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Israeli soldiers have either passively watched or participated in the uprooting of at least seven communities in the West Bank since October of last year, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a new report documenting surging settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The rights group interviewed dozens of eyewitnesses and examined video footage showing harassment and other abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank "by men in Israeli military uniforms carrying M16 assault rifles."
Following the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel, the Israeli military drafted more than 5,000 settlers into "regional defense" units in the West Bank, Haaretzreported earlier this year. The Israeli newspaper noted that "alongside this large-scale mobilization, the [Israel Defense Forces] has distributed some 7,000 weapons to the battalions as well as to settlers who were not recruited into the army but received them as civilians whom the army considers eligible to carry military arms."
HRW's investigation found that "armed settlers, with the active participation of army units, repeatedly cut off road access and raided Palestinian communities, detained, assaulted, and tortured residents, chased them out of their homes and off their lands at gunpoint or coerced them to leave with death threats, and blocked them from taking their belongings."
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The new report comes days after Israeli settlers—escorted by IDF soldiers—went on their latest destructive and deadly rampage in the West Bank, killing at least two Palestinians, injuring dozens, and setting homes and vehicles ablaze. At least 20 households were displaced after Israeli settlers burned down their homes.
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Since October 7, according to the United Nations, Israeli settlers have launched more than 720 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, displacing at least 206 households comprised of 1,244 people—including 603 children. Israeli soldiers in uniform have been present at many of the attacks.
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HRW's new report examines five West Bank communities that have come under attack by Israeli settlers, including one in which uniformed Israeli men armed with assault rifles entered tents and destroyed or stole people's belongings, abused residents, and threatened to kill them if they didn't leave the area.
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Wyden's remarks came after the Senate narrowly approved a motion Tuesday to proceed to the FISA reauthorization bill ahead of Section 702's expiration at the end of the week. The Oregon senator, an outspoken privacy advocate, was among the seven members of the Democratic caucus who voted against the procedural motion.
Despite its grave implications for civil liberties, the bill has drawn relatively little vocal opposition in the Senate. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday.
Titled Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), the legislation passed the Republican-controlled House last week after lawmakers voted down an amendment that would have added a search warrant requirement to Section 702.
The authority allows U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside of the country, but it has been abused extensively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to collect the communications of American lawmakers, activists, journalists, and others without a warrant.
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