THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release:

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Contacts:

Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576,

nallen@acadia.net

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,

scottmclarty@yahoo.com



GREEN PARTY RENEWS THE CALL TO END STRIKES

AGAINST AFGHANISTAN AS RAMADAN AND WINTER MONTHS

APPROACH

Greens see in the Taliban's flight from Kabul a

chance to provide humanitarian aid, restore basic

rights of Afghans



WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United

States has renewed its call for the U.S. to halt

the military assaults on Afghanistan, as the war

threatens to spread and Afghans face starvation

in the coming months.

"Continuing the strikes through Ramadan will

further alienate Muslims and jeopardize fragile

alliances with Pakistan and other Muslim

nations," said Tom Sevigny, Connecticut Green

activist and member of the national party's

steering committee.

Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf,

warns that the U.S. assaults are "perceived in

the whole world as a war against the poor,

miserable and innocent people of Afghanistan" and

that continuing attacks during Ramadan would have

"negative fall-out in the entire Muslim world."

The war on Afghanistan puts the military junta in

Pakistan in an explosive dilemma. Already on

shaky ground, the undemocratic Pakistani

government faces destabilization, with dire

consequences if Pakistan's small nuclear arsenal

falls into the wrong hands. Meanwhile, Pakistani

extremists are increasing acts of violence in

Kashmir, forcing a confrontation with India.

"Our ill-considered response to the September 11

atrocities endangers the stability of two hostile

nuclear powers -- Pakistan and India -- with

unknowable results," said Robbie Franklin, a

Texas Green activist and treasurer of the

national party. "It is a very dangerous

situation with consequences far greater than

anything we can hope to gain in the war on

Afghanistan."

The military strikes have already proved

devastating for the people of Afghanistan,

especially the use of cluster bombs, fuel air

bombs, and carpet bombing by the U.S. as the

Taliban dispersed into civilian areas. But the

retreat of the Taliban from Kabul provides an

opening for the delivery of humanitarian aid and

the beginning of restored human rights for

Afghans.

"The only hope for Afghanistan is massive

intervention from the U.N.," said Holly Hart,

secretary of the Iowa Green Party and co-chair of

the national platform committee. "Such an effort

must provide emergency food and medical supplies,

attempt to prevent further bloodshed in the civil

war between the Taliban and the Northern

Alliance, and address the brutal treatment of

Afghan people -- especially women -- by both the

Taliban and the Northern Alliance. We must

guarantee that the fall of repressive,

misogynistic laws in Kabul after the Taliban fled

is not reversed by the Northern Alliance."

The Green Party continues to demand that the

criminals behind the September 11 atrocities be

tried according to international law in an

appropriate court. The Rome Statute, which the

U.S. refuses to ratify, would provide such a

forum. The non-retroactivity clause of the Rome

Statute would preclude using the International

Criminal Court to try the September 11 criminals.

However, Greens note that an ad hoc tribunal

based on the principles of the Rome Statute can

be convened to indict and try those responsible

for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the

Pentagon.

Unfortunately, House and Senate negotiators last

week agreed to block U.S. participation in the

U.N.'s establishment of an International Criminal

Court to prosecute war crimes, genocide and other

crimes against humanity. The U.S. government

refuses to cooperate in international attempts to

hold all nations responsible for crimes like the

September 11 attacks, and prefers unilateral

force, since the U.S. considers itself exempt

from accountability for violation of

international law.

"We urge the U.S. government to build a worldwide

coalition of governments pledging to refrain from

acts of violence against civilians and to prevent

independent groups from doing the same," said

Jane M. Hunter, vice-chair of the Green Party of

New Jersey.



MORE INFORMATION

The Green Party of the United States

http://gpus.org

Green Party statement on the September 11 attacks

http://gpus.org/articles/9_11_01.html

Rome Statute text

http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm

Amnesty International on the ICC and ASPA

http://www.amnesty-usa.org/icc

Hague Appeal for Peace http://www.haguepeace.org



END