Jan 15th Reports of Anti-War Actions taken on the Anniversary of this 20 Year Ongoing War on Iraq!

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Monday January 17, 2011 10:37

by Ciaron - Giuseppe Conlon House, London Catholic Worker

- White House, Whitehall, London, Dublin, Menwith Hill, Wellington, Christchurch, Brisbane

VID (3 mins 14 secs)
100 folks vigil outside the White House at 7 pm Saturday Jan 15th. (Martin Luther King Day in the United States), the exact prime time for U.S television that the 20 year ongoing war on Iraq began Jan 15 1991. These 100 foks outside the White House were joined insimutaneous oppostion at U.S. embassies in Dublin, London, Wellington also at Menwithhi HI and in Brisbne and Christchurch.
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/150784/index.php

January 15, 2011 marked the 20th year since the United States began to bomb Iraq. Since then millions of Iraqi people have been militarily occupied, injured, starved, killed, tortured, and imprisoned. Millions more have become internally displaced or refugees in other countries.

The purpose of this witness in Washington, D.C. on January 15th was to draw attention to the fact that the United States has been using military force for 20 years that has led to the slaughter of Iraqis and the destruction of their country.

It is our hope the United States will instead follow the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to abolish war and injustice.

Schedule
8:45am
Mass at Sacred Heart Church 16th & Park Road NW "Mass of Repentance for War"
celebrated by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Sponsored by Pax Christi Metro DC
10:30am
Assemble at 16th & Park Road NW
(bring signs, banners, puppets)
11:00am
“March to Stop the War”
March down 16th street to the White House
12:00-1:00pm
Vigil outside the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
2:00-6:00pm
Teach-in at Foundry United Methodist 1500 16th St. NW
Live music, films, and guest speakers and activists including:

* Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
* Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence
* Medea Benjamin co-founder of Code Pink & Global Exchange
* Mike Ferner of Veterans For Peace
* Celeste Zappala of Gold Star Families Speak Out and Military Families Speak Out
* Ann Wright(by video) former United States Army colonel and retired official of the U.S. State Department
* Andy Shallal, Iraqi-American artist, and propietor of Bus Boys & Poets
* Camilo Mejia, GI Resister, Conscientious Objector & Iraq War Veteran
* David Swanson of Warisacrime.org
* Liz McAlister of Jonah House
* Sue and Bill Frankel-Streit of Little Flower Catholic Worker Farm
* and more!
7:00pm
Candlelight Vigil outside the White House
marking the time the Tomahawk Missiles exploded in Baghdad (bring your own light)

Co-sponsoring Groups: The January 15 Peace Committee, Witness Against Torture, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Gold Star Families Speak Out, Code Pink, United National Assembly Committee, Consistent Life, WARISACRIME.ORG, Peace-Action, Veterans For Peace, Christian Peace Witness, War Resisters League, Answer Coalition, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, United For Peace and Justice, Gray Panthers, Pax Christi Metro DC, Little Friends for Peace, Peace With Justice Mission(DC), Dorothy Day CW(DC), Father Charlie Mulholland CW(NC), Northern Virginians for Peace & Justice, Maryland United for Peace and Justice, Gray Panthers of Metropolitan DC, Peace-Action Montgomery County (MD), Jonah House (MD)

A Reflection on the Day by Ted Walker
January 15th, 2011, marked the baffling convergence of not only what would have been the 82nd birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but also the 20th anniversary of the day the first US bombs dropped on Iraq in Operation Desert Storm. And so, appropriately, Kathy Boylan and the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker helped organize a full day of prayer, anti-war demonstration and a peace teach-in.

We gathered in the morning along with Pax Christi Metro DC, the New Jerusalem Community from Philadelphia and many others for a Catholic Mass of “Repentance for War,” celebrated by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, the founding president of Pax Christi USA in 1972. Art Laffin led a moving litany of saints and lights of the peace movement throughout history, and the songs were beautifully inspiring. In the first reading taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews we heard, “No created thing is hidden from God; everything is uncovered and stretched fully open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.”

From the Church, we marched with banners and horns and leaflets all the way down 16th street to the White House. There we created a large circle on Pennsylvania Avenue for speakers, song street theatre, a recording of Dr. King’s “Time to Break the Silence” speech given at the Riverside Church in 1967.

