THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Contact:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Statehood Greens ask, why are troops from D.C.
dying for democracy in Iraq while Bush denies democracy for D.C.?
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- D.C. Statehood Green Party
members will join thousands of other Americans at rallies in
Washington, D.C. on September 24 in protest against the war on Iraq,
with party leaders speaking at major rally events.
Statehood Greens and other D.C. citizens are
furious that President Bush claims to be waging a war to liberate the
Iraqi people, but refuses to consider statehood and full
constitutional rights for the citizens of Washington, D.C.
"While President Bush sends U.S. troops to
Iraq, including young men and women from the District of Columbia,
allegedly to fight for Iraqi democracy, he has rejected democracy for
the people of D.C.," said Rick Tingling-Clemmons, Ward 7
representative to the Statehood Green Party steering committee and
Black Caucus representative to the national Green Party.
"Troops from D.C. are dying abroad for rights they don't have at
home."
"President Bush showed utter disdain for
African Americans and poor whites caught in the flooding of New
Orleans -- until he was shamed into action. It's time to shame the
President for his hypocritical opposition to basic rights for the
majority African American population of D.C.," added Ann Wilcox,
steering committee member and an officer of the Green Party's Peace
Action Committee (GPAX).
The Green Party of the United States, in which the
D.C. Statehood Green Party is recognized as a state party, has called
for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq, return of U.S. troops,
and full funding for human needs in the U.S.
Greens from across the U.S. plan to visit
Washington to join united peace coalitions United For Peace &
Justice and A.N.S.W.E.R., which organized the September 24 event, in
protest against the war, and will draw connections between the Bush
Administration's Iraq policy, diversion of money from social services,
treatment of Katrina victims, and tax cuts for the wealthy.
On the morning of September 24, the Green Party's
Peace Action Committee (GPAX) is sponsoring a rally at the Iraqi
Embassy at 9 a.m. and will present a solidarity letter to the people
of Iraq, calling for full and equal rights and a representative
government.
Greens will then march south on 18th Street,
pausing in front of the D.C. offices of Halliburton/KBR (18th and M
Street, NW), and head to McPherson Square at 14th and K Street, NW,
for a GPAX rally from 10 to 11 a.m.
Michele Tingling-Clemmons, co-chair of the Green
Party's Black Caucus and 2004 Statehood Green candidate for D.C.
Council (Ward 7), and Kevin McCarron, member of the Statehood Green
Party and Veterans for Peace, will address the rally at McPherson
Square.
Greens will then join the main rally on the
Ellipse. Among the featured speakers will be Malik Rahim, recent Green
candidate for New Orleans City Council <http://www.gp.org/press/states/la_2005_09_03.shtml>.
Hip-hop artist and D.C. Statehood Green Party
member Head-Roc is among the headliners of the Operation Ceasefire
Concert <http://www.opceasefire.org>,
2:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. under the Washington Monument. The concert will
be hosted by Jello Biafra (a member of the Green Party); other
performers include Sweet Honey in the Rock, Thievery Corporation, and
country star Steve Earle.
Adam Eidinger, D.C. Statehood Green candidate for
'Shadow' U.S. Representative in 2004, is a leader of the team
organizing Operation Ceasefire.
MORE INFORMATION
The D.C. Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
"Greens Join September 24 Antiwar Protests,
Call for Immediate Withdrawal From Iraq"
Green Party press release, September 19, 2005
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_09_19.shtml
Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/
Stand Up! For Democracy in D.C. Coalition
http://www.standupfordemocracy.org
United For Peace & Justice
http://www.unitedforpeace.org
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.answercoalition.org/
