Veterans For Peace – 2017-11-04 18:13:54
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day/
ACTION ALERT: Call to Act for Peace on Armistice Day,
Nov. 11: Diplomacy Not War in North Korea
Veterans For Peace
(October 30, 2017) — Veterans For Peace calls on all members and all peace-loving people to take a stand for peace this Armistice (aka Veterans Day), Saturday November 11. We call for nationally coordinated local actions to demand diplomacy not war with North Korea, and the abolition of nuclear weapons and war. Veterans For Peace joins with the wider peace movement for actions before and after November 11th.
In 2017, ninety-nine years after the end of World War I, “the war to end war”, the world finds itself on the brink of a nuclear war. The threat of a horrific nuclear exchange is possibly higher than it has ever been.
The President of the United States Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – DPRK), going so far as to say, while speaking to the UN, that the US will “totally destroy” the country. North Korea has also caused great alarm with its own threats, while testing long-range missiles and nuclear bombs. Twitter confrontations and saber rattling have only served to escalate tensions.
The road to war is a slippery slope on which one misstep can lead to the beginning of catastrophic war. Even the use of conventional weapons would lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Millions will die if there is a nuclear exchange. Such horrific acts of violence can spread like a virus and easily lead to further global instability and a new world war.
The people of North and South Korea should not face the possibility of horrible killings and destruction that they experienced during the 1950-53 period in the Korean War. The people of the world must speak out and act together to demand peace.
Veterans For Peace calls for the observance of November 11 to be in keeping with the holiday’s original intent as Armistice Day, to be “a day dedicated to the cause of world peace,” as it was celebrated at the ending of World War I when the world came together to recognize the need for lasting peace. That desire for peace led ten years later to the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War (Kellogg-Briand) which made war illegal.
The US ratified the treaty and is bound by its terms pursuant to Art. 6 of the Constitution. After World War II, the US Congress decided to rebrand November 11 as Veterans Day. Honoring the warriors quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war. Armistice Day, as a result, has been flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.
This year with a rise of hate and fear around the world it is as urgent as ever to ring the bells of peace. We in the US must press our government to end reckless rhetoric and military interventions that endanger the entire world.
Instead of celebrating militarism, we want to celebrate peace and all of humanity. We demand an end to all forms of hate, patriarchy and white supremacy and we call for unity, fair treatment under the law and equality for all. We call for a tearing down of walls between borders and people. We call for an end to all hostilities at home and around the globe.
Today the US has a president who says diplomacy with North Korea is a waste of time. Diplomacy is in fact the only hope, no matter the cost. War is the immoral and tragic waste. The world has said it before and is saying it again now. NO to WAR!
If you need tabling materials or VFP promo items for Armistice Day, please e-mail casey@veteransforpeace.org! No matter what action you decide to take, please let us know so we can promote the work that you’re doing.
Let’s #ReclaimArmsticeDay as a day for peace.
This is what you can do today:
* Check out our #ReclaimArmisticeDay page for action ideas.
* Sign up for the #ReclaimArmisticeDay Thunderclap, which will go out on November 11th at 11am.
* Sign this Urgent Petition to Presidents Trump & Moon: “Negotiate don’t escalate”
* Follow VFP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
* Change your Facebook profile picture until November 11th to spread the word.
* E-mail casey@veteransforpeace.org to request a bundle of VFP and Armistice Day materials.
Ideas for Action on Armistice Day:
* Join together with others for local actions (peace march, rally, vigils) to call for No War on North Korea.
* March in the Veterans Day Parade with signs calling for “No More Korean War; From Armistice to Peace Treaty with N. Korea; End the Korean War Now; Yes to Talks, No to Bombings, etc.
* Ring bells at 11am on November 11th, as was done at the end of World War One. Approach churches and ask them to ring bells at 11am on November 11th.
* Support SOAW Border Encuentro. This year’s theme “Tear Down The Walls, Build Up The People.” Please join VFP and many other peace & justice groups at the border in Nogales, Arizona from November 10-12.
* Write an op-ed or letter to the editor. Please send to casey@veteransforpeace.org for inclusion on our website.
* Share Your Vision of Peace! Submit a 10–20 second video illustrating your vision of peace. When you create your video, please state your name and city/state and complete the following sentence: “As a veteran, I believe peace is possible when _______________.”