Then over 200 people gathered for an 4 hour-plus teach-in at the Foundry United Methodist Church, where we heard one powerful speaker after another; Iraq War veteran Camilo Mejia of Veterans Against the War who spoke of the horrors he saw at the hands of our military leaders in the field; Celeste Zappala from Military Families Speak Out who told of losing her son Sherwood senselessly as he searched for “WMD’s” our government knew weren’t there; Kevin and Joyce Lucey related the horror and sadness of losing their son Jeffrey to a post traumatic stress induced suicide upon his return from Iraq.

The evening rounded out back at the White House for a candlelit vigil held simultaneously in London, Bribane, Welington, and Baghdad. And when we returned to St. Stephen’s, we packed up a couple of cars and vans and 30 of us headed out to the countryside to spend the night at the Peace Oasis for our day of retreat.

During the teach-in, Liz McAlister of Jonah House remembered something that troubled her about the response of the peace movement 20 years earlier at the start of the first Iraq War. “The spirit wasn’t right,” she said, “What was the movement saying? ‘Don’t give us another Vietnam!’ and other such slogans.” But Liz warned, “Be careful what you dream for, because you might just get what you wish... they didn’t give us another Vietnam, but another Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
==============================

REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., BEYOND VIETNAM: TIME TO BREAK SILENCE
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/058.html
==============================

Refection on January 15th. by Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Dear Friends,
I'm up early this morning to write the script for a brief street theater that people will enact in front of the White House, commemorating the hundreds of thousands of people who died in Iraq as a direct result of U.S. military and economic warfare. How necessary it is to stay with the image of hospital wards, under economic sanctions, turned into death rows for infants.

And yet, unfailingly, we witnessed generosity, forgiveness and acts of friendship in each home we entered, in Iraq. The same has been true in our visits to Afghanistan.

I can't help but find hope in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King this weekend. He concluded his Riverside church speech, ("Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence") by calling for neighborliness. In his lonely and often threatened struggle to unite people in nonviolent resistance to racism, militarism and greed, he was hounded by the FBI, viewed suspiciously by powerful elites, and compromised even by well-meaning liberals. Yet he still rang the bell for neighborliness that crosses beyond families, tribes, creeds and nation states.

On day five of our fast (to close Giantanamo www.witnessagainsttorture.org here in Washington, D.C. and following a day when as many of us as could secure appointments returned with bleak news about the utter unwillingness on Capitol Hill to see the men horridly imprisoned in Guantanamo as neighbors, we look to communities of nonviolent resistance to fuel our belief in Dr. King's vision. We must escalate the level of risks we are willing to take on behalf of peace, asking always where and how one can live with honor in a warrior culture that daily maims, tortures and kills people- potential neighbors- who've meant us no harm.

Sincerely,
Kathy Kelly

save preference

Comments (15 of 15)

Photos from Anti-War Vigil in flooded Brisbane, Australia

by Brisbane, Australia

Wed Jan 19, 2011 09:07

Flickr Slide Show of witness at White House Jan 15 for 20 Anni. of the US Lead Wars on Iraq:

by Frank - Des Moines Catholic Worker

Tue Jan 18, 2011 21:57

Flickr Slide Show of witness at White House Jan 15 for 20 Anni. of the
US Lead Wars on Iraq:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frank_cordaro_and_the_dm_c...2439/

These are photos were mostly taken by Frank Cordaro on Jan 15, 2011 in
Wash DC during the events surrounding the Martin Luther King Jr's
Birthday remembrance to commemorate 20 Years of U.S. War on Iraq and
re-dedication of our Lives to living out Dr Kings Dream of Abolishing
War and Injustice! organized by the Wash DC CW community and many
others... (Photos not taken by FC will be identified.)

The photos begin with the march entering Lafayette Park, setting up a
noon vigil in front of the White House. Some of the photos have people
identified and named. Most do not. There are photos of some of the
speakers. Regrets to all the good folks who were there and are not
identified or in any of the photos. There are two photos from the 7
p.m.Candlelight Vigil that took place outside White House marking the
time the Tomahawk Missiles exploded in Baghdad.

Report from flooded Brisbane

by Report from flooded Brisbane

Tue Jan 18, 2011 17:30

On Sunday, despite the floods, a small group gathered in Brisbane to mark the 20th anniversary of first US led attack on Iraq. We joined others around the world gathering at the same time.

