The Pledge of Resistance

To:  Australian Government

WAR IS NO LONGER AN ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION TO RESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS

· We do not support action to forcibly change the regime of any country unless there is evidence of clear and present danger to other countries.
- There is no credible evidence that Iraq presents an imminent threat to the region or US, nor linking Iraq to the September 11 attacks.
- The evidence regarding Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction is unsubstantiated. Besides, there are many countries possessing such weapons, and the one country which has repeatedly used them is the US.

· We give no comfort or support to tyrants like Saddam Hussein. However, regime change must come from within Iraq itself. We can best assist that by aid to the Iraqi population, and diplomacy aimed towards justice in the Middle East – not military action.
- The sanctions against Iraq must be lifted, except for military equipment. Ten years of sanctions have not succeeded in changing the regime. They’ve only caused incredible suffering to innocent civilians - children especially.

· We do not support a drive for unilateral declaration of war by the US and a small band of its allies. Unilateral action is condemned by International Law. Countries flouting international law will lead to a complete breakdown of the United Nations.
- The U.S. has defied U.N. resolutions over many years. It enforces only those resolutions it believes to be in its own interests, and will not act against its allies – Israel is a notable example of refusal to act on UN resolutions.
- We don’t support a military “War on Terrorism”. Rather we support eliminating the causes of terrorism – injustice, exploitation, and poverty.

· With world opinion strongly against the US proposals, our support makes us appear a country without principles or independence.

· There are no winners in war, except the multi-nationals and the military-industrial complex.

Say NO to Prime Minister Howard who would send our soldiers to war, for no sound reason and against International Law. Wouldn’t it be better if the billions spent on war were to be spent empowering people, by spending on schools, hospitals and other important needs of the people, wherever they may live.

Peace is everyone’s business
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To people endorsing the above message to the Australian Government:

SUPPORT CHILDREN'S FUTURE : SIGN THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE

For the future of all children in Australia and the world, we ask you to sign the Pledge of Resistance, which is reproduced from "NOT IN OUR NAME" with the words 'in the United States' replaced by 'in Australia' with their permission.
(Visit: http://www.notinourname.net/ to learn more about "Not In Our Name")

The signatures will be taken to the Australian protest action at Pine Gap on 5, 6 & 7 October, and later sent to the Federal Government. Signatures collected after the Pine Gap action will be forwarded to the Government later.

The Pine Gap action is our national protest action as part of the 'International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Space'.

Note that if more than one person wishes to sign from one email address, then all the names will have to be typed in at once, since each email address can only be used once with 'PetitionOnline'.

**THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE**

We believe that as people living
in Australia it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices
done by our government,
in our names

Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil

Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless

Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for

Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families
on foreign soil

Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us

Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil

Not by our will
and Not in our name

We pledge resistance

We pledge alliance with those
who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war
or for their religion or ethnicity

We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world
to bring about justice,
freedom and peace

ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE
AND WE PLEDGE TO MAKE IT REAL

http://www.notinourname.net/

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The The Pledge of Resistance Petition to Australian Government was created by Australian Peace Committee and written by Ron Gray (r-grayle@msn.com.au).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.