American Greens on Afghanistan War

[Andrej Tisma]

*******************************************
LETTER OF GREEN PARTY OF ST. LOUIS:

Dear Greens,

The following is the final wording of the statement approved by the
November 7, 2001 General Meeting of the Green Party of St. Louis.It is
one
of the most intensely discussed documents we have produced and truly
represents the collective thought of the group. Different versions were
proposed, combined and modified at two political meetings as well as the
general membership meeting.Many portions were hotly debated, especially
the
statement (eventually approved) that “Terrorism does not cease to be
terrorism because it is carried out by a government.”

 Solidarity,
 Don Fitz
 Green Party of St. Louis

 STATEMENT ON THE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN

 1. We express outrage at the attacks of September 11, 2001 on people in 
 the US and the attacks by the US and British governments on Afghanistan
in 
 eary October, 2001.We express our deepest condolences to those bereaved
by 
 these acts. We call for an immediate cessation of violence, both by
those who
 perpetrated the atrocities of September 11 and by those nation states 
 which have bombed Afghanistan.

2. We call on the government of the US and all countries to protect the
security of their peoples by doing the following:

a. Pursue those responsible for the September 11 massacres through
criminal
investigation and prosecution in national or international courts, not
by
bombing civilians or hunting and killing individuals on mere suspicion
of
terrorism.These courts should also carry out investigations and
prosecutions of acts of mass murder during the last 50 years by the US
military and US client governments.Terrorism does not cease to be
terrorism
because it is carried out by a government.

b. In order to remove both causes and targets of violence, all nations
should withdraw military troops from occupied lands and cease having
troops
outside of their own borders;

c. In order to reduce the dangers of nuclear disaster, all nations
should
(1) halt plans to transport nuclear waste [and instead store it on
site],
(2) shut down all nuclear reactors, (3) eliminate all programs for
nuclear
material in space, and (4) eliminate all stockpiles of nuclear weapons;

d. In order to reduce the dangers of mass murder by biochemical weapons,
all nations should halt research on and production of chemical and
biological weapons;

e. All nations should ratify a protocol for international inspections
and
sanctions by trade isolation for states not in compliance with the
elimination of foreign-stationed troops, nuclear weapons, nuclear power,
 nuclear waste transportation, chemical weapons and biological weapons;
and,
 
f. Do not let the privacy, civil liberties, and right to dissent of your
citizens and the non-citizens among us become casualties of the crisis.

3. The US and its people must recognize that there are some just causes
for
the hostility and resentment shown against us in some countries and seek
to
remove these causes:

a. Alleviate the global inequalities of wealth which are enforced by the
power of the US military and multinational corporations;

b. End our dependence on oil, which is the chief motive for American
imperialism in the Middle East and Central Asia, by pursuing
conservation,
efficiency and renewable sources of energy; and,

c. End the racist sentiment of Western culture that killing civilians
who
are people of color or are not Christians is unimportant.

Approved by the November 7, 2001 General Meeting of the Green Party of 
St.
Louis.