Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 18:10:00 +0000
From: robmcelwain@hotmail.com ("robert mcelwain")
Subject: [azpeace] Statement from Cornell Forum for Justice and Peace
To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com


The following is one of the most comprehensive and intelligent
statements addressing 9-11 and its aftermath. It was written by the
Cornell Forum for Justice and Peace. Please read and circulate it.
The Cornell Forum for Justice and Peace
Official Group Statement: November 25, 2001
http://www.geocities.com/cfjusticepeace/Statemnt.html
The Cornell Forum for Justice and Peace, a group of faculty and graduate
students, offers the following statement, dated November 25, 2001, in
response to the events of September 11 and since. For further
information on the CFJP, please see our website.
We oppose war as a response to the events of September
11.
1. We oppose the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan. It violates
basic human rights, and has brought about and will continue to bring
about grievous consequences in Afghanistan, the United States, and
throughout the world.
1.1 We assert our support for the prosecution of individuals responsible
for the September 11 attacks, but we insist on due process and
transparency of procedure, under international law and through an
international body such as the International Criminal Court, or a
special tribunal set up by the U.N. (There is precedent for this in the
ongoing trial of Slobodan Milosevic.) If international law as it stands
is unable to deal with international terrorism, then effective measures
against such violence must begin with appropriate legislation and the
building of the necessary international institutions. The principles of
justice and due legal procedure do not stand abrogated because of the
international nature of this case.
1.2 If we agree that those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks belong
to an international terrorist network, then we cannot ignore the fact
that the sine qua non of such networks is their decentralization. Such
networks are global in character and membership and do not act under the
authority of any one state. Moreover, prior to September 11, only three
states recognized the Taliban as the lawful government of Afghanistan;
since that date, two of the three have withdrawn their recognition.
We therefore conclude that the United States bombing of Afghanistan is
based on a false premise: that the Afghani state and people are
reducible to the Taliban. The death of innocent Afghanis, many of them
women and children, who have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden or
al-Qaeda and who may in fact be themselves critical of the Taliban
regime, is thus ethically unacceptable.
Given these facts, the unremitting bombing of Afghanistan by the U.S.,
the deaths of civilians through its admitted use of cluster bombs, and
the simultaneous use of inadequate and dangerous food drops as a
propaganda weapon will only serve to increase anger against the United
States, not only among Muslims, but throughout the world. No degree of
media censorship and number of public relations exercises can mask these
facts.
1.3 Citizens of Afghanistan have, without a doubt, suffered tremendously
under the Taliban regime. They have in fact been suffering ever since
the proxy war between the U.S. and Soviet Union was launched on their
soil, and through the many years of civil war since. Women in particular
have suffered under the Taliban, and yet it is ostensibly in their
interest, largely, that this war has been justified. The suffering of
women, children, and men in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban
under no circumstances justifies the sort of vigilante military campaign
that the U.S. is currently pursuing. Civilian deaths are increasing as a
direct result of bombing, but owing to the U.S. demand that Pakistan
close its borders with Afghanistan, the keeping back of aid convoys, and
the approach of winter, the number of people at risk of death by
starvation has increased from 3 million to 7.5 million. Prior to the
"war on terrorism," internatioal relief agencies were capable of
keeping the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan at a level of stasis.
Particularly since the U.S. military action, under orders from the U.S.
government, these agencies and their aid convoys have been kept back
from the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
As the inevitable civilian casualties mount, the United States squanders
the good will and sympathy that the world extended in the wake of 9/11,
which is so vital to the international diplomatic cooperation needed to
fight terrorism.
2. We find the curtailment of civil rights and the checks on government
guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in the name of national security
unacceptable. We note that the U.S. has launched a military campaign in
the name of freedom and democracy while undermining these at home.
Patriotism, redefined as the unquestioning acceptance and support of the
government's every action, is assuming the status of a loyalty test.
2.1 We denounce the "USA PATRIOT Act of 2001": H.R. 3162 and all similar
attempts to limit our democratic freedoms. A democracy rests on checks
and balances, such as the Bill of Rights, which are built into the
system. These ensure that the state will not overstep its bounds and
become authoritarian or totalitarian. The right to information regarding
the government's actions is crucial in a democratic state. The right to
express dissent from the official or majority position is the sine qua
non of a democratic polity and not a mark of treason or sedition.
We are extremely concerned by the far-reaching nature of the most recent
anti-terrorist bill (H.R. 3162), and George W. Bush's decree of November
13 instituting secret military tribunals. Provisions that widen the
power of intelligence agencies, institute detention without charge or
trial, and increase surveillance of ordinary citizens smack of
totalitarianism and we oppose them in the name of democracy.
3. We view with deep concern the current state of domestic affairs. Two
matters need immediate and sustained attention:
3.1 We deplore the use of racial profiling, a highly discriminatory and
racist practice. It contravenes all standards of ethical practice, and
is clearly a violation of the Bill of Rights.
3.2 There has to date been no coordinated, large-scale attempt to
provide financial aid to the families of the workers who died in the
World Trade Center. Instead, while corporations such as Boeing and the
major airlines have laid off thousands of employees, the airline
industry and insurance companies have been given comprehensive financial
aid by the federal government, and the corporate sector in general has
been given major tax breaks. It is reprehensible that American workers
should be the ones to suffer in the name of an economic crisis when
corporations are being awarded vast sums of money as bailouts and tax
breaks.
We propose the following firm and decisive actions to stop the spread of
terror:
4. The perpetrators of the September 11th attacks must be brought to
justice through appropriate international diplomatic and legl channels.
