Protestors tell DeLauro: stop war in Ukraine

 

 By Reginald Johnson

  NEW HAVEN ---- For over a year, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, has been an ardent supporter of the United States’ military aid program for Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia.

The U.S. has provided over $100 billion in assistance to Ukraine --- much of that lethal aid --- and DeLauro has used her influence as a leader on the House Appropriations Committee to make sure the aid packages got approved.

 Last Friday marked the 1-year anniversary of the start of the war and a group of area residents gathered in chilly weather outside the congresswoman’s office at 59 Elm Street to say they don’t like DeLauro’s pro-war position and demand an end to the Ukraine conflict.

  “We’re here to stop this war. It’s killing thousands of people and destroying the infrastructure of Ukraine and Russia and is causing economic pain for all of Europe, Africa, Asia and the United States,” said Henry Lowendorf, a member of the Greater New Haven Peace Council, which organized the vigil.

   Lowendorf said they want DeLauro to get behind the idea of a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war.

  “What we want Rosa to do is to cut the silence of the Biden administration that there are alternatives to war and start promoting negotiations. It is absolutely regrettable that when someone from the Pentagon like Gen. Mark Milley says that we need to negotiate, he can be shut down by the Biden administration – ‘you can’t talk like that,’ said Lowendorf.  He added that when some congressional progressives suggested peace talks, they were also shut down.

  “So the result is, dissent is being crushed,” he said.

Members of the group carried signs that read “Don’t Escalate --- Negotiate,” and “Diplomacy Works --- No More Wars.” and handed out fliers to passersby.

 Several drivers honked their horn in approval at the sight of the protest.

     

 

Ukraine War protestors outside Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's office in New Haven. (Henry Lowendorf photo)

   The flier warned that the longer the war goes on, the chances increase that nuclear weapons will be used. “Both the U.S. and Russia possess enormous arsenals of nuclear weapons. If used, they spell doom for civilization.”

  The protest also took aim at America’s bloated military budget, which siphons money away from addressing domestic needs such as housing, health care, education and the environment. The leaflets invoked the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, who criticized the U.S. for spending so much money on war. In his famous “Beyond Vietnam” speech in 1967, King said that “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

   Just a ten percent reduction in America’s $858 billion military budget by Congress, the flier suggested,  “would return billions of dollars back to cities like ours.”

 Lowendorf and others urged people to call their local congresspersons and the White House and ask that the military budget be cut and that diplomacy be used to end the war in Ukraine.

 The Congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121 or toll free at 800-826-3688. The White House number is 202-456-1111 to leave a message.

  The end of the flier read simply: “Remaining Silent Prolongs The Wars.”

 

 

 

Peace group calls for cease-fire in Ukraine

   By Reginald Johnson 

  The Connecticut Peace and Solidarity Coalition, a group which opposes wars of intervention and advocates for cuts in military spending, has taken out a full-page ad in the New Haven Register, demanding an end to the war in Ukraine.

  “The war in Ukraine is costing thousands of lives, generating millions of refugees and causing the destruction of billions in infrastructure.  We demand it quickly end,” the ad began. “The only way it can end is through honest negotiations, not actions that lead to the escalation of violence.”

“We call on Ukraine, Russia the United States and its NATO allies to immediately agree on a prompt cease-fire, stop pouring weapons, trainers and troops into Ukraine and quickly negotiate steps towards peace and common security for all parties.”

  The statement also said that “The longer the war lasts the greater chance that nuclear weapons will be used, creating global catastrophe.”

 The Peace and Solidarity Coalition, composed of activists from around the state, has been fighting a lonely battle to try to stop the Ukraine war since it began five months ago after the Russian invasion. Ukraine’s request for military aid has won almost blanket support in Congress and in the media. Support for the war among the public has been more evenly divided.

 Just this year the US has sent over $50 billion in support to Ukraine. Even so-called progressive Democrats have joined in backing the military assistance.

Negotiations to end the conflict are at a standstill and the Biden administration has said almost nothing about the need to settle the war, despite calls for peace talks by several European leaders such as France’s Emanuel Macron.

The Ukrainian army has been given billions of dollars in military hardware by the United States.

