|
OPERATION HOMELAND RESISTANCE
A CALL to New Yorkers for days of
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE & CREATIVE ACTION beginning MAY 5th
Join us in creative and
active resistance beginning on May 5th for days of protest.
Civil Disobedience trainings:
Friday, May 2nd, 6.30-9.30 p.m. (All locations TBA, contact info below)
Saturday, May 3rd, 1.00-4.00 p.m.
Sunday, May 4th, 5.00-8.30 p.m.
Contact ophrinfo@yahoo.com for more information.
THE WAR IS NOT OVER
As the United States government continues its war on Iraq - now in the
form of occupation - we must continue our struggle for justice with peace.
The "War on Terrorism" is being used to justify a US doctrine
of pre-emptive war that has already resulted in thousands of civilian
deaths abroad, and crimes against humanity globally and at home. Pre-emptive
strikes may be aimed at any target that the US government (with media
support) unilaterally declares a threat, with no actual evidence needed
to back these claims. In the case of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction
(the main pretext for the war's launch) were never found.
The war is not over. While devastating and occupying
Afghanistan and Iraq within the past 2 years, while continuing to maintain
military bases or troops in 156 of 202 countries around the world, the
US government has made clear that the War on Terrorism is intended to
be a long, flexible war with multiple targets.
We need to understand that the "War on Terrorism"
is:
" A strategy of permanent war where the US determines new enemy targets
outside and within the US at any moment (this has already included targeting
of Syria, North Korea, Muslim immigrants, anti-war protesters, etc.).
" An umbrella term for the US government's attempt to silence dissent
within the US and entrench US power throughout the world.
" A policy that will not make life safer for people within the US,
and will not "liberate" people outside of the US.
The world is resisting. Outside of the US, millions
are actively and publicly resisting the US' unilaterally determined role
of global police chief, judge, jury, and executioner - and the role of
other governments in enabling this. As people of conscience living within
the US and NY, we have a responsibility to protest against the US government's
continued and escalated use of naked aggression outside and within the
US.
THERE'S A WAR RIGHT HERE
As the government continues to plan military strikes outside of the US,
communities of color and others within the US are experiencing permanent
war-time conditions every day. Nationally, this includes:
" Deepening and accelerated economic, political and social attacks.
As usual, these assaults are felt most by people of color, the poor, and
working people. At the same time, fundamental human/civil rights are being
trampled across race and class lines.
" Broken families and communities. Biological and chosen families
and communities are being split up every time troops are sent to war,
immigrants detained or deported, and community members imprisoned. US
front-line troops are usually young people of color - running the highest
risks for the least returns.
" Increased violence. War relies on and promotes more violence and
militarization of popular culture. Women and lesbian/gay/bi/transgender
people suffer more physical, emotional and sexual assault during times
of war; immigrant communities are scapegoated and attacked; and all of
us experience more intolerance.
In NYC, the war looks like this:
" Massive cuts in basic services. Support of increased military and
so-called "security" spending is being used to justify:
o Thousands of job cuts and layoffs, and continued promotion of non-living
wage employment;
o Cuts to education, housing, welfare, HIV/AIDS programs, health care,
and other basic social services;
o Increased cost of living for poor and working class New Yorkers in the
form of transit fare hikes, higher education costs, and rent increases.
" Increased violence and policing of our communities.
o Racial profiling has been re-affirmed and expanded (to include religious,
cultural, and gender profiling) as justifiable policy and practice, even
though we know that it is ineffective and unjust.
o Police brutality continues, but doesn't get covered in the media, or
addressed by the government.
o National Guard and police with rifles are stationed in neighborhoods
of color, with residents often having to show ID to go home or to work
- making it look and feel like our neighborhoods are occupied territory;
o Immigrant communities are experiencing mass arrests, detentions, deportations,
disappearances, and "special registration" procedures with no
regard for human/civil rights;
" Surveillance and criminalization of local communities.
o Over 2 million people remain in US prisons, and policing increases in
local neighborhoods;
o Justice movement activists, community organizations and houses of worship
are getting targeted for interrogation and surveillance - all while being
vilified or ignored in the mainstream media.