* Take action on Twitter! Use these sample tweets:
* I will be celebrating #VeteransDay as a day dedicated to peace #ReclaimArmisticeDay @VFPNational
* Veterans will ring 11 bells this year to remember #ArmisticeDay, a day of #Peace @VFPNational
* Instead of celebrating militarism, celebrate peace & all humanity #VeteransDay #ReclaimArmisticeDay @VFPNational
URGENT PETITION to Presidents Trump & Moon:
“Negotiate Don’t Escalate”
Stop THAAD.org
Freeze upcoming US/South Korean military exercises now in exchange for a freeze on the North Korean missile and nuclear programs!
As residents of South Korea, the United States and the world, we are united in our fervent desire for a peaceful, just resolution of the extremely dangerous conflict on the Korean peninsula. With tensions exploding, it’s clear that sanctions and military pressure against North Korea are continuing to fail. It’s time to lead with diplomacy.
We urge President Trump and President Moon to begin diplomatic dialogue with North Korea by freezing the upcoming US/South Korean military exercises in exchange for a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear and missile testing. We ask that you also remove from Korea the controversial THAAD missile system (radar and other equipment) that intensifies conflict with China and Russia, and threatens to create a wider conflict.
The United States intends to deploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. The announcement, however, has intensified military tension in the Asia Pacific region and huge numbers of South Korean people are protesting this deployment.
Stop THAAD in Korea and Militarism in Asia and the Pacific is a coalition of US based organizations working to build a movement to stop its deployment in South Korea, and pressing for diplomatic engagement to reduce militarization and tensions throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
* We urge the US government to rescind its decision on THAAD deployment in South Korea.
* We urge the US government to pursue all possible avenues for reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula by re-engaging in diplomacy with North Korea.
* We urge the US government to resolve conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region peacefully, through diplomacy and dialogue.
Signed:
* Task Force to Stop THAAD in Korea and Militarism in Asia and the Pacific
* Korean Petitioners for De-escalation of Tensions on the Korean Peninsula
Click below to sign the petition, and to read more in English and Korean
ACTION: Sign the Petition
BACKGROUND
Tensions are exploding on the Korean peninsula. North Korea and the US-South Korea alliance are locked in a deadly standoff of growing mistrust and provocative threats, a downward spiral that could trigger nuclear conflict with dire consequences for the Korean peninsula, the US, and the global community.
The US and South Korea have been conducting joint war exercises against North Korea for decades. These war exercises, along with the US policy of pre-emptive nuclear first strike against North Korea, as well as crippling sanctions, have led to North Korea’s rapidly developing nuclear and missile programs.
The US has also installed the controversial THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, antagonizing China and Russia, who are concerned about THAAD’s powerful radar surveiling their missile systems and destabilizing the balance of power in the wider region.
In response to North Korea’s recent missile tests, devastating economic sanctions were ratcheted up by the UN Security Council. Reacting to reports that North Korea has created nuclear weapons small enough to deliver by ballistic missile, President Trump threatened North Korea would face “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if further threats were made by North Korea. North Korea countered that it is considering plans to attack US military installations on Guam to create an “enveloping fire”.
Any outbreak of hostilities would threaten 25 million Koreans living in the Seoul-metropolitan area close to the North Korean border, untold millions in North Korea, and more than 150,000 US civilians and military personnel throughout the south. Because multiple nuclear-armed powers are involved, hostilities in the region could readily trigger a regional nuclear conflict.
This could cause massive loss of life not only on the peninsula, but worldwide. In particular, a regional nuclear war is predicted to reduce global sunlight due to dust and debris in the atmosphere. This in turn would create “nuclear winter”, a decrease in sunlight reducing agricultural production worldwide, causing 100s of millions of deaths from global mass starvation.
Sanctions, isolation and coercion have not worked. They have only exacerbated the conflict. Diplomacy with North Korea, however, has worked. In 1994 North Korea agreed to suspend its nuclear programs in exchange for alternative supplies of energy, security assurances, and steps towards normalization with the US In 2008 North Korea blew up the cooling tower of its nuclear reactor to symbolize its commitment to an international denuclearization deal.
Failure on the part of the US to follow through on its end of these agreements and the adoption of a first strike nuclear attack posture by the administration of George W Bush renewed mistrust and hostilities that continue to plague the peninsula today.
Diplomacy has worked to defuse nuclear conflict in the past – in North Korea, in Iran and during the cold war. There could be no more urgent a moment than right now to put diplomacy to work again.
