Jerry L. Coleman,
Candidate for Governor of New Jersey
609-977-4146, jerrylcoleman@aol.com
Joe Fortunato,
Chair,
Green Party of NJ
973-744-5958, jfortun845@aol.com
Jane Hunter,
Communications Cmte,
Green Party of NJ
732-560-0276, janemhunter@att.net |
Nancy Allen, Media
Coordinator,
Association of State Green Parties
207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty,
Media Coordinator, Association of State Green Parties
202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com |
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United
States endorsed a strongly worded resolution demanding that the
Bush Administration reverse plans to withdraw the United States
from participation in the United Nations Conference Against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance, set to begin August 31, 2001 in Durban, South
Africa. The text of
the resolution is appended below.
"Pulling the U.S. out of the Durban conference is an act of
moral cowardice and irresponsibility," said Jerry L.
Coleman, Green Party candidate for Governor of New Jersey, who
is African American. "The
U.S. has an obligation, as leader of the free world, to attend a
conference on a subject that touches on the major conflict of
American history, the struggle between the nation's stated
dedication to equality, democracy, and freedom on one hand and,
on the other, attitudes and practices that have imposed
injustice based on race and ethnicity, such as slavery, Jim Crow
laws, exploitation and denial of jobs, and obstruction of voting
rights."
"Such conflict is not unique to America," added Scott
McLarty, of Washington D.C., media coordinator for the Green
Party. "In the
past decade, we witnessed the genocidal massacres in the former
Yugoslavia and Rwanda,
assassination and suppression of the rights of Palestinians by
Israel, and the slaughter and oppression of Kurds in Turkey and
Iraq. The 20th century saw the genocide of Jews, Gypsies,
and Armenians; apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia; Japan's
slaughter of Chinese in Shanghai and other cities and forced
prostitution of Korean women; and other racially motivated
atrocities. No
nation, no government should be exempt from scrutiny. In many
cases, democratic nations turned a blind eye until it was too
late."
"The Greens are dedicated to nonviolence, human rights, and
the eradication of racism everywhere," added Tom Sevigny of
Connecticut, of the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the
United States. "We
urge all Americans and all organizations that say they detest
racism in any form to demand the U.S.'s participation in this
conference, and we recognize and stand with Rep. Cynthia
McKinney of Georgia and other leaders who have protested Bush's
reckless policy."
GREEN PARTY RESOLUTION ON US WITHDRAWAL FROM CONFERENCE
AGAINST RACISM
RESOLUTION
on the Bush Administration's withdrawal of the United States
from the UN Conference Against Racism
"The Green Party of the United States calls on the Bush
Administration not to remove the United States from
participating in the United Nations Conference Against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which
is scheduled to begin August 31, 2001 in Durban, South Africa.
Greens remind President Bush that basic values of human
rights, freedom, and democracy cannot be upheld without taking
into account racial and ethnic hatred, discrimination,
exploitation, intolerance, and other injustices that have
hindered these values. Human rights, freedom, and democracy are
American values, but the continued presence in the United States
of racial and ethnic divisiveness, the lingering effects of
historical injustices such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and
enforced economic disadvantage suffered by people of color, and
the heroic struggles to overcome all these injustices morally
compel the United States to participate in the Durban
conference.
"Greens recognize that people of color have legitimate
claims in this country to reparations for slavery and its
aftereffects. While
we do not believe that discussion of the claim that 'Zionism is
Racism' is a constructive way to challenge the racist policies
of the state of Israel, we believe that Israeli policies that
deny full civil, political and human rights to non-Jews should
be on the table at the conference and that the apartheid nature
of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is a
topic that cannot be excluded from a world conference intended
to address racism in all its manifestations across the globe.
"We recognize that there's a diversity of opinions on such
matters, but regardless of disagreement among Americans on these
and other responses to historical and current racism, absence
from the Durban conference will betray the same reckless
irresponsibility that caused the U.S. to lose its seat on the
United Nations Human Rights Commission.
We especially appeal to Secretary of State Colin Powell
not to risk further damage to the worldwide reputation of the
United States and our commitment to justice."
MORE INFORMATION:
Green Party of New Jersey
http://gpnj.org
Green Party of the United States
http://www.greenpartyus.org |
