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abolition-usa-digest     Wednesday, July 12 2000     Volume 01 : Number 339




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

Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 11:41:03 -0400
From: ASlater <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: WTO Seattle -Lawyers Guild Draft Report on loss of democratic rt

>Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 01:58:10 -0400
>Subject: WTO Seattle -Lawyers Guild Draft Report on loss of democratic rt
>To: [e-mail]
>From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
>
>WTO Activist ([e-mail])    Posted: 07/09/2000  By
>[e-mail]
>============================================================
>
>This report "Draft Report on the Level of Paramilitary Response and
>Loss of Democratic Rights During the Seattle Round of the World Trade
>Organization Ministerial"  pays particular attention to the thinning
>lines between law enforcement and the military and the adverse
>effects this loss of delineation is having on civil liberties..... It
>provides concrete examples of the way the WTO has subverted
>democratic institutions, and had detrimental effects on human rights,
>the environment, safety and labor laws....... It notes that the U.S.
>economy, is a wartime economy.  Since the collapse of the Soviet
>Union, much of those resources that were devoted to the military have
>been devoted to law enforcement, with major military contractors
>building prisons and designing "less lethal weapon systems." ......
>This dynamic has created an enlarged and militarized law
>enforcement system. The report.. examines the way military tactics,
>training and weaponry have come to dominate law enforcement. .....The
>report then looks at the aftermath that is taking place now in
>Seattle and issues recommendations !!
> See following news release on the report and find the full text of
>the lengthy 60 page report with 7 chapters  at: http://www.nlg.org .
>
> FYI- janet
>
>==============================================
>
>SEATTLE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD RELEASES DRAFT REPORT ON WTO
>MINISTERIAL
>
>CONTACT: Paul Richmond, [e-mail],
>PO Box 95242, Seattle WA, 98145-2242
>
>TEXT OF REPORT ONLINE AT:
>www.students.washington.edu/uwnlg/
>www.nlg.org
>
>The Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild has just released its
>report on the World Trade Organization Ministerial.  The report examines
>what took place in Seattle as an example of larger trends brought about by
>destructive economic policies.  The report pays particular attention to
>the thinning lines between law enforcement and the military and the
>adverse effects this loss of delineation is having on civil liberties.
>
> The report begins with an overview of the WTO.  It provides the
>historical framework of the WTO as an institution born of the think tanks
>which were themselves created by the illicit fortunes of the robber
>barons.  It provides concrete examples of the way the WTO has subverted
>democratic institutions, and had detrimental effects on human rights, the
>environment, safety and labor laws.
>
>Following this, the report traces the way the WTO was brought to
>Seattle.  It examines the lack of process that took place - most members
>of the Seattle City Council seem not to have been consulted until after
>the event was a done deal.  Moreover, Seattle and King County are areas
>with a history of resistance to WTO and GATT.  King County was declared an
>MAI free zone months before the WTO's arrival had been announced. Seattle
>was declared an MAI free zone weeks after the WTO's selection of Seattle
>as it's Ministerial site was announced.
>
>Next comes a report of what took place on the streets of Seattle in the
>weeks leading up to the Ministerial and during the Ministerial
>itself.  The report utilizes information from  its 200 legal observers,
>and hundreds of witness declarations.  It also utilizes information
>gained from public disclosure and from email chatlines utilized by
>participating members of law enforcement, including commanders and line
>members of the Seattle Police Department. A picture is painted of
>confused, inexperienced law enforcement officers armed with frighteningly
>powerful, potentially lethal weaponry and little idea of what to do with
>it.  Random forays seem to be launched against random groups of
>demonstrators.  Thousands of people, including bystanders, are exposed to
>potentially lethal chemical agents hours before the first window is
>broken.  Masked unmarked police invade the most densely populated area on
>the West Coast North of San Francisco, attacking residents and
>shoppers.  Those arrested are often subjected to conditions resembling
>torture. Weapons are repeatedly deployed in ways that may be potentially
>lethal.  Police themselves, are often injured by their own weapons.
>
>The official reports that have been released by law enforcement
>consultants all paint pictures of a police force that should have used
>more force and should have utilized it earlier.  The NLG draft report
>looks at the economic and political reasons these law enforcement
>administrators have adopted this perspective.
>
> It notes that the U.S. economy, is a wartime economy.  Since the collapse
>of the Soviet Union, much of those resources that were devoted to the
>military have been devoted to law enforcement, with major military
>contractors building prisons and designing "less lethal weapon
>systems."   It looks at the moves to classify political dissent as a type
>of warfare, and to utilize recent demonstrations such as the WTO
>Ministerial as examples of why more force should be used.
>
> It notes the way the factors that have created a shrinking middle class,
>have further divided the "haves" and the "have-nots."  The picture is one
>of a global village where the majority of the world's population lives in
>slums and prisons and a wealthy few ride around in armored limousines from
>fortified enclave to fortified enclave.  This dynamic has created an
>enlarged and militarized law enforcement system.
>
>The report then examines the thinning lines between the military, who are
>trained to kill, and law enforcement who are trained to preserve
>lives.  It examines the way military tactics, training and weaponry have
>come to dominate law enforcement.  Citing testimony of law enforcement
>professionals, the report then traces the disastrous effect this blending
>of the two has had on the fabric of democracy and members of law
>enforcement themselves.  It examines the disastrous way this dynamic has
>played out in the past and the disastrous way this dynamic played out
>during the WTO Ministerial.  Citing past work in the field, the report
>shows how such trends can endanger both the fabric of democratic society
>and the law enforcement officers themselves.
>
>Particular attention is paid to the use of "less lethal" weaponry.   The
>origins of rubber bullets, flying truncheons, CS and CN are examined.  All
>began as weapons designed to put down rebellions and fight wars.  All were
>gradually exported into the areas of law enforcement.  Looking at the
>training materials provided by the manufacturers themselves, the lethality
>of these substances is examined in detail.
>
> If the projectiles strike from too close a distance or strike something
>other than the buttocks or thighs, it's usually a potentially trauma
>inducing or lethal use of force.
>
> If CS, or CN is used there are to be adequate ways for those present to
>escape, or it's potentially lethal especially, for the young, the elderly
>and those with diseases like AIDs.
>
> Anytime these substances are used, reports are to be administered on each
>person on whom the weapon was used, making it far less efficient to use
>these weapons than to simply arrest offenders.
>
>Yet, repeatedly, all of these weapons were used in ways that could have
>easily been lethal.  Part of the reason for this is that given the
>specific parameters of these weapons use, it is impossible to use them in
>situations where there a dozen people moving around, let alone hundreds or
>thousands.
>
>The report concludes by looking at the melt down that occurred inside the
>ministerial itself.  There are quotes by NGO's and delegates who found the
>process undemocratic, and heavilly slanted in favor of a few multinational
>corporations.
>
>The report then looks at the aftermath that is taking place now in Seattle
>and issues recommendations.  Among these recommendations are:
>
> Limiting the use of "less lethal" weapons to only those situations where
>lethal force is being threatened.  In line with this, we recommend
>following the example of the European parliament and declaring all such
>weapons inappropriate for dealing with political protest.
>
>
> Examining the long terms effects of all those exposed to chemical agents,
>including members of law enforcement.
>
> Examining the effect that the militarization, including SWAT training,
>waves of inexperienced new hires, and more lethal weaponry is having on
>the function of the police.
>
> Investigating the role of all federal agencies, especially military, in
>the decision making processes.
>
>==============================================
>
>
>============================================================
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>============================================================
>
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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 11:14:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Brian McDermott <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Re:  Washington, D.C. Gathering to Free Vanunu

