Vive le revolution. With the assistance of the US mainstream media, the forces of mass destruction heading our government are delivering on their promise of endless, barbarous militarism; destruction of civil liberties, environmental devastation and class warfare. They're dismantling the framework of international law and replacing it with a new iron fist, thuggishly preying on the world's weak and poor. The growing resistance to all this is fighting both for our nation's soul and the future of the world.

The Bush administration continues to exploit 9/11/01 to justify their actions. Still, as they continue to use that day for their purposes we have not seen an investigation into what actually happened. How the World Trade Centers collapsed as they did, why the rubble was swiftly removed before careful inspection, the missing wreckage of Flight 77 after it supposedly hit the Pentagon, the lack of an Air Force response to the hijackings, the logical problems with the alleged phone calls from hijack victims to friends and family; and the President's strange behavior that day are just the tip of the iceberg. There are innumerable anomalies surrounding 9/11/01 that are waiting for a Free Press to explain. If only we had one.

In the spirit of nonviolence civil disobedience as practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King, the Iraq Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore has been engaging in protests designed to garner exposure to our opposition of virtually everything the Bush administration is up to. (I'm an active member.) The Iraq Pledge has chapters in over 40 cities. (To sign the Pledge visit www.peacepledge.org/). We have been taking our message to the "belly of the beast", such as the Towsontown Center Mall and the Garmatz Federal Courthouse. I'll describe both actions in the following.

Towsontown Eight to be Tried


On June 10th, the Towsontown Eight will be tried. They have each been charged with trespassing, failure to obey a police order and disorderly conduct. They face jail sentences of 210 more days in jail, along with $1500 in fines. In addition, the Towsontown Center Mall is informing them all in writing that they are banned for life from ever again shopping there—oh, the horror!

This stems from our March 1st action. On that day, about 25 of us arrived at the Towsontown Center mall. Following a cue, we took off our jackets and revealed our shirts which had pictures of Iraqi children taped to them. We began passing out leaflets peacefully. No mall patron was harassed or obstructed. Most patrons were supportive of our actions. The police told us to leave but we continued until eight were arrested.

The arrestees were in jail for fourteen and a half hours. They reported that they received low-level torture. They were kept in leg shackles throughout. Two men and one woman were also uncomfortably handcuffed to a bench for almost the entire duration. Others were handcuffed to chairs for hours. Two of the other women were also kept in cells which were extremely cold. Three women shared one cup of water. One woman was denied repeated requests for a phone call. Finally, they were all verbally harassed by their guards in the early hours of the morning.

The underlying legal issue at stake is whether the First Amendment right of free speech is applicable in a mall. Sure, it is private property. However, most malls are built with heavy public subsidies. In addition, the infrastructure and security that these malls require to function are again footed entirely by the public. Also, most malls obtain numerous waivers from environmental regulations, which increase their cost to the public. So, why should the general public lose their Constitutional rights and be allowed nothing more in return for its considerable investment besides the privilege of shopping there? Personally, I won't ever shop again at the Towsontown Center if my civil liberties are stripped once I am inside.

Those who would like to learn more about the legal battle facing the Towsontown Center 8 should contact Max at: 410-323-7200.

Central Intake Booking: The Gulag off of 83

"I'm Major ______!", the diminutive woman barked, her voice filled with fury. I was then escorted from the Central Intake Booking Center (CIBC) by four large police officers.

I had come inside the release center to ask whether the support team for the forty nonviolent peaceful protesters who had been arrested that day could sit in their waiting room. The answer was no, even though the waiting room was not being used. I explained to this woman that we would not be noisy, that we were Maryland taxpayers and we were just seeking a modicum of comfort for what would be a long night. After the Major cited unspecified regulations, I asked her what her first name was, prompting her strikingly firm declaration of her rank.

The Central Intake Booking Center, opened in 1995, has always struck me as medieval. It is an austere, five-story, 280,000 square foot instrument of punishment and control. It visually signals daily to tens of thousands of commuters riding 83 that the State is in charge of us, and not vice versa. Many times I have passed by it and heard prisoners yelling out from their cells. I have also heard groups of them screaming and banging things as if collectively experiencing the same nightmare.

As we waited for the Garmatz 40 to be released from their nonviolent activity (described below) I was appalled that while the building can hold thousands of prisoners, friends and family of the incarcerated can not wait for their release in a waiting room. They also cannot use a public toilet. They must wait outside, and if the weather is bad—tough luck for them.

