From: "Eli Pariser, 9-11Peace.org"
Date: 6 Jun 2002 03:28:01 -0000

Dear Friend,

As soldiers trade mortar fire across Kashmir's disputed border and peasants flee the area, British leaders are at odds about whether they should continue to allow the sales of weapons and aircraft to India and Pakistan. Roger Berry, the chairman of the Commons committees investigating arms exports, has said that the conflict between the two countries was "as clear a case you could get" for an arms ban. But Jack Straw continues to justify the sale to India of 66 Hawk aircraft -- which can be used to train soldiers for nuclear bombing raids -- on the basis of "British commercial interests."

It's time to embrace a policy of common sense: Britain will not aid and abet this war mongering; "commercial interests" do not take precedence over the lives of thousands of Kashmiris and millions of Indians and Pakistanis. As long as British arms make their way into the arsenals of these nuclear rivals, attempts to broker peace are hypocritical. As the Guardian points out, the UK would be "making peace in conflicts which our own arms exports may have helped to exacerbate."

Given the rift in the national leadership, we have a real opportunity to make a difference if we act quickly.

Please contact your MP and ask him/her to support an immediate weapons embargo on India and Pakistan and to make your concerns known to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

You can do this at: http://www.faxyourmp.com

If that doesn't work, you can look up the relevant contact information at:

You can also contact Jack Straw directly: http://www.locata.co.uk/commons/
Fax: 020 7272 2144
Mail: House of Commons,
London SW1A OAA
Email:strawj@parliament.uk

Patricia Hewitt, Dept Trade and Industry, can be reached:
Fax: 020 7215 5468
Mail: House of Commons,
London SW1A OAA
Email:npst.hewitt@dti.gsi.gov.uk

Even a short message is better than none at all. And the more you communicate in your own words, the more attention will be paid to your call to action.

In your message, you may want to highlight some of the following talking points

* The British government is hardly a passive bystander in the arms trade. To the contrary, as author Arundhati Roy put it: "Tony Blair's 'peace' mission a few months ago was actually a business trip to discuss a one billion pound deal . . . to sell Hawk fighter-bombers to India. Roughly, for the price of a single Hawk bomber, the government could provide 1.5 million people with clean drinking water for life."

* By most estimates, a nuclear exchange between the two countries would leave 12 million dead and over 7 million seriously wounded. Britain must do everything in its power to restrain the two countries from such violence; an arms embargo would emphasize that the nation is serious in its demand for a peaceful resolution.

* Even if a nuclear attack doesn't occur, a conventional war would still devastate Kashmir and result in the deaths of thousands of innocent non-combatants. In these deaths, the UK would be especially culpable, since some are likely to be inflicted with British-made weaponry.

According to scotsman.com, the military firm BAe has sold fighter jets to India and is also currently training Pakistani troops in air combat. Providing such aid to both sides can only increase the damage that will occur if war breaks out.

* In 2001, the combined military expenditure of India and Pakistan was 18 billion dollars. Yet over 40% of their populations -- 450 million people -- live below the poverty line. Britain shouldn't encourage this irresponsible spending behavior.

Once you've taken action, please let us know at: http://www.9-11peace.org/embargo.php3

Keeping a good count will help us enhance this lobbying effort. You can also sign up there to receive future email alerts on this and other peace-related topics.

And please encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same by forwarding this email to them.

Thank you for your help. Together, we can ensure that Britain stops fanning the flames of South Asian conflict.

Sincerely,
Eli Pariser
9-11Peace Campaign
MoveOn.org
Thursday, June 6, 2002

P.S. If you'd like to make even more of an impact, consider attending this event on Saturday at 10 Downing St:

South Asia Solidarity Group:
"No War in South Asia!"
"Stop British Arms Sales to India and Pakistan!"
"Vajpayee and Musharraf Must Negotiate!"

Mass Protest outside Downing Street and Human Chain Against War and Communalism
Saturday 8 June 11.30am to 2.00pm
Contact by telephone at 020 7267 0923
or by email at for more information. southasia@hotmail.com

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Dear Friend of 9-11peace.org,

Thank you for being part of our immensely popular online petition. Over 500,000 of us from 190 countries signed, and I'll tell you more about how our message was delivered to world leaders below.

Unfortunately, we need to act again, now. According to the United Nations, over 900,000 Afghans are starving to death as we speak. Another 6.6 million are in danger of dying within the next few months. When winter arrives in under two weeks, relief organizations will be unable to get aid to many Afghan refugees. Please, please call on your country's leadership to do everything in their power to get aid to the Afghan people NOW. You can do so very easily at:http://www.9-11peace.org/aid.php3

There's more information about this potential humanitarian disaster below. But first, if you don't want to hear from us again, just go to:http://www.9-11peace.org/optout.php3

WHAT WE'VE DONE

In early October, we delivered over half a million online signatures from 190 countries to:
* U.S. President Bush;
* NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson;
* European Commission President Romano Prodi.

In Great Britain, MP Lynne Jones and three other Members of Parliament delivered the petition by hand to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Media around the world wrote about our effort, from the Chicago Sun-Times to the South China Morning Post.

WHAT WE CAN DO NEXT

Call on world leaders to make aid to the Afghan people a priority:http://www.9-11peace.org/aid.php

The prolonged bombing has worsened the plight of the Afghan people because aid organizations haven't been able to get food and medicine into the country. The food dropped by the US is woefully inadequate for the 7 million Afghans who rely on aid.

With the Northern Alliance's capture of most of Northern Afghanistan, aid organizations may finally be able to bring large quantities food and medicine into the country. But unless the US and its allies facilitate the delivery, hundreds of thousands of people may die.

It's crucial that world leaders hear from us now. They need to know that we are counting on them to prevent the imminent starvation of millions of innocent people, and that this should be one of the highest priorities for the next few weeks. They need to know that we don't want to have to explain to our grandchildren why our countries allowed one of the largest mass starvations in history to take place. Tell them now:http://www.9-11peace.org/aid.php3

 

Some facts about the aid crisis:
* The UN estimates that 7.5 million Afghan refugees rely on food and medical aid to survive.
* Of these, 900,000 face imminent starvation.
* Nearly 20% of those struggling to survive are children under 5.
* Recent bombing attacks have damaged the warehouses of the International Red Cross as well as the United Nations World Food Programme. The agencies' staff, laborers and truckers are now afraid to load, unload or transport food inside Afghanistan.
* Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam International, and officials in the UN have all called for a stop in the bombing so that aid can be delivered before it's too late.

More information about the aid crisis in Afghanistan is available at the website above.

Thank you. Many lives are at stake, but if we act now, we can change the face of this conflict.

Sincerely,
Eli Pariser 9-11peace.org
November 14, 200

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You are receiving this message because you took part in 9-11peace.org's petition. If you do not wish to receive messages from us in the future, just go to: http://www.9-11peace.org/optout.php3