- --0-846930886-963339247=:24354
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Get <a href="http://mail.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Mail</a> - Free email you can access from anywhere!
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 12:00:20 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) FAXING DEFENCE SECY COHEN, DOWNER, IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA RE BMD

US DEFENCE SECRETARY COHEN IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA FROM 15TH TO 17TH JULY

FAX COHEN IN AUSTRALIA  ABOUT BMD/NMD ON 'C/O DON Q WASHINGTON
[phone]'
FAX FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNER ABOUT BMD/NMD ON 61-2-6273-4112

Dear Australian NGOs,

US Defence Secretary William Cohen will be in Sydney talking to Foreign
Minister Downer and Defence minister John Moore on the 15th and 16th.  He
will have just come from Beijing, where no doubt he'll be getting an earful
on BMD/NMD from the Chinese.

A vigil will be held outside where he is staying (possibly the
intercontinental Hotel in Sydney - to be confirmed) from 12 noon to 2pm
Sunday. (organised by Dennis Doherty and myself)

Talks will be held on Monday with Australian Foreign Minister Downer and
Defence Minister Moore  in HMAS Kuttubul in Potts Point.

I am urging people who are in any way concerned over what NMD might do to
the global disarmament agenda to:

Fax our foreign minister Alexander Downer on 61-2-6273-4112 (or on
08-8370-8166 if you are in SA)

Fax Cohen himself on 1-703-695-1149, in the US and on [phone] in
Australia (Put C/O Don Q.Washington - Re BMD on it).

The letters below have been sent to Cohen and Downer by Australian NGOs and
parliamentarians.

You are encouraged not only to customise and send these letters yourself,
but, if you are an organisation, to sign on to the ones below being sent by
NGOs.

There is a short letter to Cohen, a short letter to Downer re Cohen, and
the same sample letter that I have been circulating round the whole planet
for people to send to Clinton, Cohen, Bush, and Gore.

Happy faxing!

