Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Steven Feuerstein will call White House, will you? |
|---|
| Saleema |
| 04/03/01 at 11:18:22 |
| steven@stevenfeuerstein.com Dear friends - I believe that years from now, the people of the world will look back on the sanctions maintained by the US and Great Britain on Iraq as a human rights tragedy and an act of deep immorality. And those of us who did nothing to stop it will wonder how we let it go on and on, killing thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children, and condemning an entire nation to hunger and disease. I am going to be making some calls today and I hope that you will consider doing so as well. Here is a message I received and have decided to pass on to you... Many thanks for your action, SF NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY for the PEOPLE of IRAQ http://saveageneration.org/action/callinday.html TUESDAY, April 3, 2001 Help us light up the switchboards in Washington, DC calling for an end to the U.S. led siege against the people of Iraq. Every phone call counts! Write down the following phone numbers and plan to... (1) CALL SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL at 202-647-5291 or fax 202-647-6434. Thank the Secretary of State for publicly acknowledging the need to alleviate the suffering of ordinary Iraqis. Remind him that the UN Oil-for-Food program cannot address the dire poverty (over 50% of the population lives below the poverty line) and unemployment underlying Iraq's humanitarian crisis. Urge Powell to eliminate the 661 Sanctions Committee and other obstacles that prevent the restoration of civilian economic life to Iraq. (2) CALL YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE via the Congressional Switchboard at 202/225-3121 or 202/224-3121. When you reach the switchboard operator, ask for the office of your Representative. When you reach the office, ask to speak with the staffer who handles foreign policy. Be prepared to leave a brief voice message and your phone number if necessary. As a constituent, briefly state why you oppose the ongoing war and sanctions against Iraq. Urge the staffer to raise your concerns regarding the plight of the Iraqi people with your Representative. Ask the office to co-sponsor H.R. 742, the Humanitarian Exports Leading to Peace Act of 2001. If your Representative has already co-sponsored this important legislation, thank them for their support. (For complete information about H.R. 742, read the important brief below). DON'T KNOW WHO YOUR CONGRESSPERSON IS? Want their direct phone number and contact information? Visit http://congress.org and scroll down to "Elected Officials". Punch in your zip code and follow the links to get the phone number for your Representative in Washington. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EPIC briefing on H.R. 742 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= H.R. 742 is an improved version of last year's H.E.L.P. Act, H.R. 3825 (which gained over 30 co-sponsors). The following brief explains what changed and how this legislation could lead to an end to the decade-long embargo against the people of Iraq. SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION Last month, Representative Conyers (D-MI) and 9 other Members of Congress introduced H.R 742, the Humanitarian Exports Leading to Peace (H.E.L.P.) Act of 2001. Calling on the U.S. Government to take all necessary steps to end the suffering of innocent populations in Iraq, H.R. 742 would make "sanctions busting" legal. H.R. 742 would replace the elaborate licensing procedure of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the contract review process of the United Nations 661 Sanctions Committee with a simple notification process. This would allow U.S. farmers, relief organizations and companies to export food, medicine and agricultural goods directly to Iraq, by-passing controlling insitutions that make it difficult to ship humanitarian goods to Iraq. By restoring some U.S. trade with Iraq, H.R. 742 would hasten an end to the trade embargo which continues to claim the lives of thousands of children each month. CHANGES IN THE LEGISLATION Last year's bill, H.R. 3825, included a provision (Section 4) that could prohibit "dual use" items if it "constitutes a threat to national security." This provision was inserted by legislative counsel (the lawyers of Congress) to ensure the bill conformed to the Export Administration Act of 1979. However, the section has since been contradicted by the public testimony of Congressman Conyers and is clearly not in sync with the grassroots. The United States often uses questions of "dual use" to hold up Oil-for-Food contracts submitted to the 661 Sanctions Committee. Currently, over 1,600 contracts totaling over $3.3 billion are on hold, including over $2.9 billion worth of humanitarian supplies (March 28 UN OIP update). In the new bill, H.R. 742 would change U.S. public law to eliminate any restrictions on "dual use" items that would prevent the direct export of any food, agricultural products, and medical products. In addition, Section 5 of the new H.E.L.P. Act would change the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to end the prohibition of Iraq as a beneficiary of sanctions reform. WHAT ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE?! Since H.R. 742 only deals with the export of food, agricultural products, and medical products, it has been suggested that this bill does nothing to repair the devastated economic infrastructure of Iraq. Therefore, some oppose supporting H.R. 742 since they feel it does not go far enough. They fear such legislation might stop the process of working towards eliminating all sanctions which target and harm civilian populations. Such concerns are understandable and deserve a clarification. H.R. 742 does not lift the UN sanctions against Iraq because the U.S. Congress cannot lift UN sanctions. Only the UN Security Council (UNSC) can lift the UN sanctions against Iraq, a decision that would require the unanimous support of UNSC's permanent five members - including the United States. Thus, changes at the UN level require a shift in policy within the U.S. Administration. Congress can, however, express what's called a "sense of Congress" clause as to what the Administration should do. H.R. 742 states: "It is the sense of the Congress that the United States Government should take all necessary steps to end the suffering of innocent populations, primarily children and the elderly, by allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid to Iraq without threat of prosecution." SUBVERT THE DOMINANT PARADIGM Even better, Congress can change U.S. public law, including laws that require U.S. compliance with the UN sanctions against Iraq. H.R. 742 would restore direct trade between the U.S. and Iraq, allowing Americans to "break the sanctions!" As more and more nations send trade representatives to Iraq, the Bush administration is working to broker renewed international support and regional cooperation with the UN sanctions regime by easing restrictions on civilian goods allowed into Iraq. President Bush opposes any trade with Iraq outside of the UN Oil-for-Food program. A restoration of direct U.S. trade with Iraq would send a shock wave through Washington and the United Nations. Already isolated by its Iraq policy, the U.S. cannot demand other nations comply with sanctions and then pass laws that allow Americans to break the sanctions. THE STRATEGY As a fairly radical bill, H.R. 742 goes much further than anything that would likely pass. But that doesn't matter. Here's the strategy. To date, only 13 U.S. representatives (all progressive Democrats) have co-sponsored the bill. It will be extremely difficult to get Republicans and most Democrats to sign on to the bill, and passing H.R. 742 as a free standing bill will take a miracle. However, if the bill gains over fifty co-sponsors, we might have enough support to get the bill (or parts of the bill) passed as an amendment to other bills. In addition, the more support the bill gets, the more media attention it will attract. As such, the legislation can positively impact the public debate over sanctions, adding credibility to anti-sanctions movement. Locally, the bill can be used to influence media coverage and editorial boards to support lifting the sanctions. It also gives local activists something to ask their Representatives to do. H.R. 742 can also serves as an education tool. In August 1990, when sanctions were first imposed, there were provisions exempting food and medicine. The United States ignored these provisions, and for years, undermined efforts to allow Iraq to sell oil in order to purchase such goods. After the establishment of the Oil-for-Food program in 1996/7, the U.S. finally began to allow some U.S. goods to be traded with Iraq under the program. However, anyone wishing to ship such goods to Iraq is required to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury - a process that can last for a year. Thus, without such a license, it illegal for Americans to send food and medicine to suffering children in Iraq. H.R. 742 corrects this historic wrong, and then takes a sledgehammer to the UN sanctions regime. For the full text of the bill and more details about the April 3rd call-in day, visit http://saveageneration.org |
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