Archive for the ‘Activism’ Category
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Jun
16
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The Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi talks to David Batty about the regime’s abuse of its population - and how the west needs to abandon the threat of war if it wants to win over Iran’s people and bring change
David Batty
guardian.co.uk, Friday June 13 2008
Shirin Ebadi at a media forum in Germany this month. Photograph: Felix Heyder/EPA
The Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi is not a woman easily stopped in her tracks - she has been held in jail and faced repeated death threats, but continues to speak out against the abuses of the theocratic regime. On the doorstep of the BBC’s Bush House in central London, though, an American tourist waves the Nobel peace laureate and her entourage aside, complaining loudly: “Do you mind? We’re trying to take a picture!”
It serves, perhaps, as a reminder for Ebadi - who has spent the day being treated like a VIP by the BBC World Service - of the challenge she faces in attracting western interest to her cause.
With the international community fixated on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Ebadi says there is dwindling scrutiny of human rights in her homeland, and the hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has taken advantage of this to increase repression.
“Since the world started focusing on the nuclear programme, the human rights situation in Iran has worsened every day,” says Ebadi, who won the Nobel prize in 2003.
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Jun
14
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Attention PeaceWithIran.com users,
Sister Ellen Francis from the Episcopal Order of St. Helena’s Convent in Augusta, Georgia has officially begun a weekly “fast for peace” in regards to Iran and the United States and Israel. Sister Ellen Francis is an American who has traveled the world for peace and human rights activism for many years. She had the privilege of living in Iran for ten years and since then has made many more trips there for civilian diplomatic reasons. I had the honor of going on one such trip with Sister Ellen Francis in March of this year. As one can read from my own personal blogs about the trip, it was a once in a lifetime experience that I will not soon forget. Not only did I gain tremendously as a person from the trip culturally, I believe we made amazing progress as a group in our collected goal of fostering more peace and harmony between the people of the United States and Iran.
As one can clearly see from this website and so many others, there are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who are taking pro-active steps of action to not only assure that a few ignorant people who happen to currently work for us (think “government employees”) don’t needlessly attack the people of Iran militarily, but are also working to actually create and foster more peace and harmony between our two countries - which is at the end of the day what everyone says they want. Right?
Even the worst of them, the absolute most treacherous, murderous, and caniving monsters in the world today - (think Bush Jr. and Sr., Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Libby, Limbaugh, Rove, the Clintons, many of the current “Ayatollahs” serving in the government of Iran, et al. - for more detailed information on the history of some of these heinous names, start your research by studying the Project for a New American Century here), claim that they are “working towards peace.” The problem is that it is hard sometimes to see the logic of a few people’s methods - such as bombing other countries as just one example or sponsoring terrorist acts as another. But at the very least we can agree that “peace and harmony between our countries” is what everyone “claims” to want.
Sometimes it is more obvious when someone’s actions are more aligned with “working towards peace.” The work of groups such as The ANSWER Coalition or UFPJ or Amnesty International or Star’s Edge are all good examples of this. They actually walk the talk. Many more organizations exist and can be found on the TuneInTurnOnHelpOut.org website. Many examples can be found in groups that are even smaller all over the world… sometimes just the actions of ONE.
One such example comes in the form of a beautiful person by the name of Sister Ellen Francis who has begun a weekly “fast for peace with Iran campaign.” I am inspired, moved, and challenged by Sister Ellen Francis’ bold commitment. More information can be found on her own personal blog and in the letter she sent in this week re-printed below. If you want to join her please feel free to visit her blog and email her. And let us know here at PeaceWithIran.com if you also plan on participating.
As always, keep those articles, blog posts, lecture and event notices, activism updates, and other interesting items pouring in - and most importantly keep up the real world actions for peace. Everyday. Do something.