After faxing Downer and Cohen, You may want to use the two websites below
to fax Clinton as well.(this is for free)

Greenpeace now has a website from which you can send a fax about BMD to
Clinton. it is:

http://www.stopstarwars.org/

You should also visit the 'Dont Blow it' website at
 http://DontBlowit.org.
from which you can send the president a free e-postcard.


1) SHORT SAMPLE LETTER FOR  PEOPLE AND NGOS TO SEND TO COHEN
(PLEASE ALSO SIGN IT IF YOU ARE AN NGO)

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE SA,
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE SYDNEY
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE S. COAST
PAX CHRISTI NSW
SYDNEY ANTI-BASES COALITION
PEOPLE FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT W.A.,

RE: NMD

WILLIAM S. COHEN, DEFENCE SECRETARY, UNITED STATES, [phone]
cc
Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer
02-6273-4112, 08-8370-8166, 6261-2151.
US EMBASSY CANBERRA, 02-6214-5970,6214-5930
US CONSULATE SYDNEY 9373-9125

Dear Defence Secretary Cohen,
I am writing in view of your  trip to Australia.

No doubt the subject of NMD formed part of your discussions in Beijing.

The organizations named above, and signed below, wish to point out that the
Australian Senate on 29th June, passed a motion in which it called on your
country:

1)Not to deploy a national missile defence system.

2)Called on the US and Russia to proceed with the early implementation  and
entry into force of START-II and negotiation of START-III as soon as
possible,

3)Called on you to outline how you will implement the final document of the
NPT Review Conference requirement that nuclear weapons play a diminishing
role in security policies,

4)Urged the US and Russia to maintain the integrity of the ABM treaty.

The failure last Saturday of the NMD test, indicates that an NMD system
cannot make a positive contribution to the security of the US or its allies
including Australia.

Concern over the possible deployment of NMD has been expressed by the UN
Secretary General, Russia, China, the European Union, France, Germany,
Sweden, and Non-Aligned Movement and the New Agenda Coalition. 50 US Nobel
prizewinners including some of the most respected names in Physics, have
urged you not to proceed with NMD.

Accordingly we too, urge you to take note of the Australian Senate
resolution and not to proceed with NMD.

Signed:
John Hallam, Friends of the Earth Australia
Irene Gale AM, Australian Peace Committee SA., Adelaide
Babs Fuller- Quinn, Coordinator, Australian Peace Committee Sydney,
Doreen Borrow, Australian Peace Committee South Coast,
Jack Forward,  Central Coast Peace Forum,
Dennis Doherty, Pax Christi New South Wales,
Hannah Middleton, Sydney Anti-Bases Coalition,
Jo Vallentine, People for Nuclear Disarmament Western Australia,
Pauline Mitchell, Secy., Campaign for International Cooperation and
Disarmament,(CICD) Melbourne,


2)LETTER FOR AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE AND NGOS TO SEND TO FOREIGN MINISTER DOWNER
(PLEASE ALSO SIGN IT IF YOU ARE AN NGO)

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE S.A.,
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE SYDNEY
SOUTH COAST PEACE COMMITTEE
CENTRAL COAST PEACE FORUM
PAX CHRISTI NSW
SYDNEY ANTI-BASES COALITION
PEOPLE FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT W.A.,


ATTN ALEXANDER DOWNER
02-6273-4112,  08-8370-8166
CC
DFAT, 02-6261-2151
SENATOR LYN ALLISON, 02-6277-3087
SENATOR MEG LEES, 02-8295-8911
LAURIE BRERETON 9349-8089

RE: VISIT OF US DEFENCE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN

Dear Alexander Downer,

The organizations named above and signed below are writing with respect to
the imminent visit of US Secretary for Defence, William S. Cohen, to urge
you to make the strongest possible expressions of concern with respect to
US proposals to deploy a National Missile Defence (NMD) system, which when
tested over last weekend, failed completely.

National Missile Defence has been criticized as being at the same time,
both ineffective, probably physically impossible, and at the same time
destabilizing.

Expressions of strong concern over it have been made at the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, by UN secretary
General Kofi Annan, by the European Union, France, Germany, Sweden,
Portugal, by the Non-Aligned Movement, by the New Agenda Coalition, and
others.

Russia has threatened that if the US violates the ABM treaty, as deployment
of NMD would, it will 'tear up' arms control agreements to date. China will
almost certainly greatly increase the size of its currently minimal nuclear
deterrent force if NMD is deployed. Both these developments will lead the
world back to nuclear arms- racing.

Within the US, 50 US Nobel prizewinners (Half the Nobel prizewinners in the
US) have written to President Clinton to ask that NMD not proceed. The
American Physical Society, the top physics body in the US, has expressed
the almost unanimous opinion that NMD as proposed is physically impossible.

The Australian Senate on 29th June, passed a motion calling on the US not
to proceed with NMD.

It called for:

1)The US Not to deploy a National Missile Defence (NMD) system.

