Ecological Wisdom * Social Justice * Grassroots Democracy * Non-Violence
>> Green Party of Michigan <<
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>>> News Release <<<
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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March 18, 2003
For More Information Contact:
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Marc Reichardt -- Party Chair/Treasurer, GPMI
phone: 734-668-9628
e-mail: press@migreens.org
GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGAN REFUSES PRESIDENT'S 'CALL TO WAR'
As President George W. Bush laid down his ultimatum to
Saddam Hussein and his sons, Green Party of Michigan members
throughout the state made plans to continue their protests.
The Green Party is the only political party in the United
States that has publicly opposed the proposed war, and the Green
presence has been increasingly felt in statewide protests from
Detroit to Traverse City in recent weeks.
The Green Party of Michigan condemns George Bush's illegal
war of aggression against the sovereign state of Iraq in the
strongest possible terms. His unilateral action violates both
his oath to defend the Constitution -- which clearly reserves to
the Congress the right to declare war -- and international law:
the Charter of the United Nations, which bans civilized nations
from engaging in unprovoked war, and the Nuremberg Treaty, which
lays out severe penalties for the war criminals who begin them.
"There is neither justification for war nor the reckless
attitude of the current administration," stated GPMI chair, Marc
Reichardt. "No administration in living memory has so quickly
taken the good graces of the majority of the world and turned
them against the United States in so uniform a fashion,
threatening our security and that of every person on Earth."
"The Bush administration has used the presumed threat of
terrorism to threaten individuals and nations, eviscerate our
Constitution, and sow its own form of terror in the minds of
everyone", Reichardt continued, adding that the Green Party is
considering joining the impeachment effort being proffered by
several citizens' organizations.
"We do not support the tyrant in Iraq, but that does not
exclude the possibility of peaceful negotiations to resolve our
differences", said Randym Jones, a Green from Ypsilanti. "All of
our elected representatives should be asking themselves a
Bush-like question: Are you with us, international law, and the
Constitution - or against us?"
"At this point, the Greens are the opposition party", Jones
continued, "as most Democratic leaders have shown no indication
that they wish to slow down the president's rush to war. We will
gladly take up the mantle of being the voice of the majority of
the US citizenry who want nothing to do with this attack on
defenseless people."
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Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
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The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. There are Greens organized in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
Other Contacts:
Green Party of Michigan
548 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555
info@migreens.org
page last modified 8 May 2003