GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
www.GP.org
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders and candidates for Congress spoke out today on U.S. policies regarding national security, Iran, and the crisis in Israel and Palestine.
IRAN Greens warned that the Bush Administration may repeat its pattern of fraud and military aggression that led to the Iraq disaster in its current posture on Iran's bid for nuclear energy and, allegedly, nuclear arms.
Americans should be wary of Bush Administration claims that Iran's nuclear ambitions justify military action, in light of White House deceptions before the invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs and sought nuclear weapons materials, said Greens.
"The best approach is one that maintains the good will of the Iranian people, rather than theatening them with attacks by the U.S. or by Israel as a U.S. surrogate," said Carl Romanelli, Pennsylvania Green candidate for the U.S. Senate. "Any effort to dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear power will seem utterly hypocritical if the Bush Administration continues to violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, ignore Israel's nuclear capability, and aid the nuclear ambitions of India in violation of the treaty. Our Iran policy must be part of a greater policy that seeks global nuclear disarmament and an end to dependence on fossil and nuclear energy."
"We have no illusions about the current government in Iran, which under President Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khameini have suppressed the rights of women, tortured and murdered gay people, crushed political dissent, and denied the Jewish holocaust," added Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Georgia Green Party and spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus. "But our immediate goal must be to maintain the friendship of the many Iranians who wish to see the ruling theocracy replaced by secular democratic government dedicated to human rights and freedoms. U.S. theats have enabled the regime to silence reformists in the same way that the 'War on Terror' has enabled President Bush to intimidate and silence opposition here. If the U.S. attacks Iran, we'll face the wrath of the world and a conflict far worse than the Iraq disaster."
MIDDLE EAST Green leaders urge the Bush Administration to place pressure on the government of Israel to rescind its threat to assassinate Hamas leaders if Palestinian militants strike in Israel.
"Israel's threat betrays contempt for the democratic process that elected Hamas to positions of Palestinian leadership," said Ruth Weill, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "The only way to achieve security for Israelis and Palestinians is for Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, stop clearing Palestinian farms and other land for Jewish Israeli settlements, end the economic strangulation of the Palestinian people, and guarantee democracy for all citizens of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
"Hamas has observed a ceasefire for the past year, so the ball is in Israel's court to begin serious peace talks. The Bush White House has the power to persuade Israel to do the right thing, just as President Eisenhower ended the 1956 Suez crisis when he pressured Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula," Ms. Weill added.
The Green Party has condemned all violence against civilians in the Israel-Palestine conflict, whether by the state of Israel or by Palestinian militias or Israeli vigilantes.
In November, 2005, the party passed a resolution urging divestment from Israel, which currently receives billions of dollars each year in U.S. aid, until Israel observes full human rights and equality for Palestinians <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_11_28.shtml>.
Greens have called for consideration of a one-state solution, noting that Israel's illegal annexation of settlement blocs and refusal to honor the Palestinian right of return to Israel belie any possibility for a two-state solution.
Mindful of the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians because of Israeli and U.S. opposition to the Hamas-led Legislative Council, Green Party members are encouraged by news that Hamas may conduct a popular referendum allowing Palestinians to decide their stance regarding the recognition of Israel <http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6BC01677-F403-4215-9695-7DC6539ABF67.htm>.
Greens noted that Israel's $2.2 billion request for U.S. taxpayer-funded compensation for Israeli settlers evicted from the Palestinian territories, about $227,000 per Gaza settler, far surpasses federal aid to survivors of hurricane Katrina. (FEMA awarded as little as $2,000 to many needy Katrina survivors; Israel put its request for $2.2 billion for Gaza settlers on hold after Katrina, then renewed it in January.)
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/
Green Party International Committee
http://www.gp.org/committees/intl/
Green Party rebuttal to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address (Video News Release)
http://www.gp.org/video/2006stateofunion