Sincerely,
The Raconteur
Dear Ed,
I’ve started the fast, and am feeling really good. I’ve posted a notice on my blog (ellenfrancis.blogspot.com), and also some advice about fasting. I think that the prayer is the most important part, and that people could join in just doing that, or fasting from one type of food, or partial fasting for part of the time. Maybe on another day, too — Wednesday is the best day for me since it’s our “day off” here in this convent.
Just think of all the people in the world for whom fasting isn’t an option but a WAY OF LIFE.
Isn’t it great that The Call Iran Project in Washington went so well? Carah Ong posted a notice about it on the Fellowship Of Reconciliation Iran listserve.
So let me know if you’d like to join in some way, and I’d be really happy for the publicity through the PeaceWithIran website. The more the merrier, and the more powerful we will be! I’m going to write an article for the Episcopal Peace Fellowship newsletter and maybe for our newsletter too. A few people have left comments on my blog.
Yours in Peace,
Sister Ellen Francis
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Jun
11
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We did it! We talked to Iran and our hotlines had no preconditions!
On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI) and the Enough Fear Campaign organized an innovative “Time to Talk with Iran” event and press conference on the Terrace of the West Side of the Cannon House Office Building. With the U.S. Capitol backdrop, Representatives Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, Ron Paul, Marcy Kaptur, and Sheila Jackson-Lee joined the campaign in a press conference and spoke in support of direct, bilateral and comprehensive talks without preconditions between the governments of the United States and Iran. The members of Congress were then invited to join Campaign members, foreign policy experts and American citizens in using a row of 60’s-era red “hotline” telephones to talk directly to ordinary Iranians, including a 60-year-old petroleum engineer, a software engineer, a French Literature professor and high school student. Click here to watch a video summary of the event by The Real News Network.
The “Time to Talk with Iran” event was an exercise in civilian diplomacy. It 
allowed Americans and Iranians to speak directly and get to know one another. There were more than 50 conversations between Americans and Iranians during the event. Most of the conversations focused on general personal questions and addressed how Iranians feel about Americans and how Americans feel about Iranians. The general sense was that despite the rhetoric between the governments of both countries, Americans and Iranians can and should be friends. Perhaps most significantly demonstrating this point, a number of people exchanged email addresses to continue the conversations. Politics mostly came up in the conversations between members of Congress and the Iranians. There was great emphasis on the need to get dialogue going and wanting better relations.
Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran organized the “Time to Talk with Iran” event because we believe that a military confrontation between the United States and Iran would have enormous human and financial costs. It would also plunge the Middle East, and global economy, into further violence and chaos. The Campaign advocates direct, sustained, and comprehensive talks without preconditions between the governments of the United States and Iran as a realistic way to resolving the long-standing conflicts between the two countries.
Concurrently on June 10, CNAPI organized a nationwide Call-in to Congress for Diplomacy with Iran for organizations with grassroots constituencies. Nearly 5,000 calls from across the country were made using the 1-800 number set up by the Campaign to Congressional representatives in the House and Senate urging direct diplomacy not war with Iran.
The Campaign thanks all of the organizations that participated for their tremendous work to make this event a reality. We also thank the thousands of people who took the time to call their Representative and Senators and urge direct dialogue with Iran. Thank you all so much!
Click here to read the full summary of the “Time to Talk with Iran” event and access the online photo album.
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Jun
09
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Tuesday, June 10—Call-in to Congress for Diplomacy with Iran
This is a national action organized by the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (www.newiranpolicy.org). Communicating with our representatives is an essential component of our representative democracy! Remember: of the people, by the people, for the people!
*When you call, ask for the aide who handles international affairs or foreign policy. Tell them you’re calling to encourage the Senator or Representative to: (1) Work for direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks between the U.S. and Iran; (2) Remind them that the U.S. and Iran share common interests in a stable Iraq, Middle East and Afghanistan. (3) And emphasize that just as the U.S. pursued negotiations with North Korea and Libya it’s now time to talk with Iran.
Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121 (Also, this toll free number is mentioned in publicity for the event: 800- 788-9372).
