The  Inside  Scoop                                                                                   April 2001

A free newsletter of the internal workings of the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace (CCMEP)
901 W. 14th Ave, #7 * Denver, CO 80204 * 720.956.0700 * ccmep@hotmail.com 

In this issue... 

Unprecedented Success - Nat'l Conference

Quick Response to U.S. Bombing

Anti-Palestinian Resolution Altered

Media Zaps

Unprecedented Success
2nd Nat'l Organizing Conference on Iraq Accomplishes Goals

by Monika Treipl-Harnke

For one weekend in February, Colorado became the anti-war capital of the nation. Feb. 16-18th, the 2nd National Organizing Conference on Iraq brought about 100 participants to Denver. They represented more than 60 peace groups, ranging from nat'l organizations to small local grassroots groups.

On Feb. 18th the 'National Network to End the War against Iraq' was born.

American peace groups have been working on this issue for years. Members of the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace and many other peace activists have traveled to Iraq, spoken in churches, handed out fliers. So what is new about this network? After years of organizing locally, conference participants feel that this is the time to join forces and step up efforts.

The new Nat'l Network to End the War against Iraq provides a forum for activists to coor-dinate their work. Thanks to email and phone conferencing, activists from around the country will be working closely together on press releases, lobbying officials, organizing presentations, demonstrations and direct actions.

The Nat'l Network has six working groups: Coordinated Action, Advocacy, Education / Outreach, Media, Communications, and Finance. Each of these groups consists of people that are members of different groups, located in different states, meeting over email and conference calls.

The national working groups are open to anyone who is interested in participating. The Denver conference elected a 15-member coordinating committee with organizing responsibilities and emergency decision-making capacity.

The list of member groups is impressive and very diverse. A few of the well-known names are Voices in the Wilderness, LIFE for Relief and Development, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

"We expect that by combining the talents of all these groups," said CCMEP member Bob Choflet, "the network will be more effective and powerful than the sum of its parts."

We at the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace are - understandably - proud that we hosted a conference with such an impressive outcome. Of course we realize that it took the efforts and support of many people to make this happen. To everyone who housed conference participants, provided transportation, helped with conference logistics, and/or wrote a check - thank you so much!

Quick Response to U.S. Bombing of Baghdad
CCMEP Rode a Giant Wave of Media Interest

By Mark Schneider

Friday morning, Feb. 16th, the U.S. and Britain bombed Baghdad, Iraq. Taking a page from Orwell's book, 1984, the media dutifully reported that the U.S. used "Joint Stand-Off Weapons" in hitting several targets around Baghdad. In human-speak the U.S. dropped cluster bombs which killed several Iraqis and will maim more in the future (25-30% of cluster bomblets don't explode on impact).

Also Friday morning, Feb. 16th, CCMEP was in full-swing of hosting the 2nd Nat'l Organizing Conference. Quickly calling for an afternoon protest, CCMEP contacted the local media and began a wave of media interest in CCMEP, the conference and the resulting network.

During the 3-day conference, every local TV station, both major papers, many smaller newspapers, radio stations, internet coverage and even a correspondent for a major Italian daily all covered the bombing and conference.

Click Here to read, view and listen to the coverage of the protest and National Conference.

Anti-Palestinian Resolution Altered by CCMEP
Colo. State Senate Got an Earful from Activists

By Bob Kinsey

In March CCMEP joined the American Coalition for Palestine and others testifying against an extremely one-sided resolution offered to the Colo. Legislature by Senators Hagadorn (D) and Andrews (R).

The resolution stated, "That the General Assembly and the people of the State of Colorado stand with Israel in this time of crisis and call for negotiation and not violence." Combined with its Whereas portions, and with the current context of the intifada, this resolution implied that Israel is the party of peace and the Palestinians in the Occupied Territory have rejected negotiation for violence.

Before a standing room only audience at the hearing Sen. Hagadorn offered no apology for the resolution's pro-Israel stand. He and Sen. Andrews restated that we owed Israel support because it has always been a loyal ally of the US, standing consistently, as we heard over and over again, for "freedom and democracy."

None of the resolution's defenders made any reference to the United Nations resolutions which require Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Territories, or, to the inhumane Israeli administration of those territories since 1967, or to increasing numbers of Israeli settlements in those territories.

Testimony for the resolution extolled Israel as an economic boon to the Colorado military-industrial complex, a test-bed of US weapons, as a base to protect US oil interests, as deserving of unmitigated support because of the holocaust, being our only democratic ally in the region, because Jewish-Americans had supported the civil rights struggle in Selma, because it can teach us lessons about water efficiency (with no mention that Israel, having control of water in the Occupied Territories, was diverting this water for their own use), because it has been a protector of holy sites (with no mention of the fundamentalist pressure in Israel to rebuild the temple at the Muslim site - the Dome of the Rock).

