By Peter Bergel
A coalition of dozens of peace and justice organizations (https://bit.ly/StopWarOrgs) is collecting signers on a statement to Presidents Biden, Zelensky and Putin telling them that the time has come to end the war in Ukraine. Please consider adding your signature at https://bit.ly/StopWarSignup.
The effort is comprised of 3 parts:
- Collecting a large number of world signatures to be submitted to all three presidents.
- Seeking grassroots help in circulating the statement to as many organizations and individuals as possible through social media, email and word of mouth.
- Asking individuals and groups to donate funds (https://bit.ly/StopWarDonate) n order to place the statement as an ad in a major newspaper.
The statement avoids divisive references to blame, calling simply for an end to the killing through a ceasefire and negotiations. It points out that “The longer the war goes on, the greater the danger of spiraling escalation which can lead to a wider war, environmental devastation and nuclear annihilation.”
The statement also mentions the billions needed for human needs that have been diverted to the war, and references calls for negotiations from world leaders.
Please help build grassroots pressure to end the war by signing now.
This effort is targeting the three presidents because they are the ones who have the power to do what we are asking for, that is, end the war. Even though we understand that all three of them are reticent to take this action, we believe that grassroots pressure is the only thing that holds the promise of changing their minds. This appeal is an experiment. Please help us make it as effective as possible by participating in part 1, 2 and/or 3 above.
Peter Bergel is a retired director of Oregon PeaceWorks and edits The PeaceWorker (www.peaceworker.org) – an online news magazine.