Peace Movement (5 Articles)

A new peace movement emerges
Students rally against war
Voices of Restraint
Peace Signs Amid Calls for War
Teach-ins spread on state campuses in wake of attacks

A new peace movement emerges

Students rally Thursday; peace gathering set for Sept. 30
By Eric Pianin
THE WASHINGTON POST

Sept. 20 - Ending their silence after a week of mourning the victims
of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, a broad range
of religious leaders, social activists, entertainers, student organizations and
business leaders are publicly beginning to urge President Bush to show
restraint in his response and to carefully calibrate the use of U.S.
military power.

'We must not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways
that bring on even more loss of innocent life.'

- NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

AS PART OF the budding peace offensive, over 1,200 members of the
National Council of Churches and a diverse coalition - organized by Harry
Belafonte, Danny Glover and Rosa Parks - issued strong statements yesterday
noting that, while the attacks' perpetrators should be brought to justice,
wholesale military action would incite more terrorism, not end it.

Demonstrations and teach-ins are planned on scores of campuses
today, and some of the groups that had geared up to protest the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington are joining forces,
instead, in plans for a peace gathering here on Sept. 30.

Some protesters bring a special moral force to their argument. Judy
Keane, whose husband, Richard, was killed in the World Trade Center
during last week's attacks, spoke out against military retaliation during a prayer
vigil that she helped organize near her home in Wethersfield, Conn., Sunday
evening. The event drew more than 5,000 people.

"The World Trade Center was in retaliation for something else, and
that was the retaliation for something else," she said in a telephone
interview yesterday. "Are we going to continue this in perpetuity? We have
to say at some point, okay, let's find another way of doing this."

Businessman and CNN founder Ted Turner argued against a military
solution yesterday at the United Nations as he delivered a $31 million check
to cover part of the United States' U.N. dues. "We should not, I don't
think, go around and indiscriminately start bombing countries that we suspect
the terrorists are in because there are terrorists everywhere, here in the
United States," he said. "What were [Oklahoma City bombers] Terry Nichols
and Timothy McVeigh but terrorists?"

The statement by the National Council of Churches declared: "We must
not, out of anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that
bring on even more loss of innocent life." The coalition of more than 100
people organized by entertainers Belafonte and Glover and civil rights
legend Rosa Parks said in a separate letter: "Our best chance of preventing such
devastating acts of terror is to act decisively and cooperatively as part of
a community of nations within the framework of international law."

Organizers say there is a fast-growing network of peace activists
who will likely outnumber the demonstrators who rallied during the Persian Gulf
War a decade ago. Student groups are planning peace demonstrations on 105
college campuses in 30 states across the country today. More than 1,000
students and community members from nine Boston-area schools are expected to
participate in noontime rallies that will converge in a march from Boston to
Harvard Yard, while close to 3,000 are expected to march and mourn on the
campus of the University of California at Berkeley.

"There's pretty much a consensus among students in this group [that]
we want to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence by averting
war," said Brad Hornbake, 22, a senior at Emerson College in Boston.

Meanwhile, the Washington Peace Center, a pacifist and human rights
group, is planning a major "peace event" in Washington on Sept. 30 as an
alternative to the canceled meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Organizers
stressed that the event will not involve any of the "confrontational
tactics" that were used during previous meetings of the international agencies.

"We don't want the violence here to be perpetrated somewhere else,"
said Maria Ramos, a coordinator of the event. "The U.S. has the moral high
ground now ... This is a time for building alliances based on law and
strengthening international tribunals [for] cross-border terrorism."
_________________________________________________________________________

Students rally against war

Sept. 20, 2001
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

Remember the peace movement? It's back on campus. This time it's called
"Peaceful Justice," and students are swimming against the patriotic tide
following last week's terrorist attacks. A wave of anti-war sentiment crests
at noon Thursday on 150 college campuses in 36 states. Organizers expect as
many as 8,000 people to rally at the University of California-Berkeley and
as few as several dozen to sign letters to President Bush at Baylor University,
a Baptist school in Waco, Texas. They are a distinct minority, but these
students want the nation to hear their argument for "justice without war,"
and their distress at the rapid move to war footing.

"We should work on a peaceful solution as opposed to continuing the global
cycle of violence," says Jessica Gould, 20, a Harvard sophomore from
Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. "We shouldn't answer the deaths of thousands of innocent
people with more deaths of innocent people."

Students at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., originated today's
national action. "We just really wanted to get an alternative way to react
to the situation, " says Mary Thomas, 19, a sophomore from Lafayette, Calif.

The alternative appears to exclude confronting terrorists, however. In its
mission statement, the group opposes "retaliatory violence" and urges U.S.
policymakers to study the underlying causes of terrorism.