2)Called on the US and Russia to proceed with the early implementation  and
entry into force of START-II and negotiation of START-III as soon as
possible,

3)Called on nuclear weapons states to outline how they will implement the
final document of the NPT Review Conference requirement that nuclear
weapons play a diminishing role in security policies,

4)Urged the US and Russia to maintain the integrity of the ABM treaty.

In view of both the clearly destabilizing effects of the deployment of NMD
and of its highly problematic technical aspects which mean that it will
make no contribution (or a negative one) to the security of either the US
or US allies including Australia, we urge you to make the very strongest
representations to defence Secretary Cohen when he visits this coming
weekend.

Signed
John Hallam, Friends of the Earth Australia,
Irene Gale AM, Australian Peace Committee SA,
Babs Fuller-Quinn, Coordinator, Australian Peace Committee Sydney,
Doreen Borrow, Coordinator, South Coast Peace Committee,
George Gotsis, Coordinator, Greek Peace Committee, Sydney,
Jack Forward, Central Coast Peace Forum,
Dennis Doherty, Pax Christi New South Wales,
Hannah Middleton, Sydney Anti-Bases Coalition,
Jo Vallentine, People for Nuclear Disarmament Western Australia,
Pauline Mitchell, Secy., Campaign for International Cooperation and
Disarmament, Melbourne,



3)SAMPLE LETTER FOR WHOLE PLANET TO SEND TO BILL CLINTON, WILLIAM S. COHEN,
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, BUSH, GORE, AND RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEES.

(Do not sign this. It is to give you more ideas as to what to write to
Cohen and to Clkinton if you would like to write to Clinton)

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, 1-202-456-2461,

SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT 1-202-647-6047

SECRETARY FOR DEFENCE, WILLIAM S. COHEN 1-703-695-1149
cc
George Bush
Al Gore

Dear President Clinton, William Cohen, Madeleine Albright, and Presidential
candidates,

I am writing to urge you not to proceed with proposals for a national
ballistic missile defence system.  Missile defence schemes respond to a
nonexistent or exaggerated threat,  are not the solution to real threats,
make the rest of the US's security environment less safe, sabotage nuclear
disarmament efforts to which the US is legally committed along with the
rest of the world, and show contempt for the opinions of US allies and the
rest of the world.

At the recent NPT Review Conference, the US together with 187 other
countries, signed a final declaration that commits it to an unequivocal
undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of its nuclear arsenal.
Plans to deploy a missile defence system threaten that vital goal, to which
the US is legally committed.

At the very same conference, the UN Secretary General, and representatives
of Russia, China, the UK, France, Sweden, the European community, the New
Agenda Coalition and the Non- aligned movement have all expressed strongly
that they believe the ABM treaty is the cornerstone of global strategic
stability. They do not think it should be modified to allow a missile
defence system,  still less abrogated unilaterally.  On your recent
European trip, leaders of Europe and Russia have made the same point.
America simply cannot ignore the strongly repeated opinion of the whole
world, that the ABM treaty should not be modified to permit BMD.

Furthermore:

1)The threat that the national missile defence system is supposed to
address, namely that of missile - equipped  so- called  'rogue states' is
in all likelihood, nonexistent.

2) A  state that really wished to inflict serious damage on the US would
probaby rather smuggle a nuclear explosive device into a US city by means
that are more reliable and more difficult to trace than missiles.

3)There are serious doubts as to whether this system can work at all, or as
to whether any missile defence system can ever work.  The problems posed
even by relatively simple decoys are probably technically insoluble.

4)National (and theatre) missile defence schemes are unsustainably costly,
and cost estimates are likely to rise without limit.

Instead of pursuing missile defence, it is vital that the US  focus on real
solutions to global  strategic security.  The highest priorities have to be
the elimination of as many warheads as possible under any START-III
agreement with Russia, and  the removal of  strategic missile forces from
high alert status as advocated by the Canberra Commission, subsequent UN
resolutions and the final NPT declaration.

In this respect, the commitment of Candidate Bush to deep cuts in warhead
numbers and to reductions in alert status are worthy of support.
Commitments to costly and dangerous missile defence schemes are worthy only
of opposition.

Yours Sincerely,
Signed
....

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord Street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, 2042
Fax [phone]  ph (61)(2)9517-3903
[e-mail]
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd






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

Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 22:00:11 +0100
From: Sally light <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) HIROSHIMA DAY 2000 AT LIVERMORE LAB, CALIFORNIA

HIROSHIMA DAY 2000 AT LIVERMORE LAB.  ALL ARE WELCOME!

Sponsored by the Livermore Conversion Project, and hosted by Tri-Valley
CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment), there will be a
major rally and demonstration at the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory to commemorate the WWII atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  We
invite everyone to join us for the following event:

WHEN =96 Sunday, August 6, 2000, at 8 am.
WHAT =96 MILLENNIUM OF PEACE: Program and Demonstration at the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory.
WHERE - Corner of East Avenue and Vasco Road, Livermore, California.
WHY =96 Anniversary of the WWII atomic bombing of Hiroshima;
             10th Anniversary of US sanctions against Iraq.

