Green Party USA criticizes Afghanistan bombing

GREEN PARTY USA CRITICIZES AFGHANISTAN BOMBING

CHICAGO, Illinois, October 22, 2001 (ENS) - The Green Party USA has condemned the U.S. and British bombing of Afghanistan as inhumane and an act of "state terrorism" against a starving and impoverished nation.

"The killing of innocent civilians, whether intended or not, is a violation of international law," the Party stated in a press release. "The U.S. bombing of Afghanistan must cease immediately.'

"Greens everywhere are mobilizing in an antiwar movement to force an end to the cycle of violence," said Mitchel Cohen, Green Party USA media coordinator. "The Green Party USA has officially endorsed anti-war protests that will occur in a number of cities set for Saturday, October 27th, and our members are participating in numerous efforts to stop these bombings and save people's lives."

Green party members "believe that all human life is equally valuable, whether a person works in lower Manhattan or lives in the desert outside Kabul," the statement reads. While condemning the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Party said it also mourns the "hundreds of innocent civilians murdered by U.S. bombs in Afghanistan."

"Justice should be the result of a fair, impartial and transparent trial conducted under international law at which credible evidence is produced," said Brooklyn Green Pete Dolack.

The Green Party calls the evidence that known terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks "questionable," and called the U.S. decision to bomb Afghanistan - the presumed haven of Bin Laden - "an arrogant and inhumane act."

"The devastation to the environment and civilian population caused by cluster bombs and by the use of Depleted Uranium artillery (contained in Tomahawk missiles) will be a lingering and insidious nightmare against the environment and Afghanistan's people," said Barb Sweeney of New Mexico, a member of the Green Party USA's International Relations committee.

The Bush administration is using the terrorist attacks "as a pretext for activities that have nothing to do with 'preventing terrorism'," charged Cohen. "It's all about oil, corporate profits and globalization."

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