Very exciting news from Fort Benning Georgia!
\r\nAs thousands gather to call for the closure of the notorious School of the Americas \r\n(SOA\/ WHINSEC),
Army National Guard Specialist Katherine Jashinski will, Thursday morning, publicly announce her refusal to be deployed to the Middle East. <\/b>
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSee press release below for more details and forward to your contacts!
\r\n\r\nGI resisters, conscientious objectors, and dissent within the military\r\ndeserve our support as they stand up for human rights and dignity,\r\n\r\n\r\ndemocratic rights, and international law.
\r\nWidespread public support and pressure can help protect these\r\ncourageous individuals from feelings of isolation and from repression of\r\nthem and their rights. The fact that soldiers, veterans and military\r\nfamilies have re-inspired the US antiwar movement and successfully\r\ncountered the story of the war on terror is incredibly hopeful!
\r\n\r\nBe on the lookout for more from Courage to Resist on how to support Katherine and all \r\nthose who refuse to fight in illegal and immoral wars.
\r\nhttp:\/\/www.CouragetoResist.org
\r\n\r\nFor more on what’s happening at Fort Benning this week,
\r\nhttp:\/\/www.SOAW.org
\r\n\r\n<\/p>
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\r\n\r\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
\r\nNovember 16, 2005
\r\n \r\n\r\nWoman GI Publicly Stands Against War as She Faces Immediate Deployment to\r\nMiddle East\r\n\r\nWHEN: Thursday, November 17, 11:30 AM\r\nWHERE: Front Gate of Ft. Benning, Georgia on Fort Benning Road\r\nWHAT: Public Statement of Conscientious Objection by Female GI on eve of her\r\ndeployment to Middle East\r\n\r\nFort Benning, GA Army National Guard Specialist Katherine Jashinski, on\r\nactive duty with the 111th ASG since January of this year, will make a\r\npublic statement against war as a conscientious objector in the face of\r\norders to participate in weapons training and deploy to the Middle East.\r\nShe will be joined by several members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and\r\nVeterans for Peace. Jashinski applied for a discharge as a Conscientious\r\nObjector in 2004. The Army recently denied her claim and ordered her to\r\nweapons training and deployment this week.
\r\n\r\nSpeakers at the press conference include Aidan Delgado, an Army\r\nConscientious Objector and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Iraq\r\nVeterans Against the War supports the right of every soldier to follow their\r\nconscience. Today's revelation that chemical weapons were used against\r\ncitizens in Falluja is evidence that the war is illegal and immoral.
\r\n\r\nJashinski's counselor, Persian Gulf War Army Conscientious Objector Aimee\r\nAllison, will speak at tomorrow's press conference. Speaking today, Allison\r\nstated, \"As the first woman GI to publicly take a stand against this war and\r\nto declare herself a Conscientious Objector, Katherine's actions are very\r\nsignificant. She is showing remarkable courage.\"
\r\n\r\nJashinski's lawyer, J.E. McNeil with the Center for Conscience and War, will\r\nalso discuss her legal status and the case. She comments, \"Denying\r\nKatherine CO status is yet another in a long line of actions by the military\r\nto defy its own rules in order to get the numbers of soldiers they need to\r\ncontinue this war.\"
\r\n\r\nKatherine is actively supported by Code Pink, a women-initiated grassroots\r\npeace group. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink adds, \"I applaud\r\nKatherine's courageous stand against the continued U.S. role in bringing\r\nviolence to the Middle East.\"
\r\n\r\nFather Roy Bourgeois, a Vietnam War veteran and founder of School of the\r\nAmericas Watch will also speak. Jashinki's statement comes on the eve of a\r\nnational demonstration at the gates of Fort Benning calling for the closure\r\nthe U.S. Army School of the Americas. \"U.S. foreign policy as it exists\r\ntoday is fundamentally out of alignment with Americans values of peace and\r\njustice.\"
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\r\n\r\nCourage to Resist is a small all volunteer group of antiwar activists,\r\nveterans, and military families who saw a need to build support for\r\nantiwar resistance and dissent within the military. This newsletter and\r\nthe campaign to support GI resistance has incredible potential and is\r\nurgently needed, but it's success depends on you, your group and your\r\ncommunity participating.
\r\n\r\nPlease consider:
\r\n\r\n1) Signing up to participate on our GI Resistance Alert Network to receive\r\nAction Alerts about GI resisters who need phonecalls, emails, public\r\neducation and demonstrations of support.
\r\n\r\n2) If you know of stories or needs for support of GI resisters and\r\nobjectors please let us know at courage@riseup.net. You can sign up on our\r\nwebsite as either an individual or for your organization.
\r\n\r\nA better world is possible,\r\nCourage to Resist<\/b><\/p>\n","contact":"courage@riseup.net","link":"www.CouragetoResist.org","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":" Army National Guard Specialist Katherine Jashinski, on\r\nactive duty with the 111th ASG since January of this year, will make a\r\npublic statement against war as a conscientious objector in the face of\r\norders to participate in weapons training and deploy to the Middle East.","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2005\/11\/139468.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}