Campuses have been holding teach-ins, memorials and other events since the
attacks Sept. 11. As Bush has tried to prepare the country for a long-term
war against terrorism, many college newspapers have published dissenting
views.

A military attack guarantees that "our search for justice will end in the
slaughter of more innocent civilians," said editors of The Michigan Daily at
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Punish (Osama bin Laden) in our
federal courts," Chris McCall, a junior at the University of Wisconsin in
Madison, wrote in The Badger Herald.

Nick Woomer, 21, a philosophy major at the University of Michigan, says he
has received one-third positive, two-thirds negative responses to a column
in which he called for "a strong, broad-based anti-war movement to bring
everyone back to their senses." He calls Bush's rhetoric "pretty scary."

Academics who study social movements say students are being taught to
question and analyze, and that's what they are doing. Peter Kuznick, an
associate history professor at American University in Washington, D.C., says
scores of his 180 students say the country should "step back and think"
before doing anything. He says they are critical of U.S. foreign policy,
curious about why the United States is so hated and convinced that "a
military response will probably cause more harm than good."

Todd Gitlin, a sociologist at New York University, says students have a
right to be skeptical, but they also a responsibility to suggest realistic
alternatives. "Bin Laden is not going to walk into a police station to turn
himself in," he says. "Are they really opposed to armed force that
accomplishes that end?"

Gitlin led the leftist Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960s and
protested the Vietnam War. Now he has hung a flag outside his Greenwich
Village apartment and says the nation has "a right of self-defense," albeit
"restrained and focused," in the face of attack.

Jessica Gould's father, Harris, a New Jersey lawyer, also protested the
Vietnam War. The difference now, he says, is that "we are under a direct
threat" and must "root out" terrorists. "I would not like to see innocent
people be killed, although I understand there would have be to some of
that," he says.

The organizers of today's events are not ready to settle for that. "I
personally feel that war is never the solution," says Andy Ross, 25, of
Madison. "It's better to sit down and talk and work these things out, rather
than going into a violent situation which will inevitably harm innocent
people."
____________________________________________________________________________

Voices of Restraint

Peace vigils planned throughout the US

Amid talk of war, movement pleads for reconciliation

By Alice Dembner and David Abel, Boston Globe Staff, 9/18/2001, page A3

NEW YORK - They are gathering quietly in vigils, not mounting protests. And
they are largely being drowned out by a feverish tide of war rhetoric.

But across the country, voices of pacificism and restraint are growing
stronger.

Little more than a mile from ground zero of the incinerated World Trade
Center, a vigil at Union Square for the victims has already evolved into an
ad hoc center for the budding peace movement. The square's monument to
George Washington is not only draped in American flags, but also covered with
antiwar slogans.

Peace vigils have been held from Portland, Ore., to Cambridge, Mass., and
hundreds more are planned over the coming weeks.

More than 100 civil rights and religious organizations plan to gather
Thursday in Washington to map a larger response to last week's terrorism,
hoping to moderate the government's support for military strikes abroad and
expanded law enforcement powers at home.

Separately, peace groups will gather in New York Friday to plan national
action against President Bush's declared ''war on terrorism,'' arguing that
war is not the answer and will only add to the carnage.

''We're mobilizing the peace community to call for reconciliation, not
retaliation,'' said Judith Mahoney Pasternak of the War Resisters League.
''The faster we start singing the songs of peace to counter the drums of
war, the better it's going to be.''

While the War Resisters League said their organizing efforts have been
hampered by phone and e-mail failures at their offices only 11/2 miles from
ground zero, other groups said they had been moving slowly out of respect
for the victims.

''We are committed to building public opinion in our communities and then
moving in the near future to a national expression,'' said Judith McDaniel
at the national office of the American Friends Service Committee in
Philadelphia. She confirmed that the office has received several bomb
threats since it launched a national ''No More Victims'' peace campaign.

Meanwhile, some in Congress are questioning whether lawmakers are rushing
into actions that will harm America. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont
Democrat, yesterday said he is worried that the push to relax wiretapping
restrictions could infringe on civil liberties.

''We do not intend to tie the hands of the intelligence community, but
neither do we intend to curb the rights of millions of Americans,'' he said.

And Representative Barbara Lee, the California Democrat who was the only
member of Congress to vote against last week's resolution authorizing
President Bush to use force against terrorism, says there is growing support
for her stand.

''People are beginning to understand that we must show some restraint, that
we don't want to see this spiral out of control,'' Lee said. ''We've got to
make sure democracy is upheld and our country is safe.''

It's not only pacifists who oppose the war rhetoric, but also others who look
to history and see failures and abuses when the United States moved without
enough thought.

In 1998, they note, US forces bombed a suspected chemical weapons plant in
Sudan that turned out to be a pharmaceutical factory. And in World War II,
hysteria led the United States to round up Japanese-Americans into
internment camps.

