Merrimack
Valley People for Peace
Serving the communities of the Merrimack Valley
- Why We Still Vigil -
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Year History
NEWS/INFORMATION
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to vote
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ABOUT
MVPP
Contact MVPP
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Why we still vigil
Letters to Editors
Officers
Newsletter (in
pdf)
See
Don's reflections in September '03
March '05
See former Why We Still Vigil flyer at the bottom
of this page.
Updated 3/29/2009 see, printable
flyer (In Adobe pdf)
February 2009
We
believe that these times of unprecedented global insecurity – environmental,
economic, social, and political – call for imaginative and dramatically
new ways to promote peace and justice.
We condemn all forms of terrorism. Further, we believe that war and oppression
are acts of terror because they victimize innocent civilians in overwhelming
numbers. The best way to fight terrorism, therefore, is not to participate
in it by waging war but, instead, to respect global human rights and work
to reduce the economic and social conditions that cause poverty and injustice
in the world.
We continue to believe that non-violence and non-military actions –
through grassroots activities, diplomacy, and international law –
are the best means of settling local, regional, and global differences.
We believe the U. S. invasion of Iraq was unnecessary, illegal, and unjust. We believe the U. S. furthered this injustice through our continuing military, economic, and administrative occupation of Iraq.
We call for the end of all U. S. military engagement in Iraq, including all permanent bases, and the cessation of military activity in Afghanistan through a negotiated peace.
We
believe that military actions by recent U. S. administrations have caused
the destruction of international law, weakened the peacekeeping and humanitarian
roles of the United Nations, and made Americans less secure at home and
abroad.
We believe that our country does not have the right to global military
supremacy, the right to preemptively attack any sovereign nation assumed
to be a potential threat, or the right to first use of nuclear weapons.
We believe that the explosive Israeli/Palestinian conflict remains the major barrier to peace in the Middle East and that the U. S. must support and work for peace, dignity, and justice for all parties.
We denounce U. S. support for Israel's occupation of Palestine and its oppression of the Palestinian people.
We denounce U. S. dominance as the leading supplier of weapons in the international arms market, often to undemocratic regimes and gross abusers of human rights.
We denounce the manufacture and use of depleted uranium weapons. Their use in Iraq in the Gulf Wars I & II, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan has brought untold harm to people (all troops, including our own, innocent civilians, and the unborn) and caused extensive damage to the environment.
We demand that our government act responsibly and clean up the soils and waters radiated by depleted uranium, including those areas in the United States.
We oppose any use of nuclear weapons and call for global nuclear disarmament.
We condemn the reckless waste of our country's human and economic resources by the military-industrial complex. We believe that these billions of our tax dollars should be invested in sustainable energy, education, health care, jobs, housing, and support for global human rights.
We support major increases in veterans' benefits, especially programs that treat war-related medical and mental health problems of veterans and their families.
We believe that the leaders of our government, past and present, should be held accountable for violations of the U. S. Constitution and international law.
We support the establishment of a cabinet level Department of Peace.
We call on all citizens to reclaim our democracy – to honor dissent, vote regularly and responsibly, demand a free press, oppose abusive corporate power, and protect every individual's right to privacy.
We stand and work for peace and justice. There is much work to do. Active peacemaking is everyone's responsibility!
List
of useful resources . . .
These resources are included to assist you in finding news coverage and
commentary outside the mainstream media.
NEWS
AND INFORMATION
www.alternet.org
www.antiwar.com
www.commondreams.org
www.costofwar.org
www.democracynow.org
www.globalissues.org
www.ifamericansknew.org
www.informationclearinghouse.info
www.nomorevictims.org
www.nonviolence.org/vitw
www.peace-action.org
www.truthout.org
www.wagingpeace.org
www.warincontext.org
www.zcommunications.org/znet
DEPLETED
URANIUM
www.bandepleteduranium.org
www.ippnw.org
BLOGS
www.dahrjamailiraq.com
www.juancole.com
ORGANIZATIONS
www.afsc.org
www.moveon.org
www.unitedforpeace.org
Merrimack
Valley People for Peace meets monthly, on the fourth Tuesday, at 7:30
PM at First United Methodist Church in North Andover. Please join us.