None of this is making our world safer. Safety and
security will exist only when we create a world community that takes responsibility
for addressing peoples' needs - housing, healthcare, education, hunger,
poverty, etc - instead of making it seem like the only way to respond
to emerging issues is with government-sponsored violence.
Our role in helping to build a world of justice and
peace
This effort was initiated by NYC-based and led people of color racial
justice and immigrant's rights activists and organizations. We call on
New Yorkers, people with US citizenship, and white allies to join us in
adding our voices and our bodies to the world-wide resistance that is
continuing against the policies and practices of the US War on Terrorism.
Why we are calling for civil disobedience. We will
not allow our mourning for lives lost on Sept. 11 to be used as justification
for the US to wage additional wars, taking more lives. Millions around
the country and the world are putting their bodies on the line to prevent
future US wars, and to end current US wars. It is our responsibility to
let the world know that NY does not support what the US government is
doing in our name and to expose that the image of unity offered by the
mainstream media is false.
We understand that there may be other spontaneous
actions happening simultaneously, and we hope that they will stand in
solidarity with our message.
Join us in creative and active resistance beginning
on May 5th for days of protest.
Civil Disobedience trainings: Friday, May 2nd, 6.30-9.30 p.m. (All locations
TBA, contact info below)
Saturday, May 3rd, 1.00-4.00 p.m.
Sunday, May 4th, 5.00-8.30 p.m.
Contact ophrinfo@yahoo.com for more information.
No War at home or abroad. Help show the rest of the world that NY is against
war.
Endorsers [as of May 1]
(Contact ophrinfo@yahoo.com to endorse this action.)
ACT UP/NY; African Ancestral Lesbians United for societal change (AALUSC);
Al-Fatiha NYC; ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism); Audre Lorde
Project; Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Greater New York City Vicinity
Civic Committee; Black Radical Congress/United New York; Blacks Against
the War; CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities; Center for Immigrant Families;
The Center for Anti-Violence Education; Coalition for Humane Immigrant
Rights-Los Angeles (CHIRLA); Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants-Detention
Working Group (CHRI-Dets); Congress for Korean Reunification-NY Chapter;
Critical Resistance-NYC; Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM); Funding Exchange;
Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees; Harlem Anti-War Coalition; Harlem
Tenants Council; Incite! Women of Color Against Violence; International
Possibilities Unlimited; International Socialist Organization; Jews Against
The Occupation (JATO); Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ); Justice
Committee/National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights; Khmer Girls in Action
(KGA); Latinos Contra la Guerra; M27 Coalition; Malcolm X Grassroots Movement;
Media Jumpstart; NYC AIDS Housing Network; New York City Labor Against
the War; No Blood For Oil; New York Solidarity for a Free Palestine; NODUTDOL-For
Korean Community Development; Peace Action of New York State; People Organized
to Win Employment Rights (POWER); Peoples’ Law Collective; Perfect
Peace Ministry Youth Outreach; The Praxis Project (Washington DC); Prison
Moratorium Project; Project Reach; Racial Justice 911: People of Color
Against War; St. Mary’s Episcopal Church; Sista II Sista; Solidarity
New York; Students Promoting Empowerment And Knowledge (SPEAK), Columbia
University; United For Peace and Justice-New York; Vieques Brigade; Vieques
Support Committee
Individuals (organizations listed for identification
purposes only):
Sam Anderson, Reparations Mobilization Coalition;
Charles K. Armstrong, Professor & Chair, Center for Korean Research,
Columbia University; Janet Cyril; Max Elbaum (CA); Saru Jayaraman, Exec.
Dir. ROC-NY, Prof, City University of New York; Walter Johnson, History
& American Studies, NYU; Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Director, Queens
College Worker Education Ext. Center; Roz Lee; Richie Perez; Liz Roberts,
Resistance in Brooklyn; Mac Scott, Membership Coordinator, National Lawyers'
Guild; Sheila Stowell; Seung Hye Suh (CA); Steve Williams, Director of
POWER (CA); Bob Wing, War Times; Alan Yang
|