''I really have a problem with the war analogy,'' said Stephen Zunes,
chairman of the peace and justice studies program at the University of San
Francisco. ''This was not an act of war but a criminal act. We need to think
in terms of police actions in response. But I don't think it would be
unreasonable to have small-scale commando operations to break up the
terrorist cells.''

Longtime pacifist and MIT professor Noam Chomsky opposes even that action.
''A call for revenge without thinking about what lies beyond is a gift to
the terrorists,'' he said. ''It virtually guarantees an escalating cycle of
violence. An alternative in the short term is to follow the rule of law
through the United Nations Security Council or the World Court.''

Retired Boston University historian Howard Zinn suggests that the answers to
terrorism lie elsewhere. ''We have to move from a war-making nation to a
nation that uses its resources for constructive purposes ... to get at the
grievances that feed terrorism,'' he said.

In the Boston area, peace vigils are planned at noon today at the JFK Federal
Building and at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Copley Square, with a planning meeting
for more events to follow. At Tufts University, members of the peace and justice
studies program are circulating a petition urging that ''the search for
justice'' focus only on the perpetrators of the crime, avoid targeting
entire nationalities, and respect civil liberties.

At Union Square in New York, young and old, Jews and gentiles, blacks and
whites have gathered around thousands of votive candles, American flags, and
pictures of the missing to pay their respects and chant such slogans as
''Vengeance isn't justice'' and ''Break the cycle of violence: War is
weakness, peace is strength.''

''People need to know that there are other feelings in America, that we are
not all hawks hoping to exchange an eye for an eye,'' said Josh Torpey, 24,
a Manhattan teacher who met a group of friends on Union Square Sunday night.

Ted Lawson, a 31-year-old artist from Boston, was creating a painting of the
American flag out of thumbprints of passersby to signify American unity, but
said he wondered whether previous acts of war by the United States had
encouraged terrorism.

Heated arguments have erupted throughout the park between those who question
US policy and those who believe the United States should annihilate any
group or country who helped organize the attacks.

But others were frightened about the prospect for war. Lighting a candle
next to a row of roses arranged to evoke the World Trade Center, Christine
Andriopoulos said she was scared.

''The message should be that the violence has to stop,'' she said. ''Here.
Now. Forever.''
_________________________________________________________________________

Peace Signs Amid Calls for War

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/nyregion/20PEAC.html?ex=1002036454&ei=1&en
=9923a9c22c188b7d

September 20, 2001
By ANDREW JACOBS
The New York Times

The drumbeat for war, so loud in the rest of the country,
is barely audible on the streets of New York.

In Union Square Park, which has become an outdoor memorial
to loss and grief, peace signs, antiwar slogans and pleas
for nonviolence far outnumber demands for retribution. The
equestrian statue of George Washington charging into battle
has been transformed into a monument of antiwar sentiment,
and although there are a handful of wanted posters
featuring Osama bin Laden, there are far more that say,
"Mourn the Victims, Stand for Peace" or "An eye for an eye
creates blindness."

In interviews with two dozen New Yorkers, most people said
the desire for peace outweighed any impulse for vengeance,
even among those directly affected by the destruction of
the World Trade Center. Many said they were worried that
the rest of the country, encouraged by the White House and
the news media, was driving the nation toward a large-
scale conflict.

"I don't want to see more people go through pain and
suffering," said Shannon Carr, 34, who teaches at St.
Ann's, a private school in Brooklyn. Several children at
the school have parents still buried in the rubble of the
twin towers. "There has to be justice," Ms. Carr said, "but
I don't think war is the answer."

While much of the country clamors for martial retribution,
with polls showing nearly 90 percent supporting a military
response, many New Yorkers who were interviewed remain
ambivalent about President Bush's promised war against
terrorism. Many expressed fear that any strike would spark
another wave of mayhem in New York.

"It's easy to call for blood when you live in Des Moines,"
said Terrance Kincaid, 37, an insurance broker from Queens.
"We have seen the horrific consequences of aggression. For
the rest of the country, it's still just a bunch of
television images."

Other New Yorkers said they had no wish to inflict misery
on the civilians who would inevitably become victims of an
American military assault.

"A few days ago I was saying, `Bombs away,' but now that
I've calmed down, I don't want a war," said Jana Crawford,
29, a photo editor at Advertising Age magazine in
Manhattan. "I don't want a lot more people to die."

Some of those opposed to military action say their voices
are not being heard by Washington or the mainstream news
media.

"The White House is demanding blood and the television is
preparing us for war, but no one is considering
alternatives," said Carol Thompson, a political science
professor at Northern Arizona University, one of 530
academics who have signed a petition urging restraint. More
than 1,200 religious leaders have added their names to a
similar statement, as have a group of actors, authors and
other celebrities who plan to publish their "Justice Not
Vengeance" declaration in newspapers across the country.

