{news} Fw: USGP-INT Cynthia McKinney: Report from London; remarks at the Forum for Palestine

[Justine McCabe]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott McLarty" <scottmclarty at yahoo.com>
To: <usgp-media at gp-us.org>; <dcsgp at yahoogroups.com>; <usgp-int at gp-us.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 2:32 AM
Subject: USGP-INT Cynthia McKinney: Report from London;remarks at the Forum 
for Palestine


>
> From Cynthia McKinney in London, March 31, 2009
> (See Ms. McKinney's commentary page at gp.org: 
> http://www.gp.org/cynthia/index.php)
>
> Hello!
>
> What an impressive Conference put on by the Government of Malaysia and the 
> Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW).  Absolutely 
> incredible.  And the audience was packed with information.  I will 
> definitely make a more detailed report later and include the information 
> learned at this Conference in my next economics report, too, on the state 
> of our economy and common sense solutions as I promised you.
>
> The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Dr. Rais Yatim, spoke passionately this 
> morning about the need for accountability in the face of war crimes.  And 
> so too, did the founder of the KLFCW, Tun Dr. Mahathir.  Dr. Mahathir 
> spoke of the long history of Zionism, starting with the Balfour 
> Declaration, and explained that we were in London because there had been a 
> request from a British citizen in Malaysia attending our Forum for 
> Palestine there, to take this information to the source of the 
> problem--England.  Dr. Mahathir recommended that we remember the Balfour 
> Declaration and all the events leading up to the creation of the state of 
> Israel for a better understanding of the challenges we face on our road to 
> peace.
>
> Dr. Mahathir knows a lot about what's happening in our economy, too. 
> Remember, he faced down George Soros and the currency speculators and was 
> vilified (by them) for keeping Malaysia out of their snares.  Today, 
> Malaysia has a public Central Bank and a national system of public banks. 
> Needless to say, the ringgit is doing just fine.  Malaysia is strong to 
> take a stand today because Dr. Mahathir took the unpopular stand 
> yesterday--unpopular that is, with the monied interests of the world. 
> More on that, later.
>
> After our tea break (of course, we were in London), Lauren Booth, PressTV 
> reporter who was trapped in Gaza for one month, reported on her 
> experiences with individual life stories of how life is made unbearable by 
> the Israelis as they deny health care and education to Palestinian women 
> and children.  Lauren is also a Free Gaza Movement success story as she 
> was on one of the boats that successfully challenged the Israeli seige. 
> Unlike me, she made it into Gaza and received a hero's welcome.  She was 
> also with George Galloway as he successfully entered Gaza City by land in 
> a convoy of over 100 vehicles.
>
> Then I spoke.  My comments are included at the end of this report.
>
> Former M.P. Tony Benn delivered wonderful historical context and gave us 
> hope for the future.  All day, for some reason, speakers kept calling him 
> Tony Blair, instead of Benn.  It was quite funny, since I think Blair is 
> Lauren Booth's brother-in-law and was pretty much reviled roundly by 
> everyone in the audience.  At one point, Benn leaned over to me and asked 
> wryly, "You think I can win the Nobel Peace Prize?"  And at that point, I 
> remembered that I was the sole vote against honoring him for his support 
> of the "Global War on Terror."
>
> And Rabbi Aharon Cohen of Naturei Karta explained to us what their 
> perspective is on Israel.  Paraphrasing, Rabbi Cohen said that Zionism is 
> the root of the problem and until Zionism is addressed, there will 
> continue to be a problem.  Even in the panel discussion, he brought us 
> back to the problem of Zionism, itself.  He made it clear that Zionism is 
> not Judaism.  His remarks were particularly educational since I had never 
> had the opportunity to dialog with member of Naturei Karta before.  He 
> also gave the significance of the name that means, protectors of the city. 
> For when the Zionists came to the land, Jews and non-Jews lived together 
> in harmony.  But the Zionists came to steal the land from the non-Jews and 
> the Jews joined with the non-Jews to protect the City, thus, Naturei 
> Karta--protectors of the City.  I will defintely read more about them.
>
> Finally, Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman basically said that Israel, by its 
> actions, is becoming indefensible.  He said this:  "The Israeli electorate 
> have proven themselves incorrigible," noting that only 3% of Israelis 
> voted for peace in Israel's last election.  He has said as much on the 
> Floor of the House of Commons, and a tape was played at the Conference of 
> him saying it.  He talked about his hate mail.  Well, I think we could go 
> toe-to-toe on the hate mail.  Only, in the mail he receives, they call him 
> a self-hating Jew.