GUEST SPEAKERS CONFIRMED SO FAR:

Master of Ceremonies =96 Wilson Riles, Executive Director, American
Friends Service Committee

Keynote speaker: Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against
Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, who will speak on the US plans to
weaponize and nuclearize space by the year 2020.

Other speakers:
Fusako DeAngelis of Plutonium Free Future
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities
Against a Radioactive Environment)
Barbara Lubin, Executive Director of the Middle East Children=92s Allianc=
e

Peter Ferenbach, Executive Director of California Peace Action
Father Bill O=92Donnell, St. Joseph the Worker Church, Berkeley

WITH A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE OF =93DIRECT ACTION WORLD ROCK REBEL MUSIC=94B=
Y
CLAN DYKEN!

CALIFORNIA PEACE ACTION WILL PROVIDE A 50-FOOT MOCK TRIDENT MISSILE!

After the program, we will march to the gates of Livermore Lab for a
voluntary, nonviolent, risk arrest action.

At noon, there will be an open quarterly meeting of Northern California
Abolition 2000, part of the Abolition 2000 Global Network for Nuclear
Abolition, hosted by Tri-Valley CAREs at its office in Livermore.

Directions:  Going east from Oakland, take 580 to the Vasco Road exit in
Livermore.  Go south (right) on Vasco about 2 miles to East Avenue.

Come join us!  Bring banners, costumes, posters and other colorful
paraphernalia!

For further information about both the event and the meeting following
it, please call Tri-Valley CAREs at [phone].



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

Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 22:05:37 +0100
From: Sally light <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) AUGUST 8, 2000 EVENT WITH BRUCE GAGNON.  ALL ARE WELCOME.

AUGUST 8, 2000 SPEAKING EVENT WITH BRUCE GAGNON, COORDINATOR OF THE
GLOBAL NETWORK AGAINST WEAPONS AND NUCLEAR POWER IN SPACE

There will be a cordial, potluck-style evening with Bruce on Tuesday,
August 8, 2000, at 7 pm at the Friends Church in Berkeley, California.
The Church is located at the corner of Sacramento and Cedar streets near
the North Berkeley BART station.

A well-respected, longtime organizer and activist, Bruce will speak on
=93The Return of Star Wars: the Weaponization and Nuclearization of
Space.=94  This is your opportunity to learn in detail about the plans of
the US military-industrial complex to dominate the planet from space by
the year 2020, using nuclear weapons and laser technology.  There will
plenty of time for questions and answers, as well as for a strategy
session.

COME JOIN US WITH, OR WITHOUT, FOOD.

If possible, please RSVP by calling Tri-Valley CAREs at [phone].
Co-sponsoring organizations (partial listing):  Livermore Conversion
Project, Tri-Valley CAREs, Western States Legal Foundation, Friends
Church Peace &Social Concerns Committee, Mt. Diablo Peace Center, Nevada
Desert Experience, Middle East Children=92s Alliance, Physicians for
Social Responsibility, Peace Links, West County Toxics Coalition,
Citizens Opposing a Polluted Environment.

For further information, please contact Tri-Valley CAREs at (925)
443-7148.



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

Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 16:09:58 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Ten Days to G8 Meeting - Help Stop BMD and a new arms race.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
G8 MEETING IN OKINAWA 21-23 JULY - HELP PREVENT A NEW ARMS RACE.
(Please pass this message on to everyone you know who might be interested,
and might act on it)

Dear Friends and all concerned people,

(Both within and outside the US)
Now That The NMD Test has actually failed, this is more relevant than ever!

Last Saturday, the US Spent $100m on a test of the National Missile defence
System.
The test was of course an embarrasing failure.

In ten days, the G8 countries will be meeting in Okinawa. NMD is likely to
be a topic for discussion there.

For some time I have been trying to persuade as many people as possible
around the world to send letters (fax or snail mail) to their governments,
asking that they make representations to the US government not to proceed
with NMD. (Relevant fax numbers are below)

This is particularly important if you are in one of the G8 countries
(Russia, US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada), whose heads of
state will be meeting in Okinawa from 21-23 July.

THE US GOVERNMENT AND US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU THAT
YOU WANT FEWER NUCLEAR WARHEADS UNDER START-III AND NO NMD.

THE US GOVERNMENT  NEEDS TO HEAR AGAIN FROM ITS EUROPEAN AND OTHER ALLIES,
THAT THEY WANT THE US TO STOP ITS NMD PLANS AND TO ACCEPT LOWER START-III
WARHEAD NUMBERS.