<< An Israeli tank bombed this Palestinian home last fall (photo, Winters)

Israel was portrayed as in danger of being "thrown into the sea" with no mention that it already annually receives the highest portion of US foreign aid (over $3 billion), has nearly carte blanche in the use of its military, and is the only country in the region with nuclear weapons. No mention was made that all our aid is in contradition of US law which constrains military aid to countries achieving nuclear status outside the 30 year, peacefully negotiated Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Prior to this deification of Israel, those testifying against the resolution, offered recent eye-witness accounts of the inhumane and illegal occupation of the Territories, the disproportional use of force, both before and during the intifada, and noted the massive disproportionate numbers of dead and wounded in the intifada confrontation, the failure of Israel to treat the Arab citizens of the Occupied Territories according to the 4th Geneva Convention, and the war crimes of some past and present Israeli leaders.

It was suggested the Colorado Legislature should be more sensitive to the understanding of its Arab citizens and more focused on pressing Colorado issues. "We must each ask ourselves," said CU-student Fatima Nawaz 'How do I feel about the violence?'" At CU-Boulder, Muslim, Christian and Jewish groups have come together and this resolution, Nawaz said, would cause strain to the alliance.

Click Here to review the original language of the resolution and the amended changes.

Significant Changes to the Resolution

Finally, the Senate Committee amended the main clause of the resolution from, "stand with Israel in this time of crisis," to, "stand for peaceful resolutions of the crisis." This passed by a 6-1 vote. Chairperson Nichol, expressed her desire that more work be done on the resolution. "We want to be fair," said Nichol, "We don't want to fuel something more divisive abroad."

Sen. Tupa implied he would vote for the resolution as amended only with assurance from Sen. Hagadorn and Andrews that further work be done before it was submitted. These assurances were given and the resolution passed as amended by a unanimous vote.

Further, at a late-March Interfaith Alliance legislative briefing several legislators asserted that they felt that the resolution was inappropiate to the work of a state legislature and should not come to a vote.

One good thing that occurred is that our significant presence and protest sent a message to others, including the Colorado Legislature, that this issue is far more complicated than the picture generally presented by the press and conventional wisdom.

We have begun a process that will lead to citizens reviewing the automatic blank check that has been given to Israel in the past, and that this review might lead to more realistic understanding of Palestinian pain

But we must continue the witness, not only in the Legislature but everywhere possible. For this issue impacts not only the Middle East peace but also a wider peace with justice.

Media Zaps

War Against Iraq Zaps

• While on a thrice weekly basis the U.S. and Britain continue to rain down bombs in the "no-fly-zone," the total dollar amount of holds the U.S. has placed on Iraqi humanitarian requests (through the oil-for-food program) has exceeded $3 billion. One recent "dual-use" item rejected by the U.S. was several million dollars for new ambulances.

• But the U.S., through it's hawkish emissary, Colin Powell, is starting to wise up to the international rumblings against sanctions. During Powell's February Mid-East visit he encountered unprecedented protests and official condemnations of the U.S. policy. Nearly every country in the middle-east is calling for the end of sanctions. As Powell told a Senate Foreign Relations Panel upon return, the U.S. policy is in "disarray."

• Powell's solution?

• "Smart" Sanctions that will do little more than change the name/image of the previous policy: "Stupid" Sanctions. "We are being accused and we are taking on the burden of hurting Iraqi people, hurting Iraqi children," said Powell.

• Review the no-fly-zones. Powell admitted they are purely a British and U.S. operation. But like his predecessor, Powell said, "we reserve the right to strike militarily any activity out there…" Nearly every country in the world has condemned the U.S. bombings and the no-fly zones.

• Regime change. The U.S. gave more funds to the Iraqi Nat'l Congress (INC) - to ostensibly overthrow Saddam Hussein. Powell's plan may be altered by Pres. Bush's other more hawkish advisors: Paul Wolfowitz has called for heavy military aid to the INC to carve out of a territory in Iraq - with heavy U.S. cover and support.

Israel / Palestine Zaps

• In February Israel elected a noted war criminal, Ariel Sharon, as Prime Minister. Immediately Sharon intensified the occupation of Palestine by almost completely shutting down the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, virtually imprisoning the more than 2 million Palestinians.

• As of the end of March more than 400 people have been killed since Ariel Sharon maliciously marched into the Al Asqa Mosque in late September. By far the great bulk of those killed have been Palestinians. Also important: over 12,000 Palestinians have been injured - many severely because of the Israeli policy of deliberately trying to seriously maim Palestinians rather than killing them.

• The official U.S. response has been basically a supposed "hands-off" approach, dropping any vestige of former Pres. Clinton's sloppy peace-making efforts. Note, the U.S. still heavily favors Israel by the $3 billion in annual aid, the special military sales (many of the weapons used against Palestinians were built by American hands) and by voting down U.N. condemnations and attempts to send U.N. observer missions into Palestine.

• Meanwhile, the 2nd intifada grows (the first from 1987-93). In early March in Tel Aviv 500 "women in black" were holding a vigil, crossing a street when spontaneously women began to sit down - blocking traffic. The police quickly dragged the women to the curb. More women sat down until the police could do nothing but wait for buses to haul all the women off. Traffic was tied up for several hours.

• In late March near Ramallah 1500 women marched on an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) blockade. By all foreign observers the women were unarmed and threw no rocks. Quickly the IDF threw stun grenades and tear gas, injuring several including one of the top Palestinian leaders, Hanan Asrawi.

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