4.1 If the U.S. has compelling evidence to support the charges against
Osama bin Laden, it should present such to an international body such as
the United Nations or the World Court, or ask for a special tribunal to
be set up for this purpose and present its case there. A request for
extradition and trial should follow the precedents established by
Spain's filing regarding Augusto Pinochet, the prosecution of Slobodan
Milosevic, and indeed the Nuremberg trials. The United States is not a
global vigilante, but rather a member of the world community; as such it
has an obligation to be principled in its actions.
4.2 We support the creation of a standing International Criminal Court
in which criminals such as those allegedly responsible for the 9/11
attacks would be tried.
Towards this end, the U.S. must immediately ratify the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court. The existence of such a standing court
is the only legal and principled solution to the imperative of bringing
to justice international criinals such as those responsible for the
9/11 attacks.
The adoption by this body of a universally agreed-upon definition of
terrorism must be a first step, so as to preclude its ad hoc and
opportunistic deployment by particular states against opposition party
members, movements for national self-determination, and other legitimate
dissenters.
4.3 Meanwhile, the U.S. must make every attempt to adhere to the rules
and covenants of international law and the treaties to which it is
party. We urge that the U.S. follow the recommendations of such
non-partisan groups as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
4.4 Effective counters to terrorism require patience, long-term
planning, and institution-building. Any such program has to be, by
definition, international, and will require the support and cooperation
of a majority of states in the world community. Broad-based legitimacy,
achieved through consensual, open, and transparent processes of
diplomacy, is crucial to halting terrorism.
5. In light of current events, the U.S. government and citizenry must
re-examine the nation's foreign policy, particularly its history in the
last half-century of intervention in the affairs of sovereign states
everywhere in the world.
5.1 The Palestinians have suffered great injustice over many years. The
United States and the international community must recognize their right
to form a state, entirely sovereign, not interrupted by hundreds of
armed fortress settlements, and with all the external help necessary to
realize the potential for a thriving economy.
5.2 In return, Palestinians must accept and diplomatically recognize the
state of Israel, and both states must accept United Nations peacekeeping
troops both on the border, and in an internationalized Jerusalem,
indefinitely. Justice demands an end to imperialism, colonialism, and
oppression, and a just peace would do much to rehabilitate the
reputation of the United States in the Middle East.
6. Regarding Afghanistan, the best course of action is that proposed by
groups such as the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
(RAWA): the demilitarization of Afghan society by the actual disarming
of all warring factions, and the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force
for some years until a semblance of normalcy returns to the life of
ordinary people.
6.1 The U.S. must not under any circumstances repeat its mistake, in
Afghanistan or elsewhere, of playing the role of king-maker.
Orchestrating a coup by throwing its weight behind any particular
faction, be it the Northern Alliance or any other which does not have
the support of the Afghan people, is a prescription for continued
violence and injustice.
6.2 All Afghan refugees relegated for years to camps across Pakistan and
Iran can be rehabilitated in Afghanistan. Humanitarian organizations and
relief agencies can continue their commendable work, and other
non-governmental organizations can be encouraged to provide free
education to all children, as well as vocational training and further
schooling for all young dults.
6.3 It is imperative that the Afghani people be allowed to rebuild their
shattered economy and society; only then can they begin the crucial work
of nation-building that includes choosing their own representative
government, perhaps under the protection of a U.N. peacekeeping force.
There is no alternative to this in Afghanistan or elsewhere; as a
democratic country we cannot deprive other peoples of the right to
govern themselves as they choose.
7. Regarding the United States domestic situation and policies, we urge
a rapid, equitable, and effective response to racism and to the
suspension of civil liberties.
7.1 The U.S. must immediately stop the use of racial profiling by its
various agencies, and by private actors (e.g. airlines, either of their
own accord or at the behest of other passengers, off-loading or denying
boarding privileges to passengers because they look "Arab" or "Muslim").
There have already been far too many incidents of hate crimes and
harassment directed against U.S. citizens of Arab or South Asian
descent, as well as against persons mistaken for such. A democratic
state has an obligation to protect all its citizens equally, as well as
prevent and punish unlawful behavior. Prosecution and deterrence are
already overdue in relation to 9/11-related hate crimes.
7.2 The U.S. must immediately repeal the draconian piece of legislation
called the USA PATRIOT Act (H.R. 3162). Periods of crisis and how they
are dealt with are precisely what distinguish democratic from
totalitarian states. "National Security" cannot be used as an excuse to
deprive citizens of their fundamental rights.
8. The money diverted from a military campaign could be far more
effectively channeled into concrete action to protect U.S. citizens
against such threats.
8.1 The government should establish protocols for monitoring the release
of harmful agents in densely populated regions and in public buildings.
8.2 The government must provide equal access to adequate and effective
prophylactic, diagnostic, and healing procedues for citizens affected
or threatened by chemical or biological attacks, without respect to
power, privilege, or public visibility. The cavalier treatment of postal
workers, many of them people of color, has been a disgrace.
Medication must be distributed and administered through reliable
health-care professionals to ensure equality of coverage as well as
reduce the chances of over-medication. Government commitment to ensuring
access to medication should exceed its devotion to maintaining drug
corporation profits.
9. In conclusion:
We would agree that our proposals for dealing with the current situation
are wide-ranging, and in some cases not at all continuous with current
and former United States foreign and domestic policy. The point,
precisely, is that behind the corpses and the grief following on the
attacks of September 11, there lies the possibility of the United States
making new and better relations with the world community. We understand
our moral and political responsibility as the bringing about of those
changes.






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