THE NON-US MEMBERS OF THE G8 (RUSSIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, CANADA, ITALY,
JAPAN, UK,) NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU THAT THEY SHOULD CONTINUE TO PUT PRESSURE
ON THE US NO TO PROCEED WITH NMD.

A good time for this to happen is at the coming G8 Summit in Okinawa,
Japan, on July 21-23.

If you are in the US, you could send the letter below to Clinton, Bush,
Gore, Albright, and Cohen below.

You should also visit the 'Dont Blow it' website at
 http://DontBlowit.org.
from which you can send the president a free e-postcard.

These sample letters are on: Http://www.abolition2000.org


If you are in France, please use the letter below to the President, Prime
Minister, and Foreign Minister of France (which are are getting translated
into French)

If you are in the UK, please write to Prime Minister Tony Blair something
like the letter below to Blair.

If you are in Germany, please write  a letter something like the one below
to German Foreign Minister Fischer, and Chancellor Schroeder, asking them
to make strong represenatatoins to the US at the coming G8 summit. (We will
have German translation for this soon also)

If you are in Japan, please write something like the sample letter to Japan
which is below.

If you are in any other country, please base your letter on those below.
You may also prefer to fax direct to President Clinton.  (But if you live
in a G8 country its important to let your own government know that you want
them to tell the US no to go with BMD)

Please customise these letters and change or improve them as you see fit.

Please spread them through your own networks, altered and improved as you
see fit.

Please translate them into your own language, and circulate them via your
national networks.

The fax numbers of Clinton, Blair, and Schroder are on the letters
themselves. These numbers have been tried and they work. Other fax numbers
are at the very end.  If you prefer to use ordinary post, remember that it
takes longer so your letter must be sent sooner.

Happy writing and faxing!


SAMPLE LETTERS AND FAX NUMBERS BELOW

(These letters are also on Http://www.abolition2000.org and a global list
of fax numbers of foreign ministers can be found there also)

1)Letter to Clinton, Cohen, Albright, Gore, Bush
2)Letter to French Government
3)Letter to German Government
4)Letter to British Government
5)Letter to Japanese Government

(Fax Nos right at the end or use the numbers on the letters)


1)SAMPLE LETTER FOR ESP US FOLKS,  TO SEND TO BILL CLINTON, WILLIAM S.
COHEN, MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, BUSH, GORE, AND RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL
SUBCOMMITTEES.

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, 1-202-456-2461,

SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT 1-202-647-6047

SECRETARY FOR DEFENCE, WILLIAM S. COHEN 1-703-695-1149
cc
George Bush
Al Gore

Dear President Clinton, William Cohen, Madeleine Albright, and Presidential
candidates,

I am writing to urge you not to proceed with proposals for a national
ballistic missile defence system.  Missile defence schemes respond to a
nonexistent or exaggerated threat,  are not the solution to real threats,
make the rest of the US's security environment less safe, sabotage nuclear
disarmament efforts to which the US is legally committed along with the
rest of the world, and show contempt for the opinions of US allies and the
rest of the world.

At the recent NPT Review Conference, the US together with 187 other
countries, signed a final declaration that commits it to an unequivocal
undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of its nuclear arsenal.
Plans to deploy a missile defence system threaten that vital goal, to which
the US is legally committed.

At the very same conference, the UN Secretary General, and representatives
of Russia, China, the UK, France, Sweden, the European community, the New
Agenda Coalition and the Non- aligned movement have all expressed strongly
that they believe the ABM treaty is the cornerstone of global strategic
stability. They do not think it should be modified to allow a missile
defence system,  still less abrogated unilaterally.  On your recent
European trip, leaders of Europe and Russia have made the same point.
America simply cannot ignore the strongly repeated opinion of the whole
world, that the ABM treaty should not be modified to permit BMD.

Furthermore:

1)The threat that the national missile defence system is supposed to
address, namely that of missile - equipped  so- called  'rogue states' is
in all likelihood, nonexistent.

2) A  state that really wished to inflict serious damage on the US would
probaby rather smuggle a nuclear explosive device into a US city by means
that are more reliable and more difficult to trace than missiles.

3)There are serious doubts as to whether this system can work at all, or as
to whether any missile defence system can ever work.  The problems posed
even by relatively simple decoys are probably technically insoluble.

4)National (and theatre) missile defence schemes are unsustainably costly,
and cost estimates are likely to rise without limit.

Instead of pursuing missile defence, it is vital that the US  focus on real
solutions to global  strategic security.  The highest priorities have to be
the elimination of as many warheads as possible under any START-III
agreement with Russia, and  the removal of  strategic missile forces from
high alert status as advocated by the Canberra Commission, subsequent UN
resolutions and the final NPT declaration.

In this respect, the commitment of Candidate Bush to deep cuts in warhead
numbers and to reductions in alert status are worthy of support.
Commitments to costly and dangerous missile defence schemes are worthy only
of opposition.