I have other peeves with the CIBC. For one, prisoners must sign that their property has been returned before they have even obtained it. One of the members of the Garmatz 40 reported having his watch stolen. Another said money was taken from her. Another said her cigarettes were pilfered. If the Garmatz 40 are an accurate sampling of the total prisoner population, it appears that there is quite a lot of thievery taking place by people wearing blue uniforms.

Another issue is how 21 women were kept in a single 9' x 15' cell for 12 hours. After seven were released the remaining 13 were kept there for seven more hours. That is a very long time to be sitting on the floor with no room to move.

Another problem with the CIBC is the incredibly slow processing system. The Garmatz 40 were kept in jail for as much as 19 hours. For nonviolent civil disobedience that seems extreme.


The Garmatz Action

On Friday, March 21, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., forty anti-war activists were arrested at the Edward A. Garmatz Federal Courthouse in Baltimore, MD. They were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking a driveway.

The Iraq Pledge of Resistance called for the demonstration. Approximately 75 people participated. The group carried copies of a letter [Marc, how about linking to my letter?] addressed to The Honorable J. Frederick Motz. The letter argued that the present war on Iraq violates US and international law. At 9:00 a.m. the group marched to the front of the Courthouse. The ones who risked arrest then immediately held a "die-in" (i.e., collapsed on the grass). They also requested that the letter be delivered to Judge Motz in person.

All requests to meet with representatives from the Courthouse were refused. The group continued to leaflet, to "die" on the grass, to wave signs at cars and to speak with the police. At around 10:30 a.m. the members risking arrest moved to block the driveway of the Garmatz Courthouse. They held a die-in at the entrance-way, blocking Court traffic. The police subsequently arrested the 40.

The Garmatz 40 face six months imprisonment and $1,000 for trespassing, along with 60 days and $500 in fines for disturbing the peace.

The irony here is that while the US was waging its unpunished barbarous and criminal assault against Iraq, launching 500 cruise missiles in just the first two days against the largely defenseless Iraqi population, a group of Baltimore citizens face imprisonment and fines for something as minor as blocking a driveway.

The Garmatz 40 will be tried on May 16th. Please support them.


Contact:
Iraq Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore
806 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212
Ph: 410-323-7200;
Fax: 410-323-7292;
email: mobuszewski-AT-afsc.org


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Note: The Iraq Pledge of Resistance attempted to take the following letter on March 21, 2003 to Judge Motz in the Garmatz building.


Friday, March 21, 2003


The Honorable J. Frederick Motz
Edward Garmatz Federal Building
101 W. Lombard Street,
Baltimore, MD 21201

Dear Judge Motz:

This letter is to inform you that the US attack on Iraq is a major violation of domestic and international law. As a respected Federal judge, we are requesting that you take whatever steps possible in your service under the US Constitution to stop the terrible crimes which are currently taking place in Iraq.

Article VI of the Constitution reads, This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land...

Note that it reads, "all treaties made...shall be the supreme law of the land." This includes the UN Charter, which became a US treaty with the 1945 UN Participation Act. The war-weary US Congress overwhelmingly ratified the UN Charter in an effort to prevent the human catastrophe of the previous seven years from repeating.

The UN Charter is quite clear that the only time a member nation can attack another nation is in self-defense. Article 51 specifies:

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Meanwhile, there has been no "armed attack" from Iraq. The US has bombed Iraq consistently since the first Persian Gulf War in its self-declared "no-fly" zones. (By the way, since these areas are not referred to in any UN Resolution, each and all of these bombing raids have been violations of the UN Charter.) Still, Iraq has not managed to seriously damage any plane or pilot flying these raids.

There is no question that it is Iraq which has the legal right to shoot at any plane flying in the no-fly zones by direct application of the self-defense provision of Article 51 of the UN Charter. The US cannot claim self-defense when it is flying illegal bombing missions halfway around the globe from its shores.

It is also falsely asserted by the President that UN Resolution 1441 authorizes his military actions taking place in Iraq. The pivotal sentence in UN 1441 is: 13. Recalls, in that context, that the [Security] council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations...

It is the viewpoint of a majority of Security Council member states that this sentence does not authorize the US to attack Iraq. This is particularly true because like all UN Resolutions, UN 1441 affirms that it is "Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations." (Chapter VII contains Articles 39 through the previously mentioned 51.)

In closing, President Bush's attack on Iraq violates the UN Charter and implicitly, the US Constitution. As concerned citizens we request that you take measures you can to force the President to act under the Constitution.

Halting the military attacks is a matter is of life and death to millions of civilians around the world.

Sincerely,

Scott Loughrey
On behalf of the Iraq Pledge of Resistance