Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace

P.O. Box 363 Geneseo, NY 14454

FAX: 716-243-4002 e-mail: <PeaceHank@aol.com>

WEB SITE: <http://www.gvcp.org>

"HUMAN RACE NOT ARMS RACE"

January 31, 1999

Dear GVCP Member:

NEXT GVCP MEETING: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 2:00 P.M. 2290 ANDERSON RD, LINWOOD. [Anderson Rd. runs west off Rte 36, one road south of Rte 20. 2290 is 1.7 mi. west of Rt. 36. Mailbox on right, driveway on left.]

GVCP POLICY STATEMENT ON THE BOMBING OF IRAQ: GVCP's position is similar to the position taken by MADRE in the statement, "Lives in the Balance: MADRE's Talking Points on the Latest US Bombing of Iraq. (December, 1998--enclosed in last mailing and available from MADRE, 121 West 27th St., Rm. 301, New York NY 10001; <www.MADRE.org>.

Specifically, MADRE and GVCP call on the United States to:

•Stop the bombing of Iraq--the bombing will not unseat Saddam Hussein or destroy his military capabilities; bombing will result in more civilian casualties;

•Lift the sanctions--holding an entire civilian population hostage to starvation and disease is not an acceptable foreign policy.

•Create a permanent international criminal court to prosecute war criminals--at present each nation declares its opponents to be war criminals, with no IMPARTIAL judicial system to determine who should be prosecuted as true war criminals.

ACTION: Please call the White House Comment Line (202-456-1111) and leave a short, simple message stating your opposition to the bombing.

SIERRA LEONE: Last month GVCP received a long and thoughtful letter from Saiku S. Bah, the president of our Sierra Leone sister peace group. Since then, the situation in Sierra Leone has again deteriorated. The enclosed op-ed piece from the Washington Post discusses possible U.S. options in the region. Until the situation is clarified, we will again follow the lead of Mr. Bah and ask members to: WRITE to U.N. Secretary General Koffi Annan and ask him to initiate a review of the situation in Sierra Leone. Ask him to consider placement of U.N. ground troops in the country to prevent further bloodshed and to establish a lasting peace. [United Nations, NY, 10017]

MILITARY SPENDING: President Clinton announced recently that his February budget request will included a proposal to increase military spending by more than $100 billion over the next six years. For FY2000, he plans to request an additional $2 billion for the military, and to redirect $8 billion in Pentagon savings toward other military spending. Even worse, the Senate Armed Services Committee will probably call for an increase of $17.5 billion in military spending. After a few years of modest decreases in military spending, we are returning to the policy of military spending increases.

Such increases in military spending will not make anyone more secure either at home or abroad. Such spending will undermine the economic security of millions of poor and low-income people at home and abroad. Our increased spending will provoke other countries to arm at the expense of meeting basic human needs of their people. CALL: Senators Moynihan and Schumer, and your Congressperson [202-224-3121] and let them know that you disagree with these misplaced and wasteful budget priorities. For more information: Friends Committee on National Legislation web site http://www.fcnl.org/pub/fcnl

Peace,

LORI BERENSON--IMPRISONED FOR THREE YEARS AND TWO MONTHS! HOW MUCH LONGER CAN SHE SURVIVE? PLEASE WRITE TO PRES. CLINTON [WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON DC 20500] ASK HIM TO DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE RELEASE OR A FAIR TRIAL FOR U.S. CITIZEN LORI BERENSON.