>
> Finally, there was a panel discussion where the audience asked questions 
> of the speakers.  And just before people left the room, I was able to make 
> an announcement.  When the gentleman showed me his blackberry, I was sure 
> he was joking.  That he was playing some kind of cruel joke on me.  That 
> is was a hoax.  Because all the night before and in my remarks, as you 
> will see, I touted the judges of Spain and their courage as one of our 
> hopes for justice in the legal arena.  And when I didn't believe him, he 
> showed his blackberry to me and I could see that it was a real news item: 
> Spain had agreed to investigate Bush and his cronies for war crimes. 
> Hallelujah!!  What a wonderful end to a wonderful Conference.  What a 
> wonderful way to welcome the G20 into town!!!!
>
> For those of you who are new to my messages and are not on my e-list, 
> please send a message authorizing me to add you to my e-list and you can 
> get these messages from me all the time.  Let me hear from you!
>
> Here are my remarks:
>
>
> Cynthia McKinney
> Forum for Palestine
> London/March 31, 2009
>
> Not too long ago, I received an invitation to participate in the Malaysia 
> Peace Organization’s effort to Criminalize War and establish a tribunal to 
> try the heads of state who violated the peace and led their countries into 
> war and occupation.
>
> When I was in Kuala Lumpur, I had the opportunity to meet one of my 
> heroes, Tun Dr. Mahathir, who stood up against the very same individuals 
> who are today wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy in a feeding frenzy on 
> the imperial carcass.  As a result, Malaysia became an outpost of 
> resistance in Asia.  Dr. Mahathir’s bold action was the first time I came 
> to know Malaysia, and that was by way of the news reports.  And when I had 
> the opportunity to travel there for the purpose of fashioning a world 
> without war, I dubbed Kuala Lumpur the world capital of peace.  Thank you, 
> Malaysia, for showing the world, along with Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, 
> Ecuador, Paraguay, and others, that national dignity is possible.
>
> For dignity depends on peace, and peace depends on justice, and justice 
> depends on truth.  So, our charge today is to help the world attain 
> dignity.
>
> At that 2007 Kuala Lumpur peace conference, I met victims of war crimes, 
> torture, and crimes against humanity, all made possible because of U.S. 
> policy and U.S. taxpayers.  It was an emotional Conference for me, because 
> I came face to face with the scars borne by victims of war.
>
> The next year, I spent International Human Rights Day 2008 in Havana, Cuba 
> with family members of victims of U.S. aggression against that fiercely 
> independent island country.  And while I was there, over and over and over 
> again I heard the word “dignity.”  And how there is dignity in resistance.
>
> I can’t help but remember that it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who, 
> forty years ago, said that the United States was the greatest purveyor of 
> violence on the planet. Sadly, violence sponsored by the U.S. directly or 
> indirectly has only intensified.
>
> And because I stand in London right now, where tens of thousands of people 
> are about to take to the streets in protest of war and occupation, I must 
> not omit the roles that London and Europe have played in promoting this 
> worldwide violence.
>
> The world is rising up against the lies that we’ve been told.  People are 
> reclaiming their dignity.  Against the greed, corruption, and theft that 
> have been committed in our name, with our tax dollars.  In the streets, 
> you will hear the word dignity.
>
> That’s what the U.S. civil rights movement was all about.  And its spirit 
> of resistance to injustice shaped my childhood experiences.  I saw what is 
> possible when people stand up.
>
> On the night before his murder, Dr. King said that he was proud to be 
> alive at the end of the 20th Century when people were rising up saying, 
> “We want to be free.”
>
> Today, we are rising up and saying that we want to be free from hatred, 
> division, oppression, and war.
>
> I admire those stood up on the national stage, and I’ve tried to do my 
> part to take a stand, too.
>
> Thus, in 1991, as a Member of the Georgia Legislature, when President 
> George Herbert Walker Bush bombed Baghdad, I asked the Speaker of the 
> House if I could speak on a point of Personal Privilege to explain my 
> opposition to Operation Desert Storm.  My colleagues stood up and walked 
> out on me during my remarks.
>
> And then, when I decided to run for the United States Congress, I knew 
> that the foundation of all U.S. policy—whether domestic or foreign--had to 
> be:  respect for human rights.
>
> So, when the marginalized and dispossessed of the world came to me, I did 
> my best to help them.
>
> There was no room in my view for policies promoting nuclear weapons, NATO 
> expansion, or discrimination against any person, group, or country.  I 
> voted against every Pentagon budget that came before Congress.
>
> I introduced legislation to stop the transfer of U.S. weapons to regimes 
> that did not respect human rights and to eliminate the use of depleted 
> uranium.