Visit our website for directions.
Merrimack Valley People for Peace, Inc. works for a sustainable future
for all life on our planet. Our members commit themselves to the interrelated
activities of education for peace and justice, for the prevention of war,
an end to arms sales, the abolition of nuclear weapons, economic diversification,
and the protection of the environment.
Citizen's Oath of Office, 2009
“I
do solemnly pledge that I will faithfully execute the office of citizen
of the United States, and that I will, to the best of my ability, help
create a truly democratic world by 1) going beyond mainstream corporate
news media to seek out information about important political, economic,
and social issues;
2) engaging fellow citizens, including those who disagree with me, in
serious discussion and debate about those issues; 3) committing as much
time, energy and money as possible to help build authentic grassroots
political organizations that can pressure politicians to put the interests
of people over profit and power; and 4) connecting these efforts to global
political and social movements fighting the U. S. Empire abroad, where
it does the most intense damage. I will continue to resist corporate control
of the world, resist militarism, resist any roll-back of civil rights,
and resist illegitimate authority in all its forms. And I will commit
to collective efforts in my local community to help build joyful alternatives
to an unsustainable consumer society.”
Robert Jensen, University of Texas at Austin
2009
former
Why We Still Vigil flyer, updated 3/29/2009
We stand and work for peace and justice, and there is much more
work to do.
We believe that nonviolence and non-military actions --through
grassroots work, diplomacy and international law -- are the best means
of settling local, regional, and global differences.
We believe the U.S. invasion of Iraq was unnecessary, illegal, and
unjust.
We believe the U. S. furthers this injustice through our continuing
military, economic, and administrative occupation of Iraq. We call for
an end to this occupation.
We believe that the actions of the present administration -- before,
during, and after the invasion of Iraq -- have caused the destruction
of international law, weakened the value of the United Nations peace-keeping
and humanitarian-serving functions, and made domestic and global security
more precarious, not less.
We denounce the present administration’s doctrine of: 1) the
U.S. right to global military supremacy, 2) the U.S. right to preemptively
attack any sovereign nation assumed by the U.S. to be a potential threat,
and 3) the U.S. right to first use of nuclear weapons.
We believe that the explosive Israeli/Palestinian conflict remains
the major barrier to peace in the Middle East and that the U. S. must
support and work for peace, dignity, and justice for all parties.
We denounce U. S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine
and the present administration’s support for the unjust construction
of the Separation Wall.
We oppose any use of nuclear weapons and call for global nuclear
disarmament.
We denounce the use of depleted uranium weapons. Their use in Iraq
in the Gulf Wars I & II, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan,
has caused extensive damage to people (all troops, including our own;
innocent civilians; and the unborn) and the environment.
We plead with our government to act responsibly and clean up the war-related
radiated soils and waters of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait,
and the U.S.
We denounce cuts in Veterans’ Benefits and the refusal of our
government to treat war-related health problems of veterans and civilians.
We condemn the waste of our country's human and economic resources
- billions and billions of our tax dollars diverted from education, jobs,
health care, and housing.
We support the establishment of a cabinet level Department of Peace.
We call on all citizens to reclaim our democracy: honor dissent,
vote in all elections, demand a free press, oppose abusive corporate power,
and protect every individual's right to privacy.
We stand and work for peace and justice, and there is much more work
to do.
Please join us in Andover: Old Town Hall, Main Street
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7 PM to 8 PM and
Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon,
and in Shawsheen Square (North Main and Lowell St.)
Sundays from 12 noon to 1 PM.
Also, in front of Raytheon (on Route 133 just off Int. 93)
Tuesdays from 5:45 AM to 6:45 AM.
(see vigils)
-
- You may have seen us flying rainbow peace flags. These flags have a
proud history, starting
in Italy in 1961.
___________________________________________________
Merrimack Valley
People for Peace meets monthly, on the fourth Tuesday,
at 7:30 pm, at
North Parish Church, North Andover.
(NOT DECEMBER)
Contact
Merrimack Valley People for Peace (978) 685-1389
P.O. Box 573
North Andover, MA 01845
Send material to post on the website to brian@quirk.ws