FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2003

Contact: Julie Callahan, (408) 374-2668, (408) 981-4134 (cell)
South Bay Mobilization to Stop the War, (408) 998-8504

SAN JOSE CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR PEACE

“WE STILL HOPE WE CAN AVOID WAR,” STATES UNANIMOUS RESOLUTION

The San Jose City Council today unanimously endorsed a statement of five “principles of peace” expressing council members’ and residents’ concerns about the prospects of war with Iraq, and stating that “war should be our last resort . . . At this time, we still hope we can avoid war.” The resolution also expressed support for U.S. troops and a “profound desire for their safe and rapid return hope”, as well as calling for respect for all peoples and condemning intolerance and hate crimes. The Council plans to send a letter to President Bush containing these principles.

159 U.S. cities and counties have previously passed resolutions opposing war, including Santa Clara County, in which the City of San Jose is located. However, many believe that this statement made on the brink of war, from the 11th largest city in the country, will have a highly significant impact.

“Religious leaders, heads of state, and everyday people around the world have spoken out against this war. Right now, it seems the only thing that has a chance of stopping this war is opposition from within the American political establishment,” said Lindi Ramsden, chair of The Interfaith Council and one of a large number of residents who spoke against the war in Iraq in several hours of public comment.

Anti-war proponents made clear their opposition to war did not mean opposition towards US troops. “Support our troops – bring them home.” was a common refrain throughout residents’ pleas for peace. Said Dennis Kyne, Jr., “I was a medic in the military. I was always interested in the health and welfare of our soldiers. Now [hundreds of thousands] of us collect a check every month for undiagnosed illnesses we’re suffering as a result of Desert Storm. We owe our soldiers more than that.”

Many had hoped for a stronger resolution against the Iraq war. Earlier, the City’s Human Rights Commission had passed an anti-war resolution drafted with input from the community, and that resolution had originally been on this afternoon’s City Council agenda. Nearly 2,000 residents had signed petitions calling for an anti-war resolution. But in the wake of Bush’s ultimatum, councilmembers and the mayor pulled that resolution and substituted the one that was passed today Although some castigated the Council for abandoning the HRC resolution, most felt that the statement that did pass was still an important cry for peace.

After the vote, local resident Billie Wachter concluded, “I would much prefer to have had them endorse the earlier resolution. But especially at this point, where the pressure to support the war is at its peak, it was a step forward. I think most people saw it as opposition to the war.”

Strongest of all was the feeling that, far from falling in line behind war, now more than ever is a time that all peace-loving people must act. Said Joe Cernac, who served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, “We can do something. We can speak out against the imminent genocide of a people who have never attacked the United States.”

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