Baltimore activists join with others on Indictment Day

Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski at verizon.net

 

PRESS RELEASE-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   November 8, 2008

Contact: Max Obuszewski [410] 366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net

 

BALTIMORE ACTIVISTS JOIN NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE TO SEEK MEETING TO CALL FOR INDICTMENT OF BUSH & CHENEY

WHO: The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore was formed for individuals willing to engage in nonviolent civil resistance to first prevent and later to protest the war in Iraq. It is affiliated with several national peace groups, including the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR] and United For Peace & Justice. 

In September, members of NCNR sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, asking to meet with him to discuss the indictment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney: “At the meeting we would hope to discuss several examples of what we perceive to be illegal behavior on the part of the Bush administration.  For example, the administration made false claims about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in order to build a public case for war.  This manipulation of pre-war intelligence included a claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction which could threaten the United States.  Intelligence was also manufactured to claim a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.”  A copy of the letter is available upon request.

 

WHAT:  Unfortunately, Attorney General Mukasey has not responded to the letter.  There was no response despite follow-up phone calls by NCNR representatives.  So members of the Baltimore Pledge will join with the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Declaration of Peace and concerned citizens to make another effort to secure a meeting with the attorney general or his representative.  There is an urgency to this matter, so the activists and their supporters will make a final plea for justice.

 

WHEN:  Indictment Day, Monday, November 10, 2008 at noon

 

WHERE: at the Constitution Avenue entrance of the Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, WDC 20530

 

WHY:  The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance has long challenged the Bush administration and members of Congress for supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the shredding of the Bill of Rights, torture and the lack of due process for detainees.  NCNR members and their supporters are strong believers in the concept of equal justice for all.  There is no reason not to consider the indictment of Bush and Cheney, considering the toll caused by the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq—the death of 4,200 U.S. soldiers and possibly one million Iraqis, the countless number of wounded soldiers and civilians and the utter devastation of a country.

 

In April 2008, Barack Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new attorney general to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted.  It is the responsibility of citizens to make sure this happens.

 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, appointed by President Truman to be the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunals following World War II, stated, "let me make clear that while this law is first applied against German aggressors, the law includes, and if it is to serve a useful purpose it must condemn aggression by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment."

 

This attempt to meet with the attorney general of the United States is being undertaken by concerned citizens, as the legislators are not taking action.  On Indictment Day citizen activists will attempt to speak truth to power.  The people will not be silent and will call out for justice to be served.

 

As stated in the letter to Mukasey, “Also there is a well-established law in our jurisprudence which places an affirmative duty on all of us to expose any treasonous or criminal act which comes to our attention. Failure to do so is defined as ‘misprision.’ As good citizens, we are writing to you out of duty, knowing that if felonies have been committed we are to inform a magistrate. Silently to observe the commission of a felony, without using any endeavors to apprehend the offender, is a misprision.”

 

So on Indictment Day, citizen activists will follow a long tradition of taking action in order to uphold the rule of law.   Where better to gather to call for the indictment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney than the Department of Justice?

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs

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