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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United
States calls the growing suppression of open debate about the U.S.
response to the September 11 attacks anti-democratic, anti-American, and
unacceptable.
"Prudent measures to keep knives off airplanes is one thing,"
said Starlene Rankin, Illinois Green Party Media Coordinator. "But
allowing the FBI, CIA, or other police agencies to spy on American
citizens is quite another. The Greens absolutely oppose any restriction
on civil political dissent. We must remain free to question and
challenge the political status quo and to hold our elected officials
accountable - our cherished civil liberties must not be
compromised!"
"President Bush says 'either you're with us, or you're against us'
in the war on terrorism - and calls anyone who criticizes the U.S.'s
unilateral bombing of Afghanistan or questions the failed U.S. foreign
policies that have alienated people around the world a supporter of
terrorism."
One dissenting organization targeted by the FBI is Women in Black. An
international network of peace activists founded in 1988, Women in Black
has stood in silent vigil against military attacks and occupations
around the world, often placing themselves in harm's way. Women in Black
currently hold vigil every Wednesday evening at the New York Public
Library as a call for peace and in remembrance of those lost to
terrorism on September 11. In Pennsylvania, the Lancaster Greens join
Women In Black in vigils in front of the Lancaster County courthouse
every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Women in Black counts several Green Party activists among its members,
including Annie Goeke, formerly of the party's national steering
committee and now the chair of the International Committee. Other groups
under suspicion by the FBI for potential terrorism include harmless
dissident groups like Reclaim the Streets and Carnival Against
Capitalism.
"How profoundly ironic it is that as we claim to be defending the
freedom for democracy, we are silencing the voices of women and others
that are part of the growing movement for peace," said Goeke.
"Our civil liberties are being threatened when the FBI labels the
international movement Women in Black as a potential terrorist group and
threatens it with a grand jury investigation. Only 9 months
ago Women in Black was awarded the U.N. Millennium Peace Award and was
nominated forthe Nobel Peace Prize in 2001."
Green Party 2
"Groups like Women in Black are under suspicion because they
protest U.S. policy, while condemning the September 11 attacks,"
said Kara Ceriello, chair of the Green Party of Washington State.
"But the Bush Administration won't criticize the drug companies,
such as Bayer, and drug stores that have been price-gouging and blocking
low-cost generic forms of antibiotics that effectively fight Anthrax.
The White House won't hold Unocal responsible for past business deals
with the Taliban or discuss American business interests in an oil
pipeline through Afghanistan. And the White House won't acknowledge the
Northern Alliance's multi-million-dollar opium crop, a source of illegal
narcotics throughout the West."
Many Green activists point to groups like the Revolutionary Association
of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) as a hope for peace in Afghanistan
and the surrounding region. RAWA demands that both the Taliban and the
Northern Alliance be disarmed, calling both sides violent, brutally
misogynistic, and anti-democratic. RAWA members, active for two decades,
have risked their lives providing secret education for Afghani girls,
providing medical aid for Afghani women, and documenting the Taliban's
atrocities.
"The example set by RAWA should be the foundation of a humane
solution to the international crisis," said Tod Sloan, social
psychologist and co-chair of the International Committee of the Green
Party. "Greens call for a response to the September 11 atrocities
that ensures justice for the victims and seeks peace, stability, and the
protection of human rights and democracy."
Greens across the U.S. continue to protest the military attacks on
Afghanistan, asserting that violence will not bring a solution to the
current crisis but instead risks escalation of the conflict into the
'holy war' sought by Osama bin Laden and his fanatical movement if the
attacks continue. The Green Party issued a statement in early October
calling for international cooperation in treating the September 11
attacks as a crime against humanity, with the perpetrators indicted and
tried in an ad hoc international tribunal in accord with treaties
such as 1971 Montreal Sabotage Convention, which both the U.S. and
Afghanistan signed.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States http://gpus.org
Green Party statement on the September 11 attacks http://gpus.org/articles/9_11_01.html
Women in Black http://www.igc.org/balkans/wib/index.html#top
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan http://www.rawa.org
Letter from Ralph Nader and James Love to HHS Secretary Thompson
Regarding Ciprofloxacin, October 18, 2001 http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/1018-08.htm
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