Dear Friends
The shocking events of September 11 in USA are so fresh in our minds – surely we will never forget the image of the hijacked planes destroying the World Trade Centre buildings and the Pentagon, nor the screams of those seeing the horror with their own eyes. It seems, however, that there has been little opportunity for the loved ones of those who are still missing to grieve before the world leaders jumped to announce a ‘war on terrorism’ and on the states where terrorists reside. To many in Asia, this has created a sense of dread at the potential for an enormous number of civilian deaths – so-called ‘collateral damage’ – as the US and other world powers seek to avenge this devastating, wanton and inexcusable destruction of life and security in America.
AHRC believes that at such a time it is vital for the voices of the victims to be heard. Their voices must be even louder than the sound of those who purport to be speaking and acting on their behalf. As such, we are sending to you a statement and letter written by the parents of one of the persons missing amongst the rubble of the World Trade Center. Please read their thoughts and feelings. Feel free to pass their words on to others who have not heard these voices so far. We also urge you to sign an on-line petition calling for military restraint at this time, in line with the thoughts of these parents. The petition is pasted below and can be signed at:
http://home.uchicago.edu/~dhpicker/petition
and at:
http://www.9-11peace.org/petition.php3
Thank you
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
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NOT IN OUR SON’S NAME
Saturday, Sep 15, 2001 8:35pm
[Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez’s son Greg is one of the World Trade Center victims. They have asked that people share this copy of letter sent to NY Times as widely as possible.]
Our son Greg is among the many missing from the World Trade Center attack. Since we first heard the news, we have shared moments of grief, comfort, hope, despair, fond memories with his wife, the two families, our friends and neighbors, his loving colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald / ESpeed, and all the grieving families that daily meet at the Pierre Hotel.
We see our hurt and anger reflected among everybody we meet. We cannot pay attention to the daily flow of news about this disaster. But we read enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. It is not the way to go. It will not avenge our son’s death. Not in our son’s name.
Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology. Our actions should not serve the same purpose. Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. Let us think about a rational response that brings real peace and justice to our world. But let us not as a nation add to the inhumanity of our times.
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Copy of letter to White House:
Dear President Bush
Our son is one of the victims of Tuesday’s attack on the World Trade Center. We read about your response in the last few days and about the resolutions from both Houses, giving you undefined power to respond to the
terror attacks.
Your response to this attack does not make us feel better about our son’s death. It makes us feel worse. It makes us feel that our government is using our son’s memory as a justification to cause suffering for other
sons and parents in other lands.
It is not the first time that a person in your position has been given unlimited power and came to regret it. This is not the time for empty gestures to make us feel better. It is not the time to act like bullies. We urge you to think about how our governement can develop peaceful, rational solutions to terrorism, solutions that do not sink us to the inhuman level of terrorists.
Sincerely,
Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez
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SUGGESTED ACTION
THE PETITION
(around 175,000 signatures so far)
What follows is a petition that will be forwarded to President Bush, and other world leaders, urging them to avoid war as a response to the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon this week. Please read it, sign below, and forward the link to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of the United States of America and of countries around the world, appeal to the President of The United States, George W. Bush; to the NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson; to the President of the European Union, Romano Prodi; and to all leaders internationally to use moderation and restraint in responding to the recent terrorist attacks against the United States.
We implore the powers that be to use, wherever possible, international judicial institutions and international human rights law to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks, rather than the instruments of war, violence or destruction.
Furthermore, we assert that the government of a nation must be presumed separate and distinct from any terrorist group that may operate within its borders, and therefore cannot be held unduly accountable for the latter’s crimes. It follows that the government of a particular nation should not be condemned for the recent attack without compelling evidence of its cooperation and complicity with those individuals who actually committed the crimes in question.
Innocent civilians living within any nation that may be found responsible, in part or in full, for the crimes recently perpetrated against the United States, must not bear any responsibility for the actions of their government, and must therefore be guaranteed safety and immunity from any military or judicial action taken against the state in which they reside.
Lastly and most emphatically, we demand that there be no recourse to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or any weapons of indiscriminate destruction, and feel that it is our inalienable human right to live in a world free of such arms.
To sign the petition please go to:
http://home.uchicago.edu/~dhpicker/petition
or
http://www.9-11peace.org/petition.php3
There are also a number of other action suggestions provided by 9-11peace available after you sign the petition.
[If you cannot access the internet, you may send your name, email address and city, state and country of residence to AHRC Urgent Appeals at ua@ahrchk.org – in the ‘subject’, write the words \”Bush Petition\” and we will sign the petition for you.]
*** Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals:
Email:
Fax: +(852) – 26986367
Please contact the Urgent Appeals coordinator if you require more
information or wish to report human rights violations.
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AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
Unit D, 7th Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre,
16 – 16B Argyle Street, Kowloon, HONGKONG
Tel: +(852) – 2698-6339
Fax: +(852) – 2698-6367
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org
Please contact the AHRC Urgent Appeals Coordinator if you require
further information or to make requests for further appeals.
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