SECTION 1: ADC ALERT
SECTION 2: FORM LETTER
SECTION 3: CONYERS LETTER TEXT
SECTION 1:
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 20:16:31 +0000 (GMT)
From: ADC Alert Subject: CONGRESSIONAL LETTER TO CLINTON CALLS FOR LIFTING SANCTIONS ON IRAQI
CIVILIANS
CONGRESSIONAL LETTER TO CLINTON CALLS FOR LIFTING SANCTIONS ON IRAQI
CIVILIANS
Several members of Congress have initiated a letter to President Clinton
regarding the prolonged suffering of the Iraqi people and calling for
"delinking" economic sanctions from military sanctions. Please call or
write your Senators and Representatives asking them to sign the letter. The
initial signers are Reps. John Conyers (MI), David Bonior (MI), William Clay
(MO), Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI), Cynthia McKinney (GA), and John Olver (MA).
This letter is now being circulated to members of Congress. It is a
stronger statement than any previous expression of congressional concern
about the humanitarian impact of sanctions. It is a significant step in
influencing public discussion. Members of Congress need to know that they
have constituents who want the sanctions lifted. We are calling for
hearings on the effect of sanctions.
Numerous delegations of religious leaders, medical professionals and peace
activists have risked $1 million fines and 12 year prison sentences in order
to deliver emergency food and medical supplies to Iraqi citizens. Nabil
Migalli, ADC Chapter President in New Hampshire, is part of a delegation led
by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, which has delivered tons of medical
supplies. This is a courageous act of conscience and compassion. The
letter asks Clinton not to prosecute those who participate in humanitarian
delegations.
Talking Points
The sanctions against Iraqi civilians are a policy failure and a
humanitarian catastrophe. They were meant to pressure the Iraqi government
but have instead resulted in the death and suffering of hundreds of
thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens. It is time to rethink this policy and
take immediate steps to ensure that the Iraqi people are not further victimized.
The "oil for food" program has not worked. 30% of the proceeds go to pay
for UN weapons inspections and reparations to Kuwait. Iraq's oil industry
is in such disrepair that it has not even been able to pump the amount of
oil allowed by the UN and thus unable to purchase the needed food and
medicine. Supplies for repairing oil production equipment is considered
"non-humanitarian" but is essential in order to purchase humanitarian goods.
There is an urgent need for rebuilding the civilian infrastructure bombed
by the U.S. on which food productions and public health depends: water
purification, sewerage treatment, electrical generation, agricultural
production. Equipment for rebuilding should be allowed into Iraq. All the
"oil for food" purchases must be approved by a UN committee, which has been
a bottleneck. This mechanism should be streamlined and speeded up.
Bishop Gumbleton and the others who have taken the risk of delivering food
and medicine to the malnourished children of Iraq deserve the praise and
admiration of their fellow citizens and should not be prosecuted.
ACTION
1) Please ask your elected representatives to sign the letter to President
Clinton. Arrange meetings with representatives who will be back in their
home district during the Memorial Day congressional recess from May 23-31.
Members who wish to sign should call Deborah Willig in the office of Rep.
Kilpatrick at 225-2261.
Your Senator Your Representative
U.S. Senate House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
(202) 224-3121 (202) 224-3121
Key Members of Congress:
Make a special effort to contact the following members, who are "actively
considering" signing the letter or will be receiving lobbying visits in
their offices.
Sen. Spencer Abraham (MI) Rep. Gerald Kleczka (WI)
Sen. Herb Kohn (WI) Rep. Joe Knollenberg (MI)
Sen. Carl Levin (MI) Rep. Sandy Levin (MI)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD) Rep. Bill Luther (MN)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (NY) Rep. Jim McDermott (WA)
Rep. Rep. Cass Ballenger (NC) Rep. Mark Neumann (WI)
Rep. Tom Barrett (WI) Rep. Ron Paul (TX)
Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA) Rep. Tom Petri (WI)
Rep. John Dingell (MI) Rep. Nick Rahall (WV)
Rep. Earl Hilliard (AL) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA)
Ano Houghton (NY) Rep. Chris Smith (NJ)
Rep. Henry Hyde (IL) Rep. Bart Stupack (MI)
Rep. Ron Kind (WI) Rep. Robert Wexler (FL)
Send a special thanks to Reps. Conyers, Bonior, Clay, Kilpatrick, McKinney
and Olver for initiating the letter.
2) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON SANCTIONS:
Please contact members of the House International Operations and Human
Rights Subcommittee to call for hearings on the impact of UN sanctions on
the Iraqi civilian population. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) is Chair of the
Subcommittee. Ask that he convene hearings and invite testimony from
Bishop Gumbleton and others who have participated in humanitarian
delegations or have experience working in Iraq to deliver food and
medicine and have first-hand experience of the condition and needs of the
Iraqi people. The names above highlighted in bold are members of the
Subcommittee. Ask them to call for hearings. Other members of the
Subcommittee include Rep. Cynthia McKinney (GA) and Donald Payne (NY).
(5/11/98)
For Congressional Fax numbers call the Capitol Swithchboard at: (202) 224-3121 or go to Congresss.org on the WWW and follow the instructions.
FORM LETTER READY FOR MAILING. COPY AND PASTE TO WORDPROCESSOR AND MAIL OR FAX IT!