This afternoon, a series of rallies on college campuses
around the nation will strike a similar theme, and on
Friday night, a peace vigil will wend its way from Union
Square to the armed forces recruiting station in Times
Square.

Of course, there are plenty of New Yorkers who believe that
only war will end terrorism, including many liberals who
have been surprised by their own emotions. "I've had blood
lust from the very beginning," said Jackie Bayks, 38, a
lawyer who has been unable to return to her apartment in
Battery Park City. "It's strange because I'm not a
patriotic person, but I've been feeling very patriotic this
week. I just can't help myself."

Karen Senecal, a minister at Judson Memorial Church in
Greenwich Village, said she had been trying to resist the
temptation to join in the culture of jingoism. "Part of me
realizes that violence brings more violence, but another
part of me wanted retaliation," she said. "Many people are
getting strength in that, and I felt I was missing
something."

Some say they are reluctant to buck the tidal wave of
patriotism by speaking about peace. "I feel like I can't
talk about nonviolence because I'm afraid it will be
perceived as disrespectful or un-American," said Madeleine
Bloustein, 40, a voice-over actress from Brooklyn.

But a large number of New Yorkers are not sure where they
stand. As shock gives way to anger, their thirst for
revenge is only growing stronger; others say the opposite
is true. But many, like Matthew Pack, a student at New York
University, have been whiplashed by their emotions. A
self-described pacifist who is "way to the left," Mr. Pack,
22, said he felt disgusted by his own vengeful fantasies.

"I'm not used to feeling this way," he said, "and every
time my head starts to cool off, I see one of those missing
person posters and all those emotions come back. The only
thing I can say at this point is that I'll never be the
same."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------

Teach-ins spread on state campuses
in wake of attacks

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/703775.html

by Mary Jane Smetanka
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Published Sep 21 2001

Noah Kunin's family has roots in the antiwar movement of the 1960s. His
mother was a protester at the University of California, Berkeley, the
University of Minnesota student said Thursday. But he's never really been
interested in such things himself.

Until now.

Kunin was among the 100 university students, staff and faculty members who
jammed into a standing-room-only lecture hall for a teach-in on last week's
terrorist attacks.

"On September 11, I was totally shaken," the freshman said. "I thought, wow,
I need to reorganize my priorities. I want to learn more. I'm finding this
very informative."

In an echo of the 1960s, teach-ins, rallies and forums have proliferated on
Minnesota college campuses since last week. At St. Cloud State University,
there were sessions on anti-Arab bias and biological terrorism. The College
of St. Catherine held discussions reflecting on peacemaking. Carleton
College in Northfield held discussions on Islam, and at Macalester College
in St. Paul, student groups sponsored community forums.

At the University of Minnesota, teach-ins are being organized by politically
active students. So far, the sessions have been decidedly left-leaning.
Marwa Hassoum, a graduate student in feminist studies, is unapologetic about
that. She said teach-ins simply balance "pro-war" information.

"I think we are getting enough rhetoric about going to war," she said. "If
you want to see the other side, flip on your TV or pick up the newspaper."

The university's teach-ins, which began last week and have been running
three days a week, have been standing-room-only. (For space reasons, they're
open only to students and university employees.) Thursday's talk by
political science Prof. August Nimtz drew about 100 people.

Nimtz, who studies African politics, social movements and Marxism, called
last week's events "dastardly" and said terrorists do not represent the
interests of oppressed people. But he said the act might be explained by
U.S. foreign policy, which he said has victimized people around the world.
"Victims are not always able to distinguish between working people and
policies," Nimtz said.

Nimtz argued that the United States has used "state-sponsored terrorism"
against Vietnam, Korea, Panama and Iraq, among others, and said foreign
policy is designed to benefit "the ruling rich."

Koby Nahmias, an Israeli graduate student, challenged Nimtz's premises and
questioned the worth of teach-ins he called one-sided and socialistic.

"Are we having a debate, or not?" Nimtz replied with a smile. "I think we
are -- you were here to disagree with me."

Nimtz said students invited him to speak. The last teach-ins at the
university were during the Gulf War, he said.

Kunin attended this week's teach-ins, and said he plans to attend next week
as well. Though he said he is open to other points of view, he already has
an opinion.

"My mom and I have flipped," he said. "She's pro-war, and I'm antiwar. She's
saying, 'This is different [from Vietnam].' And I'm saying, 'It's exactly
the same.'"

-- A schedule of college teach-ins is available at
http://www.startribunecom.

Staff writer Lucy Her contributed to this story. Mary Jane Smetanka is at
smetan@startribune.com .

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------