Release 3-03

[Christian Bartolf <mkgandhi at snafu.de>]

Gandhi Information Center
Research and Education for Nonviolence
P.O. Box 210109
10501 Berlin
Germany
email: mkgandhi at snafu.de
http://www.snafu.de/~mkgandhi
Manifesto against conscription and the military system
(with complete list of signatories, date: 20.03.2003)
http://www.snafu.de/~mkgandhi/manifest.htm

PRESS RELEASE 22 March 2003

"Dear Friends,

The war drums are beating. Many voices for peace are being heard but we
need many more. Musicians I've worked with who have passed on would be
singing with us today. People like Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Phil Ochs,
Malvina Reynolds, Richard Farina, and John Lennon.
Down with apathy and up with activism!
Recently I recorded an anti-war song, "The Bell", with a young musician
and songwriter Stephan Smith. I believe these lyrics will inspire you as
they did me. "The Bell" is already playing on public and college radio
stations across the country. The New York Times called it "one of the
first major songs to directly address the nation's stance toward Iraq."
Still, some big chains refuse to sell it. Show them they're wrong!
Also, call your radio station!
Make "The Bell" an anti-war story the media can't ignore. Profits from
sales will go to United for Peace and Justice, a national campaign that
is helping coordinate work against a U.S. war on Iraq. For more
information, you can go to Stephan's website,
http://www.stephansmith.com.

Keep On!"

On 7 February 2003, these words were dedicated to us by 83-year-old Pete
Seeger who has spoken the lyrics of "The Bell", a strong anti-war
statement. You find these lyrics printed on a new compact disc
(copyright: Stephan Smith, USA, CD 825067000523, Universal Hobo Records
2003):

"Oh where are you going?" said the man at his desk.
"I'm going to a new world," said the child as he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"I'm going to a new world," said the child as he stood.

"Oh I'm sounding drums of war," said the man at his desk.
"Oh I will not fight your war," said the child and he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"Oh I will not fight your war," said the child and he stood.

"Oh but don't you love your country," said the man at his desk.
"Yes, I do but you don't," said the child and he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"Yes, I do but you don't," said the child and he stood.

"Oh but don't you know the truth?" said the man at his desk.
"Yes, you lie and call it truth," said the child and he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"Yes, you lie and call it truth," said the child and he stood.

"Oh, you must be scared to die," said the man at his desk.
"No, I'm prepared and you're scared," said the child and he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"No, I'm prepared and you're scared," said the child and he stood.

"Oh I think I hear a bell," said the man at his desk.
"Yes, it's ringing you to hell," said the child and he stood.
And he stood, and he stood, and 'twere well that he stood.
"Yes, it's ringing you to hell," said the child and he stood.

"Stephan Smith's song THE BELL concentrates a world of meaning into its
few lines. At the center of it is a child, which is perfectly fitting,
because it is the children who are always the most heartbreaking victims
of war, and who will be the victims of America's next war. The wisdom of
the child stands in contrast to the platitudes uttered by the warmaker,
"the man at his desk". The child sees through the false claim that to go
to war means to love your country. The child sees through the Orwellian
deceptions, in which lies are presented as truth. It is the child who
challenges the call to war. And it is the child in the end who shows no
fear, and it is the warmaker who must be afraid, because the courage of
the child has a greater power than guns and bombs." (Howard Zinn)

NUREMBERG PRINCIPLES

Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the
Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, adopted by the
International Law Commission, July 29, 1950:

"Principle I.   Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime
under international law is responsible therefor and liable to
punishment.

Principle II.   The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for
an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not
relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under
international law.

Principle III.   The fact that a person who committed an act which
constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or
responsible Government official does not relieve him from responsibility
under international law.

Principle IV.   The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his
Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility
under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to
him.

Principle V.   Any person charged with a crime under international law
has the right to a fair trial on the facts and law.

Principle VI.   The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes
under international law:
(a) Crimes against peace:
(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression
or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or
assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment
of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
(b) War crimes:
Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not
limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labour or for
any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory;
murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the Seas,
killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton
destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified
by military necessity.

(c) Crimes against humanity:
Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts
done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political,
racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such
persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any
crime against peace or any war crime.

Principle VII.   Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace,
a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is
a crime under international law."

(sgd.)
Christian Bartolf (Chair)
Gandhi Information Center
Research and Education for Nonviolence
P.O. Box 210109
10501 Berlin
Germany
email: mkgandhi at snafu.de
http://www.snafu.de/~mkgandhi
Manifesto against conscription and the military system
(with complete list of signatories, date: 20.03.2003)
http://www.snafu.de/~mkgandhi/manifest.htm