1. What
Country in the Middle East refuses to confirm or deny that it has a nuclear
weapons program and refuses to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty?
2. What
country agreed to be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Association
(IAEA) and has repeatedly opened its country to IAEA inspectors?
Israel. Iran.
These are the answers to World Can’t Waits’ quiz, Iran Who is the Real Threat? World Can’t Wait joined Protest Chaplains of
Chicago and five other area faith and peace and justice groups to talk about
Iran----its history of resistance and its long history of US interventions. Many of these groups have been sending
delegations for years like the Fellowship of Reconciliation or Voices for
Creative Nonviolence while others like the American Friends Service Committee
and the Friends Committee on National Legislation are leading voices against
sanctions and the danger of doing to Iran what we did to Iraq. The Buddhist
Peace Fellowship reminded us also how peacemaking is part of their tradition
and how easily we can be misled by misrepresentations of reality.
40 or so people gathered on September 20th, the
eve of International Day for Peace, in the sanctuary of Wellington United
Church of Christ to learn and talk about Iran.
Local Iranian and anti-war activist Saman Sepheri was our guide and
discussion leader.
The evening began with a welcome from Rev. Dan Dale from
Wellington which included a reminder that Wellington UCC is a JustPeace Church
and that the United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its 27th
General Synod in 2009 to learn more about Iran. He also reminded folks that
Christian churches and faith-based organizations had signed a letter this
spring against Senate Resolution 380, a resolution that paves the way for an
attack on Iran.
Holding this holy conversation about a country’s right to
self determination with the backdrop of protestors covered in blood and the
broken mirror cross behind it was the perfect setting.
We began our time together with a ringing of the peace bowl,
a crystal singing bowl and then a minute of silence in honor of International
Peace Day. The sound and the silence
filled the space as we centered on our prayers for peace and the gifts and
commitments we bring.
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| CodePink in Iran |
Saman’s presentation was broken into three parts so we could
stop and take questions. We wanted to have enough time throughout for questions
and comments.
It is too difficult for me to summarize all the issues we
covered or the depth of where we went but a few things stand out. “Self determination”and “No meddling” are
two. Saman was insistent that we understand the right of the Iranian people to
determine their country’s government and future without the “meddling” from
others, in particular the U.S. Thus, he was adamantly against sanctions and any
other actions that would interfere with Iranians dealing with their own issues.
He also called on us, fellow anti-war activists, to support
those Iranians who are working at the grassroots level like Havaar and the
feminist collective RAHA. In fact he
began his talk by reading from a recent letter from these two groups who have
come under recent attack lately by others in the antiwar movement.
One of the things that also stood out for me was Saman’s
passionate opposition to sanctions. He was adamant that the sanctions were doing what they were intended to
do, squash the people’s movement as the country scrambles to take care of basic
necessities instead of engaging in public debate about the political direction
of the country. The sanctions also play into the hands of the government, he
said, in providing it an excuse for its repressive policies. He made a sharp
distinction for those of us who had supported sanctions against South Africa
and now the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel’s
policies. The main difference is who has
asked for these sanctions. It was the South African people and now the
Palestinians, those who were or are suffering, who asked for these
sanctions. The Iranian people did not
ask for sanctions.
With regards to the question of enriched uranium, the
ingredient needed for making nuclear weapons and the chief reason given for a possible
attack, he pointed to the facts in the IAEA report and the fact that Israel and
US are the major nuclear powers in the world with the US being the only country
to actually have dropped a nuclear bomb on another country and Israel being the
country in the Middle East that has not signed the Nuclear Proliferation
Treaty. He challenged us then, US citizens, to do our own house cleaning,
before pointing the finger at others.
We did not talk much about a possible war with Israel or the US and what to do if or when. I would like to suggest those of you reading this blog to go to the resource listed below here to find out what kinds of actions you can take at this time.
Peace Action Pledge http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/161/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9208
Tell Meet the Press that it has an obligation to
challenge the false statements of Israeli leaders it invites on its program.http://www.iranfact.org/tell-mtp-challenge-false-information-on-iran/
Sign the Iran Pledge of Resistance! This is not a petition, but a
pledge to take action.
“If the United States applies increased sanctions,
invades, bombs, sends combat troops or drones, or otherwise significantly
escalates its intervention in Iran or the region directly or through support of
its allies, I pledge to join with others to engage in acts of legal protest
and/or nonviolent civil disobedience to prevent or halt the death and
destruction which U.S. military actions would cause to the people of Iran, the
Middle East, our communities at home, and the planet itself. http://www.iranpledg.org/
Don’t Iraq Iran petition at http://www.RootsAction.org/
Code Pink Women Say No to War with Iran
International Day of Peace signals the beginning of the General Assembly where President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be present. Obama has increased crippling sanctions against Iran and still threatens the possibility of a military strike. Netanyahu has raised his war-mongering to a fever pitch in recent weeks. Havaar points out that "Netanyahu, Obama, and Ahmadinejad may have different and often conflicting agendas, but these leaders and their governments are all threats to Iranians and to peace in the region." It is important then for all of us who are anti-war or pro solidarity to join them and others in their call for an end to these threats to peace including ending the sanctions and saying NO to war.
If Israel or the US does strike or go to war with Iran,
Protest Chaplains of Chicago will be part of the antiwar or resistance movement
here for sure. Please join us if you are in Chicago or visit us on our facebook
page www.facebook.com/protestchaplainschicago/ to learn more about what we are doing and thinking. If you would like to join us, we meet the third Wednesday of the month at Wellington United Church of Christ.
To learn more about Havaar go to http://havaar.org/
To learn more about the World Can’t Wait and its campaign
against a war with Iran go to http://worldcantwait.net/
For discussion about the IAE report go to Friends Committee
on National Legislation http://www.fcnl.org/
For weekly reporting on Iran and Syria go to Iran Weekly by
Frank Brodhead at http://warisacrime.org/content/iran-war-weekly-september-16-2012/.
