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The
Pledge of Resistance by Milan Rai
Published in The
Friend, February 2002
In his State of the Union address, George
Bush once again referred to the final recorded words of Todd Beamer,
uttered just before he and other passengers thwarted the plans
of the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93, which came down
in Pennsylvania on September 11: 'Let's roll.'
Apparently, there are now bumper stickers and baseball caps with
these words on them all over North America. Erwin Staub, a University
of Massachusetts psychologist who specialises in heroism and violence,
has suggested that the growing deification of those on board the
United Airlines plane was a response to people's feelings of hopelessness
when faced with such a threat to their security. 'Against an enemy
who threatens to strike anywhere and at anybody, the actions of
Mr Beamer and his fellow passengers makes people feel they are
not helpless. "It shows that one determined person has enormous
power," said Mr Staub.' (Daily Telegraph, 24 November 2001)
For those of us who have watched in horror the assault on Afghanistan,
the streams of refugees, the disruption of the fragile aid effort,
the eating of grass, and the mounting casualty figures, who wait
in dread for news of new assaults, new 'liberations', it is time
for determined action, and a stand against hopelessness.
Unfortunately, the leaders of the United States and the United
Kingdom threaten to strike anywhere, at anybody. The range of
targets has broadened from the al-Qaeda organisation and its affiliates
to states suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction
- the so-called "axis of evil". It extends beyond Iraq, Iran and
North Korea to such weak states as Somalia and Yemen.
ARROW (Active Resistance to the Roots of War), which has just
re-launched its weekly anti-war vigil outside Downing Street (now
every Monday 6pm to 7pm) and is about to begin publishing new
Anti-War Briefings (available via www.justicenotvengeance.org),
is sponsoring a new initiative to respond to the deepening international
crisis - a Pledge of Resistance.
The Pledge has two forms. One option commits the signer to supporting
those involved in nonviolent civil disobedience to the illegitimate
"war on terrorism". The 'action' option to engaging personally
in nonviolent direct action of some kind - participation in a
sit-down, war tax refusal, or some other act of resistance in
which no one is harmed or threatened.
'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 Pledge does not commit anyone to any particular form of action
so long as it is nonviolent. Any action carried out in connection
with the Pledge should be within the spirit of nonviolence. It
should neither harm or dehumanize any other person.
We hope that the Pledge will help to build a network that can
link our communities of resistance and make our actions more effective,
and help build the network of support that civil disobedience
requires. We encourage those who sign to form or join 'affinity
groups' which can sustain and plan civil disobedience.
While the Pledge is reactive - it will be triggered by 'a major
attack' by the US and/or the UK, it is envisaged that some of
those who sign can come together to carry out preventive, pro-active
protests in advance of any military attack.
Mass civil disobedience helped to bring the war in Vietnam to
an end. Mass civil disobedience helped to prevent direct US military
intervention in Central America in the 1980s. Nonviolent resistance
has the power to constrain British participation in the US "war
on terrorism", and to make it more difficult for the United States
to carry out further illegal military assaults. We hope that the
Pledge can help to build a movement of mass action to help hold
back the warmongers.
The United States seems to be moving inexorably towards a massive
confrontation with Iraq, which could involve a large-scale invasion
of that country. Thousands of Iraqi children die every month already
because of the stifling economic sanctions regime. We are not
hopeless or helpless. Even one determined person has enormous
power.
Sign the Pledge
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