Since World War II, the Presbyterian Church has provided at least some degree of support for those who in conscience have refused to bear arms in military service. This support has also included the possibility of refusal to pay taxes that would be used for making war.

Many people now find themselves seeking ways to stand against the present military actions of the United States, and one clear way to do that is through the Peace Tax Fund.

Presbyterian support for the Peace Tax Fund was expressed specifically in the rationale for the Human Rights Update that was presented to the 214^th General Assembly, 2002. You can read the full text of the report, including the discussion of the Peace Tax Fund, which is on page 20.

Right now, the most urgent concern is to support the bill in Congress that would establish the Peace Tax Fund. This bill, HR 2037, will expire soon and be reintroduced next May with a new number. But letters to both House and Senate are needed now. Sample letters are available at the Campaign's website, http://www.peacetaxfund.org

2004 Peace and Justice conference offered resources, actions, and hope

What has long been an important annual event in the Presbyterian Church, the Peacemaking Conference, happened again this year, August 3 - 7 in Tacoma, Washington, under the theme  “Hope for a Global Future: Let’s Pray, Let’s Act.”

It was broadened in scope this year to include issues of hunger, environmental concerns and economic justice.  And it was co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Environmental Justice Program and the Self-Development of People Program.

Click here for the Presbyterian News Service report.

They describe their work thus: "Our engaging and highly interactive course materials will be incorporated into social studies, art, English, mathematics, and science courses. Teachers in public and private schools as well as faith-based educators will be able to incorporate our course materials and activities into their lesson plans for a single lesson, a week, or up to a full semester."

In Darfur, Sudan, 1,000 people are dying every day, and that number is rising. Over one million black Africans have been bombed and burnt out of their villages, and their crops and water supplies destroyed by Arab "Janjaweed" militias. The Government-backed Janjaweed surround the refugee camps and block life-giving food and medicine from getting through. Anyone leaving is raped or killed.

The US Government estimates that 370,000 human beings are already dead or certain to die of starvation in these extermination camps. Up to 1 million could die within the next few months.

As people of faith and members of the human family, we cannot let this horror continue. Our government's response so far has been slow and weak. Only an immediate international humanitarian intervention to protect the people of Darfur and ensure aid gets to them will stop the slaughter.

Women trespassed on Army base while protesting 'terror school'

Two Presbyterian women imprisoned earlier this year for entering an Army base during a protest have been released from jail. Marilyn M. White, 56, of suburban Houston, TX, was released on Oct. 3 from a federal Prison Camp for Women in Bryan, TX. Ann Huntwork, 72, of Portland, OR, was released on Oct. 6 from the Federal Prison Camp in Dublin, CA. Both were sentenced on charges of trespassing, after they entered Fort Benning, in Columbus, GA, during a demonstration against a training facility for Latin American military officers formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA).

As part of a plan to ensure its total military supremacy, the U.S. is preparing to complete the domination of space -- by any means necessary. Neil Mackay explains the terrifying new face of global warfare in the June 22, 2003, Sunday Herald of Scotland.

One young American woman, Rachel Corrie, was crushed to death March 16 by an Israeli army bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian family's home. Two young men, one American and one British, have been seriously wounded by Israeli army gunfire. All have been serving in Palestinian areas with the International Solidarity Movement, the peace group that uses such non-violent means as positioning activists as "human shields" around the occupied territories to protect Palestinian civilians.

Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian, notes that these recent incidents appear to be "part of a pattern, and that Israel is deliberately targeting internationals, so that it can carry out human-rights abuses unobserved. Whatever the truth, Americans and other foreign citizens are falling victim to Israeli tactics that have killed and injured thousands of Palestinians. A lack of accountability means that such incidents could increase."

This article was first published in the Chicago Tribune on 22 April 2003.

With pragmatism in mind, the Peaceforce's unarmed troops will not see action in the Middle East, though the idealist in David Hartsough wishes he could travel to Iraq and take a political stand. Instead, Hartsough is sticking to domestic anti-war protests, while the Peaceforce quietly readies to deploy its first set of workers to Sri Lanka for a three-year pilot project in a few weeks.

"Iraq would have been the ideal scenario [to start with], but part of it is timing," Hartsough says, a tenor of disappointment in his voice. "But we want to be sure that whatever we do, we do well."

Bernice Yeung provides a lengthy report in SF Weekly

And check out the Peaceforce website for more information.

Source: Sojourners 2003 (c) http://www.sojo.net

What with wars and budget crises and all the rest, we easily forget countries in which the United States was deeply (and many would say illegally) involved just a few years ago. Julia Jones, who has served the PC(USA) in many ways over the past few years, sends a report on her plans to serve as an observer in the coming election in El Salvador.

86 human rights activists face trials in Columbus, GA; volunteers sought for supporting actions

Teacher is fired for being imprisoned for protesting against the SOA - seeks rehiring