The blog and homepage of Madison Women for Peace: A Code Pink affiliate
Anti-Violence, Anti-Sexist Art Opening & Spoken Word Open Mic.
This is part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Int'l Campaign. All spoken word artists & enthusiasts are invited! Art will be on display from 12/7 - 12/13.
Co-sponsored by Women for Peace and Men Against Violence. Info? #268-6271 | Read more about the event
Just when it looked like the regular meeting schedule would reappear, we have a change -- no meeting on Labor Day, September 3rd. But we're cooking up an event or two for Sixteen Days (against gender violence) November 25 -- December 10. More details to come.
Our regular meeting schedule is here again. We meet this Monday, Aug. 20, 2007, 6:30 pm, Social Justice Center, 1202 Williamson St. Madison. E-mail Madowmen at Merr.com (but close the spaces and use the @ instead of the word) if you have questions.
Our regularly-scheduled Monday Aug. 6 meeting will be at Shelly's house at 6:30 pm. This is a combination social and business meeting. If you are on our list you received a message from Shelly with the address. If you need the address please contact madwomen "at" (change that to @) merr.com. There are no spaces in that address.
Our July meeting is moved to Tuesday, July 16, 6:30 PM, at Mother Fools, 1101 Williamson St. Women For Peace, please come to the meeting. No meeting on Monday this month.
Please contact your members of Congress, asking them to go on record in support of Malalai Joya's reinstatement in Afghanistan's parliament (as called for by Human Rights Watch and others). In other tragic news, another brave Afghan woman who criticized the country's warlords and drug lords, Peace Radio's Zakia Zaki, has been killed.On June 6, 2007, police in Herat province in West of Afghanistan stopped hundreds of Joya supporters to stage their peaceful protest demonstration in the center of the city.
Malalai Joya's supporters had planned a demonstration in front of Sports Stadium in center of Herat city in protest to Malalai Joya's suspension. Despite the fact that they had been permitted by the related authorities a day back, before the people gathered in the mentioned area all the routes leading there were blocked by tens of armed police to prevent the demonstration. ...
The organizers of this demonstration claimed that they had also been threatened several times by unknown people to refrain from this protest and a number of warlord authorities are responsible for intervention in this peaceful movement in support of Malalai Joya. ...
It is worth mentioning that earlier a similar protest of Malalai Joya's supporters in Kunar province was stopped by the head of security of that province.
Madison Women for Peace was honored to host Afghan parliamentarian and women's rights activist Malalai Joya in March 2006, as part of our International Women's Day celebration (organized with the WI Coordinating Council on Nicaragua; see our photos section for pics from the event).
In the past few weeks, after Malalai Joya's return from a successful international tour and interview with a local TV station in Kabul, the warlords and criminals in the Afghan Parliament and Senate, tried hard to silence Joya and kick her out of the Parliament.
They have used one of her recent comments during an interview as a justification for their move. In the interview, she expressed that the Afghan Parliament is worse than an animal stable whose many members are the murderers and enemies of Afghan people.
On May 21, 2007, with a gross majority, the Parliament dominated by warlords and drug-lords suspended Joya for three years and ordered the High Court to file a case against her. They also directed the Interior Ministry to restrict her movements to within the country. This means she is not allowed to travel outside Afghanistan.
In a press conference in Kabul, Joya announced that it is a political conspiracy against her and she will continue her fight against the warlords and enemies of Afghan people. She is ready to face an independent court and will use the opportunity to expose the enemies of Afghan people through it. Joya added, "but I am very sorry that there is no justice in Afghanistan and the judiciary is also infected with the virus of warlordism and the fundamentalists occupy it."
Some Afghan lawyers that we approached believe that the Parliament's decision is illegal and only a court can decide to oust an elected representative of people from the parliament.
But we are happy that majority of ordinary Afghan people strongly support Joya and she is receiving many phone calls, letters and emails full of sympathies and solidarity following the parliament decision.
WE URGE all her supporters and well-wishers to come forward and help Joya now.
YOU CAN do so in the following ways:
* Write to Afghan officials and file your protest for expelling and prosecuting Joya, while the terrorists and human rights violators in the parliament were provided immunity before any court for their past crimes last month.
* Express your concern for Joya's security during the court sessions as the fundamentalists currently hold key positions in Afghanistan's judiciary.
* Circulate this letter and ask lawyers and defenders of human rights in your area and country to come forward and help Joya during her court proceedings and defend her.
* Donate to Joya's security fund online at https://www.malalaijoya.com/donor/donor_info.php to help improve her security with necessary equipment and facilities, while she is now deprived of all official facilities.
Letters of protest can be sent to the following sources:
President Hamid Karzai
eq.ahmad@gmail.com
president@afghanistangov.org
Supreme Court of Afghanistan
aquddus@supremecourt.gov.af
Feedback Form of the Supreme Court
Afghanistan's Parliament
hasib-n786@yahoo.com
Interior Ministry
moinews@gmail.com
wahed.moi@gmail.com
Justice Ministry of Afghanistan
info@moj.gov.af
hidayatr@moj.gov.af
We thank you for your prompt action and support and hope you will forward a copy of your letters to mj@malalaijoya.com.
For more information, visit www.malalaijoya.com.
We said in the November elections, "Get our troops out of Iraq!" Did Congress listen? No! They've spent four months talking about spending $100 billion MORE for MORE troops. ...
Under the United Nations Charter and the U.S. Constitution, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are illegal. They're wars of aggression. Rep. Conyers introduced his House resolution to impeach Mr. Bush in December 2005. Thirty-six House members signed on. The Republicans buried the bill.
Then came November, we voters gave Democrats Congressional control and what does Speaker Pelosi say? "Impeachment is off the table because Democrats will be too busy doing the public's business."
Huh? Ms. Pelosi, impeachment to protect and defend the Constitution is the MOST important public business!
Rep. Kucinich now has introduced his House resolution to impeach Mr. Cheney. Are House members rushing to cosponsor? No, House members are taking orders from Pelosi.
State Rep. Frank Boyle has introduced his Assembly joint resolution to impeach Mr. Bush. No rush by Assembly members to cosign either. That's a federal issue, they rationalize.
Thousands of WI National Guard and Reserve members have been called up to serve in illegal wars and it is not a WI issue? When tornadoes next rip through WI, we will not be able to properly react because the Guard members and equipment are in Iraq. Our governor remains silent on allowing WI citizens to be called to serve in illegal wars. And this is not a WI issue?
The solution is simple: Impeach Bush and Cheney for massive high crimes - illegal wars, illegal torture and illegal wiretapping of Americans. Impeach and remove the crooks from office because the wars are illegal and our troops will be brought home. Why? Because the next president will NOT be dumb enough to say, "Well the first thing I must do is continue the Iraq war."
Madison Women for Peace meets the first and third Mondays of each month, at 6:30 pm
See the Events page for meeting dates and location