We remembered all those killed in the wars Australia has supported since then, especially those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I started with an overview of the wars in those countries. I mentioned Pope John Paul 11’s strong opposition to the first Gulf War, when he prophetically called it the “Seed of death”. The war helped spark a never ending spiral of violence- “war-terror-war-terror-war……..”

We read an article by Robert Fisk written 3 weeks after the start of the 1991 war, in which he details the horrific scene of women and children shredded by US cluster bombs.

Next we read Martin Luther King’s “Six Principles of Active Nonviolence” – a real alternative to the never ending violence.

Slowly we read names of some of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan – the names of coalitions soldiers alternatively with the names Iraq or Afghani civilians.

We concluded with our own prayers and then headed to nearby home to watch the 17minute video for which Bradley Manning is presently being tortured in a US prisonThe film “Collateral Murder” depicts the seemingly mindless slaughter of innocent civilians by US helicopter pilots taken from one of the helicopters.

WE left - hopefully more determined to continue the struggle.

Christchurch Report

by Christchurch Report

Tue Jan 18, 2011 17:11

We had a good turnout at the simultaneous vigil in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand. More than 60 gathered in the blazing 34 degrees celsius sun as speakers such as Moana Cole (ANZUS Ploughshares 1991), Katie Dewes (Advisior to Sec Gen of UN), former British naval commander Rob Green, Lois and Martin Griffiths and CW co-ordinator Jim Consedine reflected on the impact of the 20 year war, the implications of its continuation, the role of NZ in Afghanistan, and the plight of Bradley Manning. We remembered the deaths of civilians with a 'die in' which had immediate visual imnpact in the busy square. We envisaged the people at other vigils around the world as we stood alongside them in solidarity with all the victims of war.

Report from Vigil outside U.S. Embassy, Welington, Aotearoa/ New Zealand

by Welington, Report

Tue Jan 18, 2011 16:54

A group of us met outside the US Embassy Wellington (Aotearoa/ New Zealand) at midday Sunday (midnight Sunday UK time/ 7pm Saturday Washington D.C.). Here are photos of vigil outside Wellington embassy. We read from description of Bradley Manning's situation and tributes gained from the Bradey Manning Support website.
http://www.bradleymanning.org/
Adi Leason
(acquitted of the criminal damage charges in reation to the "Waihopai Ploughshares" disabling the spy base, but now being sued for $1.1 miiion by GCSB, the New Zealand spy agency
http://ploughshares.org.nz/

Catholic Worker Farmhouse Crew Midnight Vigil outside Northwood HQ, London

by Catholic Worker Farmhouse Crew

Tue Jan 18, 2011 14:01

Catholic Worker Farmhouse Crew

Caption: Video Id: 3DOR7Ml4XF0 Type: Youtube Video
WAR IS OVER... if you want it - Merry Christmas from the London Catholic Worker

Catholic Workers vigil outside U.S Embassy, Welington Aotearoa/ New Zealand

by Welington!

Tue Jan 18, 2011 13:59

Thank you Welington!

Unconditional Love, Unconditional Solidarity

We are against all wars. All wars are against us!

Solidarity with Bradley Manning!

US Embassy Vigil in Dublin 4

by Mairtin MacMaolain - Catholic Nonviolence Network Ireland

Mon Jan 17, 2011 23:34

With the stars and stripes impressively gleaming in the blowing wind in the foreground of the US Embassy building in Dublin 4, five folks stood in vigil for about an hour on the Saturday night in question to mark the beginning of one of the most publicly disseminated wars in the history of the world. We were left in peace to reflect on the devastation that this war has wrought on ordinary people in a country, unfortunate enough to be situated in a region rich with resources that the world's current major superpower craves for its very existence. A banner called for the Irish Government to end Irish complicity in the war by the US military's use of Shannon Airport.

Given the blustery conditions, we struggled in vain to keep the candles alight but due to the efforts a veteran peace campaigner by the name of Fintan, we had an Easter candle that lasted the course which we encircled as we drew the vigil to a close. Each marked the occasion in words or in silence, remembering those struggling for peace and justice throughout the world, Bradley Manning ina measc, those imprisoned as a result especially in Guantanamo, and we prayed the Lord's prayer for the coming of the Kingdom when the lion will lie down with the lamb and nations will go to war no more.

