Are you against the war in Iraq? Are you against anyone using landmines in Iraq (and elsewhere)? Yes or no?
If yes, this action alert is for you! Please help to put the landmine message into the picture. When you take to the streets, put on street theater, contact your leaders - please also say NO TO MINE USE IN IRAQ! Help create a mine-free world, as well as a peaceful one!
What’s the big deal? The big deal is the landmine problem in Iraq and the possible use of mines by US forces, or others, in that country.
- Iraq is a severely mine-affected country. Mines were laid in Iraq during the Gulf War, the Iran-Iraq War, decades of internal conflict and World War II. In Northern Iraq alone, about one person steps on a mine each day!
- Aside from the mines already planted in Iraq, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is very concerned about possible new use of mines by the Iraqi forces, the US military and armed opposition groups. The US last used mines in the first Gulf War. There were eighty-one U.S. military casualties during the Gulf War. So far, the only confirmed use of mines in Iraq is by Iraqi forces. The ICBL condemns this use and wants to make sure that no more mines are laid by anyone, anywhere in Iraq!
- The US has not joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and at least 90,000 antipersonnel mines have been deployed to the Persian Gulf region and incorporated into war plans. The ICBL is concerned that the US military could use mines in Iraq.
So what can I do about it?
Action Ideas
If you’re living in the US:
- Download the US Campaign to Ban Landmines action flyer at: http://www.banminesusa.org/urg_act/968_whitehouse.htm Distribute the flyer at peace marches, teach-ins, information tables and to your family and friends!
- Make landmines-themed signs, posters and banners to carry at peace rallies and marches.
- Get creative! Make your own buttons or t-shirts telling the US to ban landmines!
- Talk to local peace groups and encourage them to include landmines in their communications to members, the US government and the media.
- Call the White House and write to your elected representatives! Let them know that you are against landmine use by US troops in Iraq or anywhere else! Contacts are provided below.
- Organize a call-in day at your school! Encourage students to phone elected representatives and the White House from their cell phones at the same time – jam the phone lines, let your representatives know that American youth are against landmine use!
If you’re living outside the US:
- Make landmines-themed signs, posters and banners to carry at peace rallies and marches.
- Send letters to President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, letting them know you are against landmine use and want the US to join the Mine Ban Treaty.
- Phone your local US Embassy and try to set up a meeting with officials.
- Organize a phone-in day! Encourage your peers to phone your local embassy to let officials know that youth in your country are against landmine use anywhere, by anyone!
- Send letters to States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty urging them to oppose any mine use in Iraq. See our sample letter: http://www. icbl.org/action/iraq_2003.html
What are the important messages to get across?
Landmine use by anyone, anywhere is unacceptable.
Landmines cannot tell the difference between soldiers and civilians.
Landmines don't protect soldiers and they may even put them in more danger.
Landmines continue to claim lives and limbs long after wars are over.
New landmines in Iraq will only make the country's existing mine problem much worse.
Using landmines in Iraq violates customary international law and the spirit of the Mine Ban Treaty.
New minefields will make reconstructing Iraq more difficult, more expensive and more dangerous.
Neither Iraq nor the USA has joined the Mine Ban Treaty.
Most of the world has rejected landmine use (3/4 of the world, most of NATO, all of the Western hemisphere except for Cuba and the USA).
If States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty help others to use antipersonnel mines in Iraq (or elsewhere) they will be breaking the promises they made when they agreed to a complete ban.
Sample slogans for signs, posters and banners:
- Landmines kill innocent civilians AND US troops!
- When landmines are planted… the war in the ground continues long after peace agreements are signed!
- USA – don’t use landmines in Iraq!
- President Bush – Three quarters of the world’s countries are against landmines, why aren’t you?
- Landmine use by anyone, anywhere, is unacceptable.
- Landmines kill kids!
Where can I find out more about what other youth are doing to promote peace?
Contacts:
For more information about how to organize events and take action please visit the ICBL’s Youth Action Forum at http://www.icbl.org/youth If you have questions, would like more information or would like to share information about actions you have taken please email youth@icbl.org The Youth Action Forum is YOUR website – send us information about your activities and we will post it for the whole world to see!
What does democracy look like to you? Exercise your rights, speak out and speak loud – against mine use and for peace!
|
