Fasters invited to Jordan
to meet with Iraqi Parliamentarians!
To help support this
ground-breaking trip
& make a donation to the Troops Home Fast
Jordan Delegation today!
Call your Congressperson
at (888) 355-3588
and urge them to support withdrawal of the troops!
July 28, 2006
We have exciting news to share with you today! After being
rebuffed in our numerous attempts to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, including setting up "Camp Al-Maliki" across from the Iraqi
Embassy and publishing an open letter to him in one of the largest Iraqi
newspapers, we received an amazing invitation: Five members of the Iraqi
Parliament who are working on a Reconciliation Plan to end the violence in
their country contacted us. Moved by the commitment of the long-term fasters
and dismayed by their prime minister's refusal to meet with us, these
parliamentarians asked us to join them in Amman, Jordan next week to discuss
their Reconciliation Plan, on condition that we break our long-term fast
with them!
We are thrilled. It will be such a breakthrough for the US peace
movement to be working directly with Iraqi peacemakers, and what better way
to break our fast than with members of the Iraqi government seeking an end
to the violence. So next week, we'll be on our way to Jordan. In addition to
a group of long-term fasters, we are inviting Congresspeople, academics, and
notable journalists to join us.
This marks a big turning point in the fast, yet we know that we
have a long way to go towards bringing the 140,000 US servicemen and women
home from Iraq. We strongly encourage our local fasters to continue to do
weekly or ongoing fasts, and to make your fasts public by holding actions
outside Congressional offices and calling the media. Click here for info
about getting involved in the fast locally. We plan to continue the Troops
Home Fast campaign as energy builds towards the International Day of Peace,
September 21, when Declaration of Peace events will begin around the
country.
The news about the invitation to meet with the Iraqi
Parliamentarians comes on the heels of an exhilarating week of actions at
our DC fast: Faster and CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin spoke up during
al-Maliki's address to Congress on Wednesday, saying loudly and repeatedly,
"Iraqis want the troops to leave, bring them home now! Listen to the
Iraqis!" Medea was cuffed, removed from the Capitol and arrested. Read
about this action and see video clips and photos by clicking here.
Yesterday, Thursday, July 27, two hunger strikers, Gael Murphy
and Eve Tetaz, interrupted the long overdue Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearing on John Bolton's nomination as US Ambassador to the U.N.
They wore t-shirts saying "No Bolton" and urged Senators to reject Bolton as
the worst possible choice for the job and for world peace. And today, when
George Bush is visited by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, we'll be there
to greet them in true anti-war fashion.
Diane Wilson and other long term fasters are outside the White
House each day; see the photos, read the blogs, hear a song written and sung
by long-term faster Jesse Dyen, and check out what our local groups are
doing.
We thank you for your support of the fast, and for this historic
opportunity to link with Iraqi leaders who have a plan to make peace a
reality.
Hungry but hopeful,
Anedra, Allison, Dana, Erin, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Katie, Laura,
Medea, Meredith, Nancy, Rae, Sam & Tiffany
