Friends,
Let me know if you want to sign on to the
letter to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. And let me know if you want to
get involved in the Campaign to End Maryland’s Involvement in the War on Yemen.
Kagiso, Max
Maryland
P.O. Box 27001, 1220 Race St., Baltimore, MD 21230-9998
January 13, 2020
Governor Larry
Hogan
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland
Dear Governor
Hogan:
We are
Maryland peace and justice advocates who are very concerned that the Trump
Administration, despite Congressional disapproval, is providing military
assistance to Saudi Arabia in the war against the people of Yemen. We would like a meeting this week with
Governor Hogan or knowledgeable staff to discuss the issue of weapons being
loaded onto a cargo ship expected in the port of Baltimore on Saturday, January
18 embarked for Saudi Arabia. What our government is doing to the people
of Yemen is beyond cruel.
To provide one
grisly example, on August 9, 2018, a Saudi Arabian plane bombed a civilian
school bus in Yemen. Most of the victims were children, and the estimate is that
the air strike killed 51 people. The bomb that attacked the school bus
was a 500-pound laser-guided Mk 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin.
After we determined
that a Saudi ship made regular visits to the Port of Baltimore to receive
weapons shipments, we contacted Michael W. Miller, Director of the Maryland
Port Administration, to ask him to help stop the loading of weapons on the
Saudi Arabian ship Bahri Yanbu, as these weapons will exacerbate
the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. We received a reply from Mr. Miller on
December 26:
“The Maryland
Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration does not have any
control over what cargoes are loaded onto ships at the Helen Delich Bentley
Port of Baltimore. Certain cargoes, such as the ones you
describe in your letter, may be part of government to government shipping
contracts or commercial contracts that do not involve the Port. All
cargo, including cargo that you cite in your letter, is cleared for import or
export to this country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
We are now
writing to you to seek your assistance, as we are not satisfied with Mr.
Miller’s response. We would like to arrange a meeting with you or a
knowledgeable aide.
We are seeking
answers to these questions:
1] What weapons are
being loaded on the ship?
2] Can we see a
bill of goods or manifest?
3] Which
corporations manufactured the weapons?
4] How often are
weapons loaded for Saudi Arabia at the Port?
4] Can you confirm
that the weapons shipments meet the legal standards as outlined by the Arms
Export Control Act?
6] Can we see a
copy of the export licenses for each shipment?
7] Would you be
willing to publicly oppose arms to Saudi Arabia from the Port of Baltimore?
We believe all of
us must take a stand against this immoral attack on the people of Yemen.
U.S. assistance includes the sale of U.S. weapons from corporations such as
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to Saudi Arabia. See the enclosed
Fact Sheets.
We are aware that
your father Lawrence Hogan, as a Republican member of the House of
Representatives from the fifth district of Maryland, was the only Republican
Representative to vote to recommend all three House articles of impeachment
against President Richard Nixon. This was a true Profile in
Courage. We are hoping you would speak out against U.S. involvement in
the Yemen War. The citizens of Maryland have no vital interest in the Mideast
regional hegemonic battles. But we do have a vital interest in obeying
international law and acting humanely toward everyone.
We look forward to
your response. By taking a stand against the killing and maiming of the
people of Yemen, the State of Maryland would be the standard-bearer to end U.S.
involvement in terrorizing the country of Yemen. A military solution with
the support of the Trump Administration is a non-starter. Only diplomacy
can bring about an end to the enormous suffering ongoing in Yemen.
