{news} Fw: Upcoming Connecticut Events for Peace & Social Justice-COLOMBIA; "WINTER SOLDIER"
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----- Original Message -----
From: AFSC Connecticut
To: edubrule at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 7:00 PM
Subject: Upcoming Connecticut Events for Peace & Social Justice
American Friends Service Committee Connecticut
In This Issue: Feb 11 2008
. Feb 15: 10th Anniversary of Hartford Federal Building Peace Vigil
. Take Action Today in Support of Human Rights in Colombia
. Feb 25: Showing of the Orginal Winter Solider Movie
Feb 15: 10th Anniversary of Hartford Federal Building Peace Vigil
10th Anniversary of the Hartford Federal Building Vigil for Peace 1998 - 2008
Friday, Feb 15 11:30am-12:30pm
ABRAHAM RIBICOFF FEDERAL BLDG
450 Main Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06103
In February 1998, a vigil was organized, to protest the US military actions and sanctions waged against Iraq since 1990. For 10 years participants continue to stand each and every Friday protesting the humanitarian crises caused by U.S. sanctions and bombings, and now the invasion and occupation of Iraq, which has resulted in misery, death, and torture.
Come to the vigil on Feb 15th to mark the 10th anniversary of this action and the 6th Month of the Iraq War Moratorium.
Estimated 650,000 civilian deaths-many children*
4.5 million refugees
$720 million per day to wage the war in Iraq
More information: www.hopeoutloud.org or call (860) 523-4823
http://www.hopeoutloud.org
Take Action Today in Support of Human Rights in Colombia
Take Action: Call your senators today! Send the message that respect and Support for Human Rights in Colombia are Vital.
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) are currently circulating a "dear colleague" letter to Secretary of State Rice expressing concern over the alarming increase in killings by the U.S. funded Colombian army. Click here to read the letter http://www.afsc.org/colombia/action/documents/senateletteronextrajudicialkillings.pdf.
In the last month alone AFSC has received reports from communities in peaceful resistance of 8 people who were assassinated by the Colombian army and then dressed as guerrillas. The people include indigenous, Afro-Colombians and peasants who were well known in their communities some of them were small entrepreneurs who worked at local bakeries and markets who were clearly not involved with any of the armed groups.
As paramilitary forces are being demobilized, the army, under pressure to "get results," appears to be directly involved in more human rights abuses. Community leaders report that the killings are also used as way to quite dissent among community members who oppose the military's presence on their territories and their abuses. The stories regarding the killings have many similarities people are picked up by the army just after being seen in very public places, and then killed and presented to the media in guerrilla clothing as killed in combat.
You can help bring attention to these human rights violations by asking your senator to sign on to this letter. Contact your senators through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask them to send the message that human rights matter by signing onto this letter by February 15th.
To read more about this issue click here to read the preliminary mission report http://www.afsc.org/colombia/action/documents/reportonextrajudicialexecutions.pdf .
from human rights groups in Colombia.
Please also visit www.afsc.org/colombia and read about the World Social Forum's Global Day of Action. On this day Grassroots groups took actions to express their concern for U.S. policies towards Colombia and their negative impact on the decades old conflict.
http://www.afsc.org/colombia
Feb 25: Showing of the Orginal Winter Solider Movie
Showing of the original Winter Solider
Monday, February 25th 7:30 PM
Hartford Friends Meeting
144 South Quaker Lane
West Hartford, CT
More information: www.hopeoutloud.org or call (860) 523-4823
From March 13-16 Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will hold the 2nd Winter Solider Hearings. Veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will gather in Washington DC to witness and tell their stories and experiences about U.S. foreign policy in both countries. The nation will hear directly from those who have been there on the ground.
This gathering will be in the tradition of the 1971 Winter Soldier investigations held by Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Not since that original event has the American public had such an important opportunity to hear the truth about the brutality of war and the nature of U.S. foreign policy.
On Feb 25th the Connecticut Coalition for Peace and Justice will show the original Winter Soldier.
In February 1971, one month after the revelations of the My Lai massacre, an astonishing public inquiry into war crimes committed by American forces in Vietnam was held at a Howard Johnson motel in Detroit. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War organized this event called the Winter Soldier Investigation. More than 125 veterans spoke of atrocities they had witnessed and committed.
Though the event was attended by press and television news crews, almost nothing was reported to the American public. Yet, this unprecedented forum marked a turning point in the anti-war movement. It was a pivotal moment in the lives of young vets from around the country who participated, including the young John Kerry. The Winter Soldier Investigation changed him and his comrades forever. Their courage in testifying, their desire to prevent further atrocities and to regain their own humanity, provide a dramatic intensity that makes seeing Winter Soldier an unforgettable experience.
http://www.ivaw.org/
American Friends Service Committee
Connecticut Area Office
56 Arbor Street, Suite 213
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860.523.1534
Fax: 860.523.1705
Email: connecticut at afsc.org Visit AFSC CT Online
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