>
> I spoke out against President Clinton’s sanctions against Iraq, and 
> President George W. Bush’s war against and occupation of Iraq.
>
> I represented the Congressional Black Caucus at the Durban World 
> Conference Against Racism, despite intense pressure to not attend in order 
> to avoid a discussion of Zionism.
>
> I worked with a team of internationally-respected lawyers to prosecute 
> Sharon, Barak, and Netanyahu for war crimes as well as those responsible 
> for incitement of genocide in Gujurat, India.
>
> I even turned down a politician’s dream: fame, fortune, and re-election if 
> I would just get arrested in front of the Sudan Embassy and let a famous 
> Zionist lawyer bail me out of jail.
>
> Underlying it all was my belief that the Universal Declaration of Human 
> Rights ought to have universal application.  Afterall, it was Dr. King who 
> reminded us that justice is indivisible:  injustice anywhere is a threat 
> to justice everywhere.
>
> But when the subject was justice for Palestine, while I stood my ground, 
> the political resolve underneath me dissolved beneath my feet.
>
> When the pro-Israel Lobby targeted me for defeat, even lifelong family 
> friends abandoned me and those I thought stood for principle, shrank in 
> utter fear.
>
> For all the talk about justice, the principles underlying the Universal 
> Declaration of Human Rights melted away when the topic was Palestine.  Or 
> any other project of the pro-Israel Lobby.  Like Durban, Sudan, Rwanda, 
> Congo, or protecting their interests in Blood Diamonds.  Unfortunately for 
> me, all the issues I had taken on with great enthusiasm pitted me for the 
> people, but against the interests of the powerful pro-Israel Lobby.
>
> And then, they decided in 2002 that I had to go.
>
> That came after I questioned the Bush Administration’s version of what 
> happened on September 11, 2001.  The pro-Israel lobby activated its 
> operatives inside both the Republican and Democratic Parties, and I lost 
> my campaign for re-election to Congress.
>
> Even though, two years later, in 2004, I ran again and regained my seat, I 
> still wore a target on my forehead.  And again, pro-Israel, pro-war 
> Democrats and Republicans joined to oust me from Congress in 2006, when I 
> was the only Democratic Member of Congress to lose reelection.  The 
> significance of the 2006 election was this:
>
> The very first bill to fund the war came up for a vote  and passed with 
> exactly the number of votes required.  Had I been there to cast my no 
> vote, the bill would have failed.  It became clear to me that the “War 
> Party” inside the United States, that consists of pro-war elements inside 
> both the Democratic and Republican parties, do a darn good job of making 
> sure they control enough Congressional votes to keep our country at war.
>
> So, after leaving Congress in January of 2007, I declared my independence 
> from every bomb dropped, every child killed, and every veteran maimed as a 
> part of the U.S. war machine.
>
> In 2008, the Green Party, the largest of the small parties in the U.S., 
> nominated me to lead their ticket and I ran for President.
>
> And now, I’m trying to launch “Dignity,” a movement for peace and justice 
> inside the United States as a counter to the war party.
>
> So, the day after Israel began bombing Gaza, the co-founder of the Free 
> Gaza Movement asked me to travel the next day to Gaza with some doctors 
> and deliver 3 tons of medical supplies.  It didn’t take me 5 minutes to 
> say yes.
>
> And so began my voyage aboard the pleasure boat, Dignity, that was rammed 
> in international waters by an Israeli warship and that almost cost me my 
> life.
>
> Onboard the Dignity was Sami El-Hajj—the Al Jazeera reporter from Sudan 
> who, while covering the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, was 
> captured and became known as prisoner 345 in Guantanamo for six years. 
> Once again, I came face to face with a victim of U.S. war policy, against 
> Afghanistan and also against his home country of Sudan.  I apologized to 
> him.
>
> Dr. David Halpin is here.  Stand up Dr. Halpin.  He was onboard the 
> Dignity with me and is the one who told me to prepare myself mentally to 
> die after the Israelis attacked us.  He also noticed that I had my life 
> jacket on upside down and helped me put it on right side up after we had 
> been rammed.
>
> It is clear that those who favor war use every trick in the book to rob us 
> of our human dignity.  And then, feeling powerless, we allow them to do to 
> us what they want.
>
> But effective resistance requires that perpetrators of crime, especially 
> torture, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against the peace, be brought to 
> justice.
>
> It’s a shame that I have to even say that.  But currently, we have a 
> situation in which the killer of one might go to jail, but the killer of 
> one hundred thousand is invited to peace talks.   It seems that in this 
> upside down world, the more one kills, the more impunity one acquires. 
> But true justice requires the absence of impunity.
