Yesterdays´news

CODE PINK´s statement “Don’t Attend Trump’s Mideast Peace Ministerial”

CODE PINK´s statement “Don’t Attend Trump’s Mideast Peace Ministerial in Warsaw, Poland“
“Don’t Attend Trump’s Mideast Peace Ministerial in Warsaw, Poland
Dear Representatives of the European Union,
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently announced that the United States and Poland will jointly host a ministerial meeting on the Middle East in Warsaw on February 13-14. This meeting aims to build a broad coalition against Iran. We urge you NOT to attend the meeting.
Secretary Pompeo says the summit will bring together representatives from 70 countries from Asia, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Middle East. While the meeting will address issues of peace, stability, freedom and security, a major part of the agenda is, according to Secretary Pompeo, to make sure “that Iran is not a destabilizing force.” This meeting is part of the US campaign against Iran that includes withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement and re-imposing sanctions that the U.S. had lifted as part of the deal.
A major step forward for peace and security in the Middle East was precisely the Iran nuclear agreement, which was negotiated by the US, Iran, France, the UK, Germany, Russia and China, and was approved by the European Union and the UN Security Council. The other signatories have remained in the agreement and have been looking for ways to circumvent US sanctions on Iran. It is the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the long-negotiated agreement and its increased hostility towards Iran that have added to the instability of the region and are threatening to unleash another devastating war in the Middle East.
The US is fanning the flames of conflict.
Since European countries are still a party to the Iran nuclear agreement and want to improve relations with Iran, it would not make sense for Europe to participate in a conference hostile to Iran. Your non-participation would send a critical message to other countries to follow your lead.
We urge all nations to boycott this conference and instead pressure the US administration to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement and to work with Iran, as well as all other nations in the region, to stop terrorism and end wars, including the catastrophic war in Yemen.”
Signed:
(Organizations for identification only)
Sign here:

Statement by Fredrik S.Heffermehl: Nobel´s Peace Prize? Yes … and no

by Fredrik S. Heffermehl

Many see the 2019 Nobel for peace as a humanitarian prize and thus not within Nobel’s intention, but the committee’s announcement does characterize sexual violence as a weapon of war and praises efforts to end such war crimes. The 2018 prize is linked to a major theme of the day, equal rights for women, protection against violence. The committee has often borrowed glory from popular phenomena but accepted our advice that the prize could not be given to MeToo. Continue reading “Statement by Fredrik S.Heffermehl: Nobel´s Peace Prize? Yes … and no”

David McReynolds has left us

by Colin Archer

Older members of the IPB family will have vivid memories of David McReynolds, who died on Aug.17th in New York City at the age of 88. David was a committed pacifist and socialist, as well as an accomplished photographer. He was on the War Resisters League staff from 1960 to 1999 and was chair of the War Resisters’ International. He was also a long time member of the US Socialist Party, running for President of the USA in 1980 and 2000 — the first openly gay candidate for President — and for the U.S. Senate from New York in 2004 on the Green Party ticket. His very moving photos reveal (among much else) a lifelong engagement with campaigns against war and oppression; and in favour of disarmament and human rights. He traveled extensively, many times to war-torn countries, once getting arrested in Red Square during an anti-nuclear protest in 1978. David was appointed a consultant to the IPB in the 1990s, and was a reliable source of support in all kinds of ways over the years. Many colleagues have expressed great sadness at his passing. David was an outstanding activist who was both resolute and gentle, never afraid to take a bold stand. He was a radical political thinker and writer, a movement organiser, and especially in his later years, a global networker. His family and friends will be planning a memorial service in the weeks to come. See also New York Times obituary.

Declaration of the International Meeting, 2018 World Conference against A and H Bombs

The atomic bombs used by the United States of America on August 6 and 9, 73 years ago brought on the unprecedented tragedies to Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the humans had ever experienced in history. The two cities were totally ruined in an instant, and the lives of some 210,000 people were lost by the end of the year. The Hibakusha who barely survived the moment have been tormented by the after-effects of the bombs, including radiation. The nuclear weapons, which cause catastrophic humanitarian consequences, should never be used again for any reason whatsoever. Assembled here in Hiroshima, we decry that nuclear weapons remain the greatest threat to the survival of the human race and therefore call for actions to completely eliminate them without any further delay.

Continue reading “Declaration of the International Meeting, 2018 World Conference against A and H Bombs”

An open letter by Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, John Dean, Governor Bill Richardson, Walter Mosley, Michael Moore, Valerie Plame, and others

Common Ground: For Secure Elections and True National Security

Many Americans remain deeply concerned about reports of Russian interference with the 2016 election. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Russia are at their lowest and most dangerous point in several decades. For the sake of democracy at home and true national security, we must reach common ground to safeguard common interests—taking steps to protect the nation’s elections and to prevent war between the world’s two nuclear superpowers. Continue reading “An open letter by Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, John Dean, Governor Bill Richardson, Walter Mosley, Michael Moore, Valerie Plame, and others”

In Memoriam: Horst Stasius

Many people like to talk of internationalism and solidarity. Horst Stasius, who has died aged 84, was someone who truly lived it.

Born in The Hague in the year Hitler came to power, Horst grew up in a German family who had gone abroad only to see their adopted country occupied. The family returned to Germany soon after, when his father, Otto, was called up. Continue reading “In Memoriam: Horst Stasius”

Declaration of the International Meeting Against Foreign Military Bases

June 29th, 2018, Kaiserslautern Germany

Attendees from Germany, Netherlands, France, UK, South Korea, Spain, Italy, USA, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Switzerland agree to the following

Whereas:

  • The EU/US/NATO plays a key role in the creation of unequal economic conditions, wars and armed conflicts, and environment destruction that cause people to flee from their homes, seeking safety and sanctuary in Europe;
  • Increasing levels of military spending are contributing to these conditions;
  • Security and defence interests focusing on the security of states, power elites, and cooperate interests comes at the expense of individuals’ personal security;
  • Over 30 000 people are estimated to have lost their lives attempting to find sanctuary in Europe over the last 25 years and countless thousands, possibly millions, have died in their own countries;
  • The EU has put measures in place for open borders for weapons and soldiers, but not for people.

We oppose:

  • The militarization of EU border security that serves the interests of the military and security industry and endangers the lives of people seeking sanctuary in Europe;
  • The aims and actions of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, tasked with border control of the Schengen Area, in coordination with national border and coast guard bodies;
  • All migrant detention and long-term processing centres inside and outside Europe’s borders.

And we call on the EU to:

  • Ensure safe and legal crossing of sea and land borders around and within Europe, thereby opening the borders for people fleeing from conflict and famine;
  • Reduce military spending and invest in fair, just and equitable conditions for development and trade;
  • End the sale and export of arms and weapons’ components.

Stop the wars and not the refugees!

 

Contact:
Aktionsbüro Stopp Airbase Ramstein
c/o IALANA
Marienstr. 19/20
10117 Berlin
Germany
info@ramstein-kampagne.eu

Photos from the week of actions can be seen here.

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration

Statement of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration and the Arrival of the Era of Peace on the Korean Peninsula with It

The Declaration embodies both Koreas’ commitment to bringing the era of division and confrontation to an end and establishing a peace regime on their own accord.

The vision of thawing military tension, achieving disarmament through mutual trust-building, and freeing the Korean Peninsula from nuclear threats is highly praised. Continue reading “We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration”