Iraq Campaign of Conscience ------------- ------------- Iraq Activists Resources on the World Wide Web National Organizations with an Iraq focus
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Campaign of Conscience Chronology of Events
January 2003 A Congressional turn-in is scheduled for January 21. During the event, the 14 sponsoring organizations submit some 50,000 signatures collected from the Iraq Peace Pledge to the Congressional offices in Washington DC. During the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. many demonstrations, rallies and vigils take place nationwide to protest the Administration’s policies toward Iraq. January 10 - 13, 2003 The Fellowship of Reconciliation hosts a landmark gathering for three dozen activists from across the United States in an information sharing/anti-war event. The gathering, entitled "Courage Not War," consists of an exchange of strategy, ideas and resources to empower the activists to return to their communities as renewed practitioners in the peace and justice movement. Participants include people from across the United States, representing many ages, levels of experience, faith traditions, and backgrounds. October 2003 In an effort to promote the CoC and the Iraq Peace Pledge, the FOR starts its campus tours. Over the course of the next 2 months, over 30 presentations are given on various campuses and faith-based organizations in NY, FL, IN, IL, IA and CT. The Tours featured Hossein Alizadeh, a Muslim from Iran who is currently the FOR’s coordinator for CoC and Noa Simone, an Israeli Conscientious objector who works as FOR’s intern for CoC. December 2001 After receiving the endorsement of over 2000 individuals and 150 faith communities and organizations nationwide, the CoC enters into its third Phase. Phase III of the Campaign introduces a new initiative to stop the spread of US war in Afghanistan to Iraq. The effort, known as the “Peace Pledge Campaign ” is soon joined by many peace organizations nationwide and turns into a significant national movement against the pending war in Iraq. December 11, 2000 The water purifying units are now being installed for use in hospitals, orphanages, and nursing homes in Baghdad, Mosul, and Nasiriyeh. 2-4 October 2000 A delegation from the Campaign of Conscience meets with officials from the US Government and United Nations in New York and Washington DC. In Washington DC, copies are delivered to Maureen Shea, the Special Assistant to the President who promised to deliver them to President Clinton and acknowledged the faith component of the Campaign. Representative Dennis Kucinich graciously accepts the endorsement volumes and reiterates his pledge to end the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
Steve Beecroft at the Iraq desk of the State Department assures us the endorsement forms would be delivered to Madeleine Albright.
In New York, a copy is delivered to Harry Verweij, First Secretary of the Dutch Mission to the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sanctions Committee (661). The endorsement forms, which together weigh 15 pounds, represent 1,100 individuals from across the U.S., 32 Friends Meetings from Maine to Albuquerque and 30 national and local organizations are bound in three binders.
3 October 2000 Four gas chlorinators are purchased and sent to the Islamic Relief Association in Amman for transit into Iraq without a still pending license from the Treasury Department. A year's supply of chlorine gas accompanies each chlorinator; together they can provide a million gallons of clean water a day. The four tentative sites are: Rachad Hospital, Baghdad (will also serve a nearby orphanage, jail, and home for the aged); Medical City, Baghdad; Mosul; Nasiriyeh. The Campaign of Conscience is working with the Mennonite Central Committee staff in Iraq and the Jordanian staff of the Islamic Relief Agency of Amman, Jordan who have assured us that they will receive the gas chlorinators and oversee their installation in the selected institutions in Iraq. By supporting the shipment of water purifiers to Iraq, more than 1200 people, 43 Quaker Meetings, and 32 organizations risk spending 12 years in prison and/or being fined up to $1 million. The Campaign participants' willingness to incur risks demonstrates their compassion for the people of Iraq and demand for US policymakers to end the decade of sanctions.
5-7 August 2000 The National Mobilization to End the Sanctions against Iraq holds its first annual gathering. More than 90 organizations endorse the three day event that features workshops, a large rally in Lafayette Park, and a direct action in front of the White House.
At the Sunday rally, Presidential candidate Ralph Nader calls for the immediate lifting of economic sanctions. Folksinger Pete Seeger leads the crowd in classic anti-war songs. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), one of the strongest voices in Congress calling for the lifting of sanctions, alerts present and future administration officials to the growing opposition to sanctions among members of Congress. Reverend James Lawson evokes the spirit of the African American civil rights movement and its tradition of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.
On Monday morning, several thousand people rally in Lafayette Park and then march to the Treasury Department Annex with scrolls listing the names of all CoC participants. On the steps of the Treasury Annex, AFSC Washington, DC, staff Jim Matlack holds up a chlorinator to be sent to Iraq.
The group then proceeds to the White House where more than 104 people were arrested, including John Dear, Janet Chisholm, Jim Lawson and Scott Kennedy.
3 July 2000 As part of the 40-day People's Campaign for Nonviolence, in Washington DC, the Campaign of Conscience selects the first day as a day of action. A rally in Lafayette Park includes Don Reeves, Interim General Secretary AFSC; John Dear, Executive Director Fellowship of Reconciliation; Mairead Corrigan Macquire, 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate; and Reverend Jim Lawson. Also featured is a direct action in front of the White House with Jim Lawson and John Dear arrested. 6 June 2000 The CoC applies for a license from the Treasury Department to send specialized equipment for water purification. The equipment is four gas chlorinators (from the US) and a year’s supply of chlorine gas that will be purchased in Amman Jordan for each of the sites. 4 April 2000 A series of meetings are scheduled in Washington, D.C. to announce the selection of the campaign item. Representatives from an FOR religious peace fellowships delegation that have just returned from Iraq meet with Congressional Representatives David Bonior, Lynne Rivers, Barbara Lee and John Conyers. The representatives appeal for our assistance in pressuring more elected officials to speak out against the continued use of economic sanctions. The representatives from the State Department affirm their commitment to the Oil-for-Food program and re-iterate the pledge that the Government of Iraq would never have direct access to their oil resources under the current leadership. 20 March 2000 Gas chlorinators and chlorine gas are selected as the humanitarian items for the Campaign. The use of chlorination is an essential and standard part of water purification all over the world. Chlorine is unique in leaving a 'residue' or purifying agent still in the water when its reaches it final destination. It insures that any microbes that might be introduced through dirty, broken, or leaky pipes will still be killed by the chlorine. In Iraq, the water system pipes were badly damaged during the Gulf War causing low pressure due to exfiltration and infiltration. 10 December 1999 The Campaign of Conscience is launched as an effort to lift the economic sanctions against Iraq.
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James
Matlack, Director of the American Friends Service
Committee, Washington, DC Office, holds aloft one of four
Hydro Series 500 Gas Chlorinators, which have been purchased
by the Campaign of Conscience for shipment to Iraq. This
chlorinator is capable of purifying one million gallons
of water a day, roughly enough to fill the Washington
Monument three times. Chlorinators have previously been
blocked from shipment to Iraq. The Treasury Department
has failed to issue a license, despite an application
submitted six weeks previously.