Thursday, October 19, 2006

A March to End the War & Demand Economic Human Rights Here at Home

Background: On April 4th 2005, Brandywine Peace Community and Kensington Welfare Rights Union co-sponsored a gathering of anti-war and anti-poverty activists to inspire a closer connection between the two movements. We realize that war must end, in order to guarantee economic human rights. The war in Iraq has not only cost many lives and human suffering there, but also resulted in the denial of rights to housing, health care, and other basic needs here at home.

Unified March Under the El - Saturday, November 4th to begin at the Frankford Transportation Center at Bridge and Pratt Sts. in Philadelphia, and end at the Independence Park Visitors Center lawn at 5th and Market Sts. downtown.

We will both march and periodically ride the El through Frankford, Kensington, Fishtown, and other neighborhoods to reach out to residents on these issues, immediately before the elections. We will stop at local churches to hear speakers, share testimony about all of the war's human costs, and issue calls to future action.

We will gather at 1000 AM at Bridge and Pratt, and expect to arrive at 5th and Market Sts. at 3:00 PM for a short rally. This is a united effort to end the war and honor economic human rights here at home. With the elections upon us, now is the time to get this message out and demand change!

This event is co-sponsored by Delaware County Pledge of Resistance. For more information, contact Brandywine Peace Community at 610-544-1818 or Kensington Welfare Rights Union at 215-203-1945 or 609-387-7551.

Posted by delcopledge at 15:57:37 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Focus on Haiti

We support solidarity with the people of Haiti. We stand with the people of Haiti in their struggle for justice and for democracy. We find it deplorable that the Bush administration has been implicated in the recent Haiti regime change, having funded Aristide opposition groups and blocked humanitarian assistance to the Aristide Government. This is yet another critical time in Haitian history with an election scheduled for later this year. We lament that the US is supporting the unpopular Gerard Latortue government via funding of the USAID’s Democracy Enhancement Projection and the International Republican Institute and bears responsibility for the violence that is continuing to sweep the country.

The Delco Pledge of Resistance has focused on Haiti over the last 15 years. We have organized several non-violent demonstrations protesting the 1991 coup, several educational forums, multiple pieces published in our Newsletter, and (joining with Haiti Reborn) participated in demonstrating and lobbying in Washington DC, protesting the US sanctions imposed on Haiti.

Resources: We recommend, “Rainy Season” by Amy Wilentz (Simon and Shuster) and “Pathologies of Power” by Paul Farmer (Univ. of California Press); any op-ed pieces written by Tracy Kidder, and the following web sites:
The article by Amy Wilentz “Coup in Haiti” which appeared in The Nation 03/22/2004 is also posted on the web at:
Posted by delcopledge at 16:13:06 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Focus on Latin America

The Delaware County Pledge of Resistance has a long history of working for human rights in Latin America. We were founded in October 1986 to resist the U.S. war on Nicaragua. From 1986 to 1990 we organized multiple vigils and protests against Contra aid and National Guard deployments. In Feb. 1988 on the eve of a crucial vote in Congress on aid to the Contras, four of our people were arrested for sitting in Representative Weldon's office. In Sept 1988 130 people participated in a protest of U.S. aid to El Salvador. We organized protests to break the trade embargo on Nicaragua, to protest the bombings in El Salvador of the EMASTRA office and to lament the murder of Fr. Oscar Romero. Later we organized local opposition to the U.S. invasion of Panama and publicized the genocide of the Mayan people of Guatemala by a U.S. supported regime. We supported the Sanctuary Movement. In the 1990s we opposed NAFTA and tried to come to grips with the effects of Globalization on Latin American Countries. We are still working with groups that publicize the current horrors in Colombia and the US role seemingly driven by future oil revenues in that country. Pledge worked on publicizing the appropriation of land from indigenous people in Chiapas in the name of privatization.
Globalization has added to the mix of powers that control U.S. policy toward Latin American countries. Pledge has worked to publicize and protest policies of the IMF and World Bank which is being operated for the benefit of rich countries that are in control. We believe that Globalization has distorted the allocation of resources in favor of private goods at the expense of public ones. Now CAFTA expands the ability of large corporations in our country to dominate the economies of our neighbors at the cost of cutting education and civil services in these countries.

We believe that in the new world of Globalization there is an even greater need for countries to act collectively through international institutions, and to have alliances with other countries to demand global justice and a better global environment. We work against narrow corporation self-interest. In its place we must give thought to the future of humankind and to a re-assertion of morality.

Sadly, the record over the last hundred years indicates that the U.S. government's goal is to impose economic imperialism on Latin American countries. Somehow this seems not to be consistent with the values of our Bill of Rights and our Declaration of Independence. We pledge to resist such hypocrisy. We pledge to try and change the US government's policies and to hold our own government accountable to the values of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. We pledge to resist un-American behavior by our own government.
Recommended web sites:
Posted by delcopledge at 16:09:58 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Who We Are


A majority of the people in our world --the poor, women, people of the developing world, workers, and non-white Americans are under attack by the U.S. government and multinational corporations. Struggles against this oppression are ongoing and inevitable. In solidarity with these struggles, local or distant, the DELAWARE COUNTY PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE engages in nonviolent, direct action. The Pledge encourages participation by all, especially those directly affected by oppression.

The Delaware County Pledge of Resistance was originally founded as part of a national organization that opposed war. Our organization has persisted as a local group centered in Delaware County in Pennsylvania that works for economic and social justice for oppressed people in this country and abroad. We currently have 170 members who support our opposition to corporate and U.S. Government interventions in Latin America and in Haiti. In solidarity with struggles against oppression, we engage in nonviolent and direct action.

We support efforts of oppressed workers to organize here and abroad. We struggle with the complexities of globalization and have opposed World Bank policy and CAFTA and NAFTA. We oppose those who would extend the American Empire using violent and financial power. We encourage the US government to consider effects of their policies on world poverty and how this is translated into terrorism. Many of our members participated in the Iraqi Pledge of Resistance and their civil disobedience activities.

 

Posted by delcopledge at 22:24:54 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Our Focus

Globalization and The New American Empire
We have organized a forum that was critical of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund policies. We organized an educational forum on The Patriot Act. We oppose the war in Iraq and have been involved in multiple antiwar demonstrations. At present we have three “anti war” programs. We will bring to Delaware County on October 14, the documentary “Sir!, No Sir!”. We have sponsored and are participating in the “National Declaration To End The War In Iraq”. We were the founders of the group “Democracy Now Advocates” which aims to bring Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” to stations in the Philadelphia area. We were successful in urging WYBE to air this important show five times a week. Our Latin American and Haiti programs, of course, relate to the topic of “Globalization”.

Posted by delcopledge at 22:14:24 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |