[pjw] INFO: Veterans For Peace: Rally for Peace on Sunday March 6, 12 noon

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hi
This information came this morning via Veterans For Peace Chap. 72 here in 
Portland. Below the very brief announcement is their national statement 
about Russia/Ukraine.
dan handelman
peace and justice works

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <vfpchapter72>
Date: Sun, Feb 27, 2022 at 11:49 AM
Subject: [vfpchapter72] ANNOUNCEMENT: Rally for Peace on Sunday March 6

Basic info:

*Veterans For Peace, Chapter 72, calls members and allies to speak up for
peace:*

*Sunday, March 6, noon at Pioneer SquareNo War in Ukraine/Negotiations Now*
Action is part of International Day of Action for Peace

Veterans For Peace national statement on the war in Ukraine:
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2022/02/24/diplomacy-not-war

Please share this widely.


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Veterans For Peace Encourages Diplomacy Not War
    February 24, 2022

    Veterans For Peace condemns the invasion of Ukraine.  Our mission
    remains the same.  We are committed to a sustainable and just peace.
    As veterans we know increased violence only fuels extremism.  We have
    watched, and in some cases been firsthand witnesses to how the people
    of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc. have had their
    countries and lives destroyed by U.S. and Russian military involvement.

    For the United States and Russia, the only sane course of action now is
    a commitment to genuine diplomacy with serious negotiations - without
    which, conflict could easily spiral out of control to the point of
    further pushing the world toward nuclear war.  Genuine diplomacy is a
    commitment to compromise and maintaining open lines of communication.

    We reject punitive sanctions that harshen the lives of people across
    the region.  The sanctions that Biden is proposing are not tools of
    diplomacy, nor are they nonviolent methods of foreign policy; they do
    NOT target those responsible for war, but affect vulnerable civilian
    populations by limiting access to basic necessities.

    The U.S. has a responsibility to pursue genuine diplomacy to push for
    an immediate ceasefire and to apply pressure on other nations to do the
    same.

    Veterans For Peace recognizes that this current crisis did not just
    happen in the last few days, but represents decades of policy decisions
    and government actions that have only contributed to the building of
    antagonisms and aggressions between countries.  We must respond to this
    current crisis, and continue our focus on addressing the causes of war;
    by redirecting the military budget towards human needs, pushing for the
    global abolition of nuclear weapons and eliminating the ability of
    corporations to profit from war.


What can you do?

      * Hit the streets in your local community to call for GENUINE
        diplomacy.
        As evidenced by protests across the globe, we know that the vast
        majority of the global community does not want war.  We know that
        war will have disastrous consequences for the people of Ukraine and
        throughout the region.  Many people across the country, Europe and
        Russia are taking action the week of March 1-7th.  Join an action
        or plan one of your own.

      * Read and distribute our Nuclear Posture Review.
        This most recent crisis illustrates it is more important than ever
        to implement measures that would reduce the risk of nuclear war,
        such as implementing policies for No First Use and taking nuclear
        weapons off hair-trigger alert.  Join the Veterans For Peace
        Nuclear Abolition working group as they see to apply pressure ahead
        of Biden's release of the administrations own Nuclear Posture
        Review.