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Dear friends,
1. THE NEED FOR RESISTANCE
George Bush commits himself to
war against the ‘Axis of Evil’. Colin Powell says the US
will attack Iraq to achieve ‘regime change’. The
Pentagon says the so-called "war on terrorism"
could last for six years. Meanwhile thousands of families
in Afghanistan face starvation, warlord terrorism, and refugee
camp destitution; thousands of children die every month
in Iraq because of US/UK-sponsored sanctions; and Human
Rights Watch says that leading members of the "war
on terrorism" ‘have violated human rights principles
at home and overlooked human rights transgressions among
their partners’.
It’s time to resist.
We know that mass civil disobedience
has helped to limit, terminate, and in some cases prevent
direct US military intervention in the past. We need a campaign
that can build mass civil disobedience. Those who lost their
lives on 11 September deserve justice, not vengeance.
2. THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE
ARROW (Active Resistance to the
Roots of War), in conjunction with the Non-Violent Resistance
Network, has launched a ‘Pledge of Resistance’ to the ongoing
US/UK ‘war on terrorism’. We
invite people who are prepared to engage in nonviolent direct
action against this dangerous and repressive war to sign
the Pledge of Resistance as soon as possible.
The Pledge has an action option,
which commits the signer to engaging in civil disobedience,
and a support option. This is the text of the action
option:
‘I
pledge to take part in nonviolent civil disobedience in
the event of a major US/UK attack on Iraq or any other country
in the course of the "war on terrorism."’
The point of signing the Pledge
is to create a network of resisters so that we can coordinate
our nonviolent direct action against the "war on terrorism",
make our resistance as effective as possible, and limit/prevent
whatever attacks the US is aiming to launch. By publishing
our names, we can show that the resistance extends all over
the country, and (if the number of signatories grows large
enough) signal to the Government the political cost it faces
in terms of terms of nonviolent resistance.
3. HOW TO TAKE
PART IN THE PLEDGE
We are urging signers to form
or join affinity groups to prepare for nonviolent action.
Effective and sustainable civil disobedience depends on
us building communities of resistance and support, and preparing
ourselves thoroughly for the legal, political, outreach,
and media work involved.
Note: This is a nonviolent project.
All actions carried out in connection with the Pledge should
be within the spirit of nonviolence: no action should harm
or dehumanize any other person. This is fundamental to the
Pledge.
Affinity groups can either organise
their own actions, or participate in national actions. Participation
will be open to anyone who has signed up to the action option
for the Pledge, whether or not you are in an affinity group.
4. ‘A MAJOR ATTACK’
The US is still bombing Afghanistan,
regularly drops bombs on Iraq, and is already involved in
low-intensity warfare in the Philippines as part of the
"war on terrorism". These are policies that need
resisting, but they are not the focus of the Pledge. The
Pledge will be triggered when there is a ‘major attack’
on another country by the US (almost certainly with some
British support and involvement). There is no central definition
of a ‘major attack’, we expect to recognise it when we see
it.
5. ACTIONS
There will also be other actions organised by signatories
to the Pledge. The Pledge itself is reactive, but those
of us committed to resistance can and will also be pro-active
in resisting US/UK violence.
Sign
the Pledge
Yours for active resistance,
Milan Rai, ARROW/Voices in
the Wilderness UK
David PoldenARROW/Nonviolent Resistance Network
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