February 18th 2009: demonstrations against the space shield

Dear friends,

we have a concrete proposal that can help us to reinforce our protest against the Space Shield and to regain the spirit we had during the hunger strike. It can also help us to set in motion concrete actions useful for the diffusion and development of the World March.

The situation in the Czech Republic (CR) regarding the installation of the radar base – part of the United States Star Wars project – is the following:
1. The Senate has ratified the agreement with the United States
2. The Lower House has not managed to do so, thanks to the protests, but could do in the following months.
3. The protest is still very strong and 2/3 Czechs continue to oppose this project. The censorship against us by mass media has been worsened by a truly slanderous campaign: Jan Tamas is a terrorist, a left-wing radical, a right-wing radical. A real witch hunt has begun. Since we have various activities as humanists, including projects in Africa, long distance adoptions, schools, hospitals etc, some journalists were sent to Guinea to check the projects and create false proof to affirm that we are using the money destined to help the children for a political battle against the radar. There is a real repression going on.
4. In the next six months the Presidency of the European Union will be in charge of the CR.

We’ve said, time and again, that the Star Wars project divides Europe, increases international tensions, especially with Russia and encourages the arms‘ race. The attitude of the new US administration is not clear yet, but it is evident that CR and Poland are a Trojan horse, their leaderships have the task of dividing Europe, at the mercy of the United States.

Proposal of a Day of Protest on February 18th in Brussels.

On February 18, about 40 mayors of the region in which the radar is to be built, Czech representatives of the nonviolent movement against the bases and Europe for Peace were invited by some MEPs to the European Parliament to address the missile shield.
We invite the representatives of Europe for Peace in various European countries, as well as, other organizations to attend the meeting with a delegation and to organize, together, a protest in front of the European Parliament.
In different European cities, we could organize, on the same day, protests and sit-ins, send letters of protest to the Czech embassies and solidarity messages to the mayors and to the movement against the bases, adding other initiatives suggested by creativity.

Another proposal is to ask mayors and city councils in all Europe to express their solidarity to the mayors of the CR, sending a letter and having their council (city, province, region etc) approve a motion against the US missile shield.
We have examples of this in certain Italian municipalities (Bresso, Rozzano, Limbiate).

In general, we think it is necessary to strengthen the protest against wars, arms‘ race and especially against nuclear weapons. The last events in Gaza (West Bank?) are allarming.

Finally, we propose to start organizing great activities to ask for peace and nuclear disarmament in March, during the 6th anniversary of the invasion of Irak (a possible date could be March 21st, the exact date the war began.)

A strong hug
Jan Tamas
Gerardo Femina