Yours Sincerely,
Signed
....


2)LETTER TO FRENCH GOVERNMENT

PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC [phone]
PRIME MINISTER LIONEL JOSPIN [phone]
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS [phone]-45-51-60-12

Dear President Chirac, Prime Minister Jospin, and Minister for Foreign
Affairs Hubert Vedrine,

I am writing to you to urge you at the coming G8 meeting in Okinawa, to
express strongly your support for the 1972 ABM treaty, and your opposition
to the US proposal to deploy a ballistic missile defence scheme.

I am happy to see that at the recent nuclear nonproliferation treaty review
conference, France expressed strongly its support for the ABM treaty and
opposition to ballistic missile defence, and that France has continued to
forcefully express its opposition to this ill-considered scheme since that
time.

I urge you to continue doing this.

A ballistic missile defence scheme would:

(a)Attempt to defend the US (but not Europe) against a threat that either
does not exist or that if it did exist, would strike in ways that missile
defence cannot prevent.
(ie using means of delivery other than missiles)

(b) Is likely not to work at all because of the problem posed by relatively
simple decoys that can easily be deployed even by a relatively
unsophisticated attacker.

(c) Will be seen as potentially threatening by Russia and China, and will
therefore prompt those countries to expand their nuclear arsenals,
threatening to re-commence the nuclear arms race, just after the US has
together with France, the UK, Russia and China, signed a final declaration
at the recent NPT Review, committing them to the total and unequivocal
elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

(d) Missile defence as proposed by the US administration, in no way helps
the position of US allies or Europe.

I urge you at the coming G8 summit to make the most vigorous
representations to the US not to decrease global security by proceeding
with plans for missile defence, or weakening the ABM treaty. I ask you to
instead urge the US to increase global security by accepting the lowest of
the warhead totals on offer by Russia in START-III negotiations, and by
standing down nuclear missiles from 'launch on warning' status.

(Signed)


3)SAMPLE LETTER TO GERHARDT SCHROEDER, JOSCHKA FISCHER,

ATTN
GERMAN CHANCELLOR GERHARDT SCHROEDER
[phone], [phone].

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER JOSCHKA FISCHER,
[phone], [phone], [phone], [phone],

RE: BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENCE AND THE ABM TREATY

Dear Chancellor Schroeder and Foreign Minister Fischer,

I am writing to express  my support of the position you have taken with
respect to US plans to deploy a ballistic missile defence system and to
modify, or possibly to abrogate,  the ABM treaty in order to allow the
deployment of this system.

I note that you have already made clear to US President Clinton your strong
disapproval of any such moves.  I urge you to continue in your opposition
to this highly destabilizing scheme.

I am urging you to put this position strongly to the US at the coming G8
summit in Okinawa.

Ballistic missile defence in the form in which the US now seeks to deploy
it, (either national missile defence or theater missile defence),

a) Seeks to defend against a threat that either does not exist or which if
it exists, will strike in ways that missile defence systems cannot affect.

b)Is likely   to be wholly ineffective because of the problem posed by
relatively simple decoys,  and at the same time will be seen as threatening
by those with whom the US is legally obliged to negotiate for the
elimination of nuclear arsenals. Missile defence therefore acts to sabotage
vital arms control efforts.

c) National missile defence as currently proposed by the US administration,
in no way helps the security position of US allies, who are thus likely to
be exposed to whatever threat NMD seeks to counter - if that threat is
real.

(d) These proposals make more difficult, and may reverse, nuclear
disarmament efforts, decreasing the security of the whole world while
violating US obligations under the NPT.

I urge you to make the most vigorous representations to the US government,
particularly at the G8 summit,  not to decrease global security by
proceeding with plans for NMD/BMD or TMD,or weakening  the ABM treaty, but
rather to increase global security by  accepting the lowest of the warhead
totals on offer by Russia in START-III negotiations, and by standing down
nuclear missiles from 'launch on warning' status.

(Signed)

etc


4)DRAFT SAMPLE LETTER TO TONY BLAIR, ROBIN COOK

TO:
PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR  [phone]
FOREIGN MINISTER ROBIN COOK [phone]  [phone]

Dear Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Minister Robin Cook,

I am writing to you to urge your government to take a strong stand against
US plans to build a ballistic missile defence system, and to urge it to
maintain and strengthen the ABM treaty.

I urge you to put this very strongly to the US at the coming G8 summit in
Okinawa.

At the recent Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in New
York, the UN secretary general, the governments of Russia, China, France,
and the UK, the Non-Aligned movement, the New Agenda Coalition, and the
European Union all expressed strong support for the maintenance and
strengthening of the ABM treaty.
This cannot be interpreted to mean modifying it to allow a ballistic
missile defence system.