It was a very spiritual event, done in the knowledge that a mysterious bond was being fostered at different places in the world at the exact same time to bear witness to the horror of war and the efforts to stop it. Such a prayer can only strengthen people who suffer as a result of the loving actions of peace-makers in a world which would wish them dead or disappeared. As it was Martin Luther King day, it was poignant that the vigil for peace in our times should be held to at least retract some of the awful irony of a war launched on the same day as people honoured his memory twenty years ago. In the war of myths that rages, attempts are being made by the US Ministry of Truth and its Newspeak Department to claim that Martin Luther King would have approved today of the US' wars. Such lies are only flouted by people who faithfully speak out and act in the cause of truth. I hope our humble efforts on Saturday night outside the building that represents the world's largest terrorist nation-state went some way to helping the cause of peace in these lands where the wars still rage and the people living there cry out still for it to stop.

Report on the London J15 Speak Out/ Sing Out against the War

by Report - Giuseppe Conlon House

Mon Jan 17, 2011 19:47

Following a couple of hours of socialising in the Giuseppe Conlon hall, folks moved into the old church space to the sound of David on the old church organ and Barbara on the flute. MC Ciaron did a welcome inspired by indigeneous Australian traditioins, acknowledging the history of the space we were occupying, as one of joy and grief. Acknowledging the grief of the 20 years of war on Iraq and the joy of sustained nonviolent resistance and solidarity in all its expression represented in the room.

The speaking order was to run roughly chronologicaly with Ciaron teling the story of 1990 events leasing up to the New Year's Day '91 ANZUS Plowshares disarmament of a B52 Bomber at Griffiss Air Force Base in upstate New York. The ANZUS Plowshares were able to close down the Air Force Base runway during a time of massive deployment and put a "scramble alert" B52 Bomber out of action for the length of the '91 "Gulf Massacre". Other B52's in working order were later deployed from that New York base to England executing daily bombing runs over Iraq, indiscrimately droppig cluster bombs, napalm and fuel air explosives from 30,000 feet. B52's accounted for 30% of all munitions dropped, in the 1991 Gulf Massacre equivalent to the firepower of 8 Hirsohimas.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/98569

Widad spoke of the beauty of Baghdad and Iraq. She also shared the grief of what it was like to lose a son in war and what it is like to live in exile from one's country and people. She refected on the rising bloody sectarianism in Iraq and the destruction of a modern society, health care system and eductional institutions.

Following John's great version of "Soldier Man", Jimmy Johns took the stage clearly moved by Widad's grief. Jimmy contrasted the mass devastation wrought on the Iraqi people with the minimalist response of the western peace movement. The anti-war movement had largely collapsed by the time he had returned from Iraq, long before the air war had run its course. He spoke of the need to move beyond containable protests of marching up and down in city streets. He shared recollections of camping in the Iraqi desert a few miles form the Saudi border, between these two massing armies. He spoke of the wild desert feral cats and the predictabe tensions and joys of planting 70 international activists in such an environment.

Ben Griffin spoke about his expereinces being recuited into the miitary He spoke of coming to the conclusion that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was illegal, telling his C.O., expecting a court martial that didn't come. He spoke of being thrown out of the "wolf pack" of elite special forces and the struggle to journey back to civil society. He spoke with a great honesty, fragility and vulnerabiity. He speaks under a gag order. This link points to what he was shring before being gagged in 2008....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Griffin_%28former_Brit...er%29

Lovers Electric lowered the demogaphic of the gathering and raised the tempo with a wonderful performance
http://loverselectric.com/flash.html

Emiy Johns, who as an artist has created many moving images out of her reflections on this long war on Iraq, took the stage.
http://www.j-n-v.org/Art_by_Emily_Johns/Conscious-Oil/C...l.htm

She gave a powerful personal poiticial refection. She reminded us, who had resisted in '91, that 20 years had past in our lives whose trajectory had been in someways set by our response to that 1991 killing spree. She shared on her experiences with nonviolent direct action groups morphing and merging ARROW (action resisting the roots of war), sanctions busting "Voices in the Wilderness" and "Justice not Vengeance" http://www.j-n-v.org/ responding to the outright invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Stephen Hancock reflected on the night the war began as he was banged up in his prison cell. He was touched by the sensitivity and empathy shown to him by other pisoners 20 years ago as the war began, expressions of gentle solidarity that have stayed with him to this day. He read a poem "Work to Do" by the recently departed Adrian Mitchell, written after the big anti-war potest of 1991 Rod Boucher then unleashed a banshee wail of electric guitar that again raised the tempo. http://goodgodstudio.com/page72.html

Dr Salih shared a refection, as he said, "of biblical proportions" tying in his huge family story with the poitical history of Iraq....where maids in an uncles Kuwait house are paid more than doctors in Iraq. A wonderful stream of consciousness of the tragedy and humour of the hostory of his family and his people.