Dear Honorable Representative,
In the enclosed you will find the text of the Rep. Conyers Colleague letter. Please review it and sign it. We feel it is extremely important for sanctions to be lifted against the state of Iraq. Not because it will benefit the government of Iraq. Because it will benefit the security of the United States. It is a moral as well as strategic interest of the United States to advocate for people's rights not undermine them as sanctions do. Sanctions hurt innocent children, the infirm and elderly--who are dieing at a rate of over 4500 persons per month according to UNICEF. Sanctions do not effect the administrators.
Sincerely,
{sign your name here}
Enclosure: Rep. John Conyers letter to President William Jefferson Clinton
President William Jefferson Clinton
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to you regarding our urgent concern for the serious
deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Iraq. It has been over
seven years now since the Gulf War ended, yet tremendous suffering remains
unabated and indeed appears to have accelerated in recent months. As the
weapons inspections by international officials continue, the Iraqi people
have been left behind. They have been orphaned not only by their own
leader's manipulations, but by the international community's lack of
compassion and flagging creativity in finding workable approaches to these
difficult problems.
Official and unofficial reports about the situation faced daily by
ordinary people in Iraq are devastating. According to a report issued by
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in November 1997, "the food
rationing system provides less than 60% of the required daily calorie
intake, the water and sanitation systems are in a state of collapse, and
there is a critical shortage of life-saving drugs." Moreover, it points
out that "the balance sheet of several years of sanctions against Iraq
reveals a minimum of political dividends as against a high human price paid
primarily by women and children." Nearly a million children are
chronically malnourished. A new UNICEF report, due out soon, will repeat
many of these same concerns.
Several delegations of American citizens have gone to Iraq to
document and relieve this suffering. One recent delegation, led by
religious leaders and medical professionals, included Bishop Thomas
Gumbleton from the Archdiocese of Detroit, Reverend Lucius Walker, and
representatives from the American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee, the
National Arab-American Medical Association, Fellowship of Reconciliation,
and the American Muslim Council.
There are mechanisms in place meant to address the humanitarian
situation, primarily the oil-for-food deal permitted under United Nations
Security Council Resolution 986. We believe that increasing the deal to
permit a sale of $5.2 billion worth of oil every six months was a step in
the right direction. However, as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan indicated
in his April 16 report, Iraq's oil industry is currently incapable of
producing anything close to that amount of oil. We urge you to lead the
Security Council Sanctions Committee in allowing the importation of repair
supplies and spare parts for Iraq's oil infrastructure. This is necessary
if the food-for-oil deal is really going to work.
In addition, the monitoring and oversight mechanisms need to be
improved to provide quicker movement of relief supplies to needy civilians.
In a recent report, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
noted serious problems with the implementation of the UN Security Council
Resolution 986. The approval of contracts has been slow, the amounts
permitted remain insufficient, and Iraq lacks adequate infrastructure for
potable water. Full implementation of UN SCR 986 will still fall short of
the nutritional and health needs of the citizens. The report concluded
that unless water and sanitation systems are comprehensively rehabilitated,
"the continuation of the economic embargo, even allowing for the
amelioration that will occur with UN SCR 986, the situation will
progressively deteriorate with grave consequences to the health and life of
the Iraqi people." We are aware that Saddam Hussein does not spend his
money well, but that should not justify our own inaction or apathy toward
the implementation of these large and well-intentioned programs that shape
the Iraqi people's attitudes toward the US and democratic nations in
general.
Moreover, private charities should be permitted to deliver
humanitarian aid without the threat of prosecution. We are aware, as is
the humanitarian mission traveling to Iraq, of the regulations contained in
Title 31 Section 575.525 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These rules
stipulate that the sale of humanitarian items to Iraq by US citizens must
be licensed by the Department of Treasury. Criminal penalties for
violations of the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations are as high as 12 years in
jail and one million dollars in fines, plus civil penalties of $275,000 per
violation that may be imposed administratively.
We recognize the importance of making sure assistance gets to the
people who need it and not the Iraqi military, but these penalties are
excessive and symptomatic of an outdated policy. US policy toward Iraq
should be geared toward assuring compliance with United Nations resolutions
pertaining to weapons inspections, addressing the future of democratic
leadership in Iraq, and securing the good faith of the Iraqi people toward
the US and the international community. Prosecuting American religious
leaders and doctors seeking to alleviate suffering will not serve these
ends.
The time has come to re-examine the intended goals and the actual
effects of these sanctions. The first step should be to de-link the
economic sanctions, which have been a complete failure, from the military
sanctions, which have had a measured success. We are encouraged by Iraq's
willingness to cooperate with UN inspectors, but hold no illusions about
Iraq's overall record of compliance with weapons inspections. It is clear,
however, that continued economic sanctions allow Saddam Hussein to exploit
the suffering of his people to his political advantage.
We are simply asking you to look squarely at the economic
sanctions, which have outlasted their political utility. They now serve
only to extend the human suffering of the population and carry out a policy
that has driven religious leaders -- the moral conscience of our nation --
to acts of desperation.
We urge you to give serious consideration to these concerns. We
will be seeking Congressional hearings to review humanitarian policy toward
Iraq, and we hope that you are prepared to re-evaluate and re-invent our
policy. We welcome the opportunity to work with you on these issues and
look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
John Conyers (MI), Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (MI), David Bonior (MI), William
Clay (MO), Cynthia McKinney (GA), John Olver (MA), Eddie Bernice
Johnson(TX), John LaFalce (NY), Major Owens (NY), Tom Campbell (CA),
Elizabeth Furse (OR), Alcee Hastings (FL), and Bobby Rush (IL).
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1948-1998: 50 YEARS OF
PALESTINIAN DISPOSSESSION
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