Few questions are asked in Congress or in the media about the US and NATO’s role in provoking the conflict, by pouring billions of dollars in weaponry into Ukraine over the years as well as to other eastern European countries that are close to Russia; allowing for the eastward expansion of NATO toward Russia; allowing Ukraine to attack the Russian-speaking, separatist Donbas region and violating the Minsk Agreement in the process.

 The coalition ad blasted the press for its role in supporting the war.

 “We reject mainstream media’s ongoing cheerleading for the war, similar to what we saw when the US prepared to invade Iraq.”

  The coalition statement urged people to call Congress at 202-224-3121 and the White House at 202-456-1111 and ask that United States push for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war.

  To contact the Connecticut Peace and Solidarity Coalition email the group at CTPeaceAndSolidarity@gmail.com.

  To take more action on this issue, go to: https://tinyurl.com/NegotiatePeace

 

 

We must head off a wider war in Ukraine

 

(I recently submitted the following opinion piece to the Connecticut Post, advocating for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The Post published the piece in full on June 16.)

 

 

 Recently both the United States and United Kingdom shipped more lethal aid to Ukraine, to help that nation in its war with Russia.

 The US sent Harpoon anti-ship missiles and howitzers; the British sent long-range missiles which can hit targets with high precision 50 miles away.

 The weapons shipments ramp up an already deadly conflict, which has cost thousands of lives of both civilians and military personnel.

Where is all this headed? Nowhere good.

With each passing day, the chances increase that this regional war could erupt into a global war between the nuclear-armed United States and its NATO allies and nuclear armed Russia, with potentially catastrophic consequences. It’s safe to say that the world as we know it would not survive a nuclear war between the US and Russia.

There is a pressing need for a cease-fire and negotiations to end this brutal conflict.

The Ukrainian army has been given billions of dollars in weaponry by the US

 The basic outline of a settlement is clear: Russian forces must totally withdraw from Ukraine; Ukraine must agree to be neutral and not join NATO; Russia must provide humanitarian aid to help Ukraine rebuild; and there must be self-governance for Ukraine’s eastern provinces, as agreed to previously in the Minsk Accords.

This is all achievable. But there has to be a desire for it.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have both been encouraging negotiations to end the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to talks. Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy has said at different times there needs to be negotiations.

 But the United States has been silent on talks to end the war.

That’s because officials in the State Department, the Pentagon and others in the Biden administration don’t want a quick end to this war. They are using the Ukraine conflict to wage a proxy war against Russia --- keep Russia bogged down in a long draining war that will eventually trigger regime change in Moscow.

 But that scenario means many more Ukrainians and Russians will die in the process and billions more in American treasure will be wasted.

 This is not an acceptable policy and it must be stopped.

 To prevent further bloodshed and head off a much wider and catastrophic conflict, there must be an immediate cease-fire and negotiations to end the brutal war in Ukraine.

 

Reginald Johnson

Bridgeport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US should push for a cease-fire --- now.

 

By Reginald Johnson

     Commentary

    There’s some hope for a cease-fire agreement to end the brutal war in Ukraine.

    Ukrainian and Russian negotiators said this week they made progress towards reaching a truce, coming up with a plan that would center in part on a promise of Ukraine being a neutral country, not joining NATO and a withdrawal of Russian forces.

   But still there are some differences and more time is needed to work them out.

   So far, the United States has sat on the sidelines with any negotiations. That needs to stop. The US must get actively involved to create a cease-fire and end the carnage.

 Since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, nearly 700 civilians have been killed, according to UN figures. Thousands of soldiers have lost their lives and 3 million Ukrainians have become refugees.

  People who want peace in Ukraine should call the White House at 202-456-1111 and demand that the administration work actively for a cease-fire. Call your members of Congress at 202-224-3121 and tell them the same thing.

 You can also go to the website for the anti-war organization CODEPINK (CODEPINK.org) and sign the letter being sent to the White house and Congress outlining a plan for peace.

  In a plea to the public, CODEPINK organizers wrote: “A ceasefire deal must be reached immediately! Tell Biden and Congress that rather than supplying more weapons which risks nuclear war, the U.S. must participate in vigorous ceasefire negotiations by outlining the agreements and compromises the U.S. is ready and willing to support.”

  The organization said that provisions for a cease-fire should include the following: Russia must withdraw its troops and commit to respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine; the US rejects a no-fly zone over Ukraine; no NATO expansion; recognition of Ukraine as a neutral country; and off-ramp for sanctions on Russia to be lifted.