The missile defence systems currently under discussion in the US seek to
protect the US (but not Europe) against  a threat that either does not
exist at all, or for which missile defence is a completely inappropriate
response.   In addition the options proposed in the US may in fact not work
at all, while causing those countries with whom the US is legally obliged
under the final declaration of the NPT Review Conference to seek to
negotiate the elimination of its nuclear arsenal, to abandon arms control
measures altogether.

The very discussion by the US of missile defence options is itself
destabilizing and puts progress toward the global goals of elimination of
nuclear arsenals in doubt.

We/I urge you to put to the US government in the very strongest terms that
it should no longer contemplate missile defence options, and to make it
clear that the UK will not in any way cooperate with such options.

Your government has said it wants to maintain and strengthen the ABM
treaty. It must follow on from this good beginning by making it clear that
it is absolutely opposed to BMD.

The US government should instead be strongly urged to accept the very
lowest warhead numbers on offer from Russia and to stand down its nuclear
weapons systems from 'launch on warning' status.

Signed.....etc.


5)LETTER TO JAPANESE GOVERNMENT

THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN
THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF JAPAN, 81-3-3581-9675, 81-3-3591-3613

Dear Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Japan,

I am writing to you to urge you at the coming G8 summit in Okinawa on July
21-23, to make strong representations to the United States concerning the
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and its plans for a ballistic missile defence
system.

At the recent Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference, the UN
Secretary General, the New Agenda Coalition, the Non-Aligned Movement,
France, Russia, China, and the European Community all expressed opposition
to the deployment of a missile defence system and support for the ABM
treaty as the cornerstone of strategic stability.

A number of European nations have subsequently expressed strong opposition
to  Ballistic missile defence.

Ballistic missile defence
(a) Seeks to guard against a problem that does not exist, or which if it
does exist, is not best answered by costly and high tech systems such as
BMD.

(b)Is likely to be ineffective against missile attack because of the
problem posed by relatively simple decoys.

(c) is likely to be seen as threatening by those with whom the US is
legally obliged to negotiate toward the unequivocal and total elimination
of its nuclear arsenals, thereby sabotaging a process to which the US has
only recently reaffirmed its commitment.

(d) In no way helps, and may harm, the security position of US allies such
as Japan and Europe who are likely to be exposed to whatever threat is
sought to be countered by missile defence - if that threat is real.

(e) By encouraging arms- racing again, is likely to degrade the security
position of the world as a whole.

Accordingly I urge your government to make the most vigorous
representations to the US at the coming G8 summit, and to urge the US
instead, to consider the lowest START-III warhead numbers offered by Russia
and to take strategic warheads off launch-on-warning status.

Yours Sincerely,
(signed) etc.


FAX NUMBERS BELOW (OR USE THE ONES ON THE TOPS OF THE LETTERS)

FAX NUMBERS OF SOME FOREIGN MINISTERS

A URL where the fax numbers of every head of state and foreign minister in
the world is listed plus lots of information is this:
Http://www.abolition2000.org.

(Another URL that has the fax numbers of heads of state, foreign ministers
and UN missions and also has lots of information on the NPT Review is:
Http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org )

Some of the relevant fax numbers are listed below. If your country is not
on this list, you can find your foreign minister or head of state on one of
the two URLs above.
(The + in front stands for whatever your countrys ISD access code may be.
You only really need it if you are faxing some other country. I hope
however, that  people may like not only to fax their own foreign minister
but also those of Russia and the US.)

Some of these numbers may have changed. If any of them don't work, let me
know at <[e-mail]>  and check the number on the URL or with
your own telephone system.

If you are in the US,
Secy of State Madeleine Allbrights fax number is: [phone]
President Clintons fax number is [phone]

If you are in Russia, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's fax number is
[phone] or [phone]. (You need to be persistent with these
numbers)
The general Kremlin fax number is [phone]. (This is the slowest fax
in the universe)

If you are in France, your foreign ministers fax number is [phone],
Jacques Chirac's fax number is [phone].

If you are in the UK, Tony Blairs fax number is [phone].
The Foreign Minister, Robin Cook's fax number is:  [phone]
The United Nations mission is on Fax. [phone]

If you are in Germany, the Chancellors fax number is: [phone],  or
[phone]
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischers number is any of these: [phone],
[phone],
[phone], [phone]


Here are the fax numbers of some foreign ministers and UN missions:
If you are in Canada, your foreign ministers fax number is: [phone].
If you are in Japan, you need to fax [phone]
If you are in Italy please fax [phone], or [phone] or
[phone]
If you are in Hungary, please fax your foreign minister on [phone]
If you are in Korea, try  your minister of foreign affairs on
[phone], [phone]
If you are in Brazil, your foreign ministers fax should be [phone]
If you are in Mexico, try [phone]
If you are in Greece try [phone] (or 0095)
If you are in Thailand, try [phone], or [phone]

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord Street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, 2042
Fax [phone]  ph (61)(2)9517-3903
[e-mail]
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd






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