>
> And that’s what brings us here today.  We want to criminalize war.  Many 
> people’s tribunals have been initiated precisely because of the lack of 
> justice in the politicized courts of the United States, and increasingly, 
> in the world Courts.  Those with political power have been able to seize 
> these courts and manipulate them to favor injustice.
>
> This includes the conduct of the International Criminal Court, which to 
> date, has not engendered hope.  In his piece entitled “White Collar War 
> Crimes, Black African Fall Guys,” investigative journalist Keith Snow 
> writes:
>
> “First note that the ICC can now be viewed as a tool of hegemonic U.S. 
> foreign policy, where the weapons deployed by the U.S. and its allies 
> include the accusations of, and indictments for, human rights violations, 
> war crimes and crimes against humanity.  To understand this, we can ask 
> why no white man has yet been charged with these or other offenses at the 
> ICC, which now holds five black African warlords and seeks to incarcerate 
> and bring to trial another black man, also an Arab, Omar Bashir. Why hasn’t 
> George W. Bush been indicted? Or what about Donald Rumsfeld? Dick Cheney? 
> Henry Kissinger? Ehud Olmert? Tony Blair?”
>
> The sad fact is that the International Criminal Court has become terribly 
> politicized, as has the entire international justice apparatus.  The ICC 
> has issued indictments, for the first time in history, against a sitting 
> head of state. Meanwhile, according to Snow, an Israeli weapons dealer, 
> also a reputed Mossad operative, is revealed to be shipping weapons into 
> Sudan with Pentagon support.
>
> And Belgium changed its law rather than prosecute Ariel Sharon for war 
> crimes.  The double standard cries out to us.
>
> One country in the West, however, increasingly stands out as a place where 
> justice can be found—and that is Spain.  With its landmark indictment of 
> Pinochet and its current consideration of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon 
> and U.S. torture in Guantanamo, we increasingly look to the Spanish Courts 
> with hope.  It was the Spanish courts that returned indictments against 
> Rwandan soldiers for genocide even as the world coddles U.S. proxy Rwanda 
> and its leader, Paul Kagame.
>
> Now, why is curbing impunity important?  Just this week Israel and the US 
> admitted that Israel murdered approximately 800 refugees as Israel 
> attacked Sudan in January and February using unmanned killer drones.
>
> Israel unleashed death squads to commit targeted assassinations all over 
> the world.
>
> To save the Palestinians from Israel, is to save the rest of us from 
> Israeli abuse, and of course, saves the Israelis from themselves.  Even 
> Israeli soldiers are telling the sad truth about Gaza.  Doctors tell us 
> that Gaza was a weapons testing laboratory.  The world is rightly outraged 
> about Israeli Operation Cast Lead. And of the Sudan operation, of which we 
> are only just now learning, Olmert is reported to have said:  "There is no 
> place where Israel cannot operate. There is no such place."
>
> Now, I’ve been questioned about my passion because I’m not Arab; I’m not 
> Muslim; why do I care so much about justice in Palestine?
>
> My answer is this:  I struggle every day for the human rights and dignity 
> of blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, Muslims, Arabs, the poor and others 
> discriminated against in America.
>
> I learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who broke with his friends in 
> the civil rights movement because they did not want to alienate themselves 
> from President Johnson by criticizing the Vietnam War.  Dr. King decided 
> that conscience compelled him to speak out against the war even if it 
> meant losing his friends.  Even if it meant losing his life.  And when 
> asked about it, Dr. King said that he had fought segregation too long to 
> segregate his moral concerns.
>
> The people of the world want war criminals held accountable.  Bolivia 
> wants to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their crimes in Gaza.  The 
> International Criminal Court says it is investigating whether Israel 
> committed war crimes in Gaza.  Now is the time for us to stand firm.
>
> That’s why I support the Malaysia Peace Organization, the Brussels 
> Tribunal, the Hurricane Katrina Tribunal, and other efforts to hold 
> national leadership accountable for their actions.  And I specifically 
> support Malaysia’s efforts to criminalize war.
>
> Because of what happened to our Dignity boat while in international 
> waters, the Free Gaza Movement wants to bring Israel to justice for its 
> war crime against us.
>
> I applaud George Galloway’s success in entering Gaza by land.  The Free 
> Gaza Movement will try again by sea.
>
> I paid the ultimate political price for standing by the idea that the 
> Universal Declaration of Human Rights ought to have universal application. 
> You can rest assured that I will do all I can to promote dignity, a vision 
> of peace that relies on truth and justice for all of us.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> usgp-int mailing list
> usgp-int at gp-us.org
> http://forum.greens.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-int
>


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


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.11.34 - Release Date: 3/31/2009 12:00 
AM