Bruce Kent graciously rounded off the evening with a stirring and affirming speech demaning that our militarist culture has to be challenged at every level.

London Speak Out/Sing Out Against the War(s)

by LCW

Mon Jan 17, 2011 17:44

http://www.londoncatholicworker.org/

Martin Luther King January 15th U.S. delivers a nightmare on his birthday/ U.S. public holiday

Bruce Kent Tribal Elder of the British Peace Movement

Mon Jan 17, 2011 17:42

"Lovers Electric" from Adelaide via Hackney heading to Berlin

Emily Johns, artist from '90's sanctions busting "Voices in the Widerness"

Stephen Hancock, poet F1 11 Poughshares Prisoner, Engand '91

Rod "the Revelator" Boucher Australian legend

Dr. Salih from Baghdad

Mon Jan 17, 2011 17:40

Ciaron O'Reilly "ANZUS/ B52 Plowshares" Prisoner, USA '91

Widad Journalist from Baghdad Lost a son in the war and a country in '91 U.S. assault on Iraq

John from Aotearoa/ NZ sings "Soldier Man"

Jimmy Johns Iraq Peace Team camped on the Saudi/ Iraq border '91

Ben Griffin Iraq War SAS Combat Vet Refused to return to Iraq denouncing the war. Presently under MOD gag order

Report of "Celebration of Hope", London

Mon Jan 17, 2011 14:07

Approx 50 folks from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia attended a "Celebration of Hope" at Giuseppe Conlon House (Harringey/ London), on Saturday, January 15th. 2011, marking twenty years of nonviolent resistance to the War on Iraq.

Anti-war resisters present included Oxford's Stephen Hancock and Irish/ Australian Ciaron O'Reilly who were in English and U.S. prisons when war was unleashed on the people of Iraq January 15th. 1991. Also present were former British SAS combat veteran and miltary refusenik Ben Griffin along with six former members of the U.S. Air Force, British, Iraqi and Iranian armies, Jimmy Johns and Kevin Hemsley who were two of the 70 international peace activivists camped between the two armies confronting each other on the Saudi/ Iraqi border in January 1991.

Quakers Maggie Freake and John Lynes were arrested outside Parliament in the early hours of 16th January 1991 for sitting peacefully in the company of 2000 others
(Maggie was consequently sentenced to a week in prison). Emma and Emily from the sanctions busting "Voices in the Widerness" and Maya Evans from "Justice not Vengeance". Colombian, Palestinian and Guantanamo solidarity activists and other activists who had spent time in custody in Australia, England, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States for nonviolent resistance together several refugees from Iraq, Africa and Iran.

Ages ranged from 6 months to 80 and folks sprung from a variety of faith/no faith traditions Sunni, Shiite, Catholic, Anglican, Baptists, Quaker, agnostic and athiest. A couple of new young folks from Foodcycle came hoping to help wothout homeless work but the crod comprised of folks we aready knew or knew someone who knew us - so our short notice publicity machine had failed somewhat! It was a wonderful opportunity for old comrades to catch up and also to make some new friends

A smorgasboard of dumpster dived food harvested and prepared by Ronan and Sue grew as people arrived with their own contributions to the evening.

Meantime, back at the Great Sumo standoff...

by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite party

Mon Jan 17, 2011 13:59

This is worth a scan. He miscalls the Red Sea as the Black Sea and spells 'rein in' as 'reign in ', but otherwise it seems to fit.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22781

Celebration of hope at Guiseppe Conlon House.

by Mirjam - Catholic Worker

Mon Jan 17, 2011 13:14

People gathered on January 15th at Guiseppe Conlon House to commemmorate the 20th anniversary of the 1991 invasion of Iraq.