(signed):
Jean Athey, Executive Director, Maryland Peace
Action, jlathey@comcast.net
Dr. Gwen DuBois, Chesapeake Physicians for Social
Responsibility
Lucy Duff, Prince Georges County Peace &
Justice Coalition
Dat Duthinh, Prevent Nuclear War Maryland
Ellen Barfield and Robert Prokop, Veterans For
Peace, Baltimore Phil Berrigan Chapter
Michael Keller, Anne Arundel County Peace Action
Tony Langbehn, Maryland United for Peace &
Justice
Max Obuszewski and Janice Sevre-Duszynska,
Baltimore Nonviolence Center
Richard Ochs, Baltimore Peace Action, rjochs@comcast.net
443-846-6638
Enclosures:
Fact Sheet on War Crimes Law
Fact Sheet on Yemen’s suffering
Fact Sheet on US Weapons exports to Saudi Arabia
War Crimes Law
Francis Boyle, a professor of international law
at Illinois University said: “Then again, we are talking about war crimes and
crimes against humanity and torture, which is quite serious, perhaps far more
serious constitutionally and legally than, you know, domestic violations.” *
Trump’s “administration has backed the Saudi-led
coalition in Yemen’s brutal war, and the U.N. has said the U.S., Britain and
France may be complicit with war crimes committed against civilians there.”
Boyle argues that acts considered war crimes
under international law easily translate to impeachable offenses under the U.S.
Constitution.
“Legally — and, I think, constitutionally — there
is no difference, because most rules of international law we are talking about
here have been incorporated into United States domestic law,” such as the
Geneva and Hague Conventions of the 20th century, Boyle said. “These are
treaties that have received the advice and consent of the United States Senate
and were incorporated into U.S. law.”
Richard Ochs, Convener of Baltimore Peace Action,
stated: “The Constitution states that treaties are ‘the highest law of
the land’ and thereby supersede commercial contracts & licenses.”
Francis A. Boyle, Law Building, 504 E.
Pennsylvania Ave., Champaign IL 61820 USA, 217-333-7954 (phone)
Yemen's Suffering
Lisa Grande, the UN’s Coordinator for Yemen,
recently warned that 13 million people in Yemen are facing starvation. Yemen is
on the brink of the world’s worst famine in 100 years (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-45857729/yemen-could-be-worst-famine-in-100-years)
More than 20 million people, including 11 million
children, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Over a million people
have been infected with cholera and eleven times that number are on the brink
of famine. 500,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Children are losing their lives because they are malnourished and don't have
the ability to fight off even a cold - thousands of children have already died
in Yemen from preventable diseases and starvation.
For these reasons, the UN has called it "the
world's worst humanitarian disaster". And now, a military coalition
led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has put Yemen’s aid
lifeline port city of Hudaydah under attack. 90% of all humanitarian aid and
commercial food and fuel supplies pass through this port.
Airstrikes have targeted civilian infrastructure,
including hospitals, farms, schools, water works, markets and the main northern
port of Hodeida. They complement a Saudi-led naval and air blockade of
rebel-controlled areas that has caused shortages of many essential items,
including food, fuel and medical supplies. The UN has identified the Saudi-led
coalition as responsible for the majority of civilian deaths and injuries
during the conflict. In August 2018 a Saudi airstrike obliterated a bus
carrying schoolboys on a field trip in northern Yemen, leaving 40 children and
11 adults dead.
The war has resulted in the displacement of over
two million people. The Saudis have dropped cluster bombs (banned under
International Law) which have killed innocent civilians and Houthi rebels have
fired missiles indiscriminately into Saudi territory. According to the UN
Security Council Yemen Panel of Experts air strikes by Saudi Arabia have caused
most direct civilian casualties and have violated international law and may
amount to war crimes. The airstrikes have hit residential areas, markets,
funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats and medical
facilities.
U.S. Weapons Exports to Saudi Arabia
Over $6 Billion in arms deliveries from U.S. to
Saudi Arabia in 2017:
US-Saudi Arabia seal weapons deal worth nearly
$110 billion immediately, $350 billion over 10 years
According to the Security Assistance Monitor, the
Trump administration requested Congress to approve at least $759
million in firearms sales to a total of 15 countries in 2018, more than
two thirds of which was for Saudi Arabia (by value), and at least $662
million in 2017 to a total of 19 countries through the congressional
notification process--a process that will no longer be followed for those items
transferred to Commerce control.
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