United for Peace and Justice
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/United_for_peace_and_justice.png/220px-United_for_peace_and_justice.png)
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is a coalition of more than 1,300[1] international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."[2]
The organization was founded in October 2002 during the build-up to the
UFPJ primarily organizes large-scale
UFPJ's most recent major rally and march was in Washington, D.C., on January 27, 2007. Among the featured speakers were several celebrities including Jane Fonda.[4]
UFPJ's previous major action occurred from September 24 to 26, 2005, in
Previous protests
Some of UFPJ's protests include:
- Its first United Nations headquarters in New York City and entitled "The World Says No to War." The protest drew over 500,000 people.[1]
- Its second major protest, held on March 20, 2004, to commemorate the first anniversary of the U.S.' attack on Iraq. The event drew over 100,000 people in New York City, plus nearly two million in 700 other cities.
- In 2004, the organization wanted to hold a rally on the Great Lawn of NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne stated about the RNC protests: "You certainly had 800,000 on August 29th."[5]
- On January 27, 2007, a protest of the Iraq war was held in Washington, D.C., with approximately 400,000 people participating.
Unity statement
UFPJ's lengthy Unity Statement begins by asserting their opposition to the "
It goes on to call for "a broad mass movement for peace and justice" and, in particular, for "peaceful resolution of disputes amongst states; respect for national sovereignty, international law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the defense and extension of basic democratic freedoms to all; social and economic justice; and the use of public spending to meet human and environmental needs."[6]
UFPJ explicitly positions itself as not being a single-issue organization: "We envision UFPJ as a movement-building coalition that coordinates and supports the work of existing groups and builds linkages and solidarity where none exist. We will link the wars abroad with the assaults at home, and U.S. militarism to the corporate economic interests it serves."[6]
The statement lays out the intent of following these principles internally to UFPJ itself: "We will pay special attention in all aspects of our work to the inclusion and leadership of constituencies bearing the brunt of the war’s impact at home, such as
The statement continues with a critique of U.S. government conduct, above all, with respect to the justification, preparation, and execution of the
The critique is then broadened to much of U.S. foreign policy,
Criticism
One critic claimed UFPJ is overly supportive of the Democratic Party.[7] However, UFPJ had sponsored protests outside the Democratic National Convention in July 2004,[8] calling for an "emphatic rejection of the Democratic 'leadership' that supported the war."[9] In 2006, UFPJ, and many of its member groups, participated in the Voters for Peace campaign,[10] a pledge which states, "I will only vote for or support federal candidates who publicly commit to a speedy end to the Iraq war, and to preventing future 'wars of aggression'."
Another critic has criticized the hierarchy, as he perceives it, within the New York City based leadership of UFPJ. He also stated that "term limits must be enforced if the office of [UFPJ's] national coordinator is to be continued."[11]
"No Stolen Elections!" campaign
In September 2004, UFPJ joined with the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution,
Sharp disagreement with ANSWER
Although UFPJ worked with A.N.S.W.E.R. to build the September 24, 2005, Washington, D.C., rally, by December 2005 the two groups had definitively fallen out. A December 2005 statement by UFPJ says that "engagement with A.N.S.W.E.R.… [has been] …a difficult and controversial aspect of our work," and that UFPJ "has decided not to coordinate work with ANSWER again on a national level." The document discusses events surrounding the September 24 rally, charges that A.N.S.W.E.R. "violated the terms of our agreement in ways that substantially and negatively impacted September 24’s message and impact," remarks that "co-sponsorship with ANSWER on September 24 was welcomed by some in the antiwar movement but limited or prevented completely the participation of others," and explains, "We did not have consensus" about the decision not to work with A.N.S.W.E.R., but had "a more than two thirds supermajority … We make no recommendations or mandates on this issue to UFPJ member groups in local or constituency-based area…"[12]
A.N.S.W.E.R. responded by saying that "UFPJ has publicly proclaimed its intention to split the movement," and accused UFPJ of "a false and ugly attack on the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition," and of doing so for "embarrassingly petty and astonishingly trivial" reasons. Besides giving their own version of the events surrounding September 24, A.N.S.W.E.R.'s statement indicates some less trivial differences between the groups: they criticize UFPJ for its willingness to embrace even moderate politicians, such as John Murtha, who are disaffected with the war, while A.N.S.W.E.R. "considers it harmful to try to tailor the message of the progressive movement to please the long-awaited but fictional support from the politicians."[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b c NYCLU Seeks FBI Files On NY Political Groups And Activists Archived March 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, New York Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
- ^ About United for Peace and Justice Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, UFPJ official site. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
- ^ 100 Anti-War Protests In 35 States, UFPJ press release, Wednesday, 11 December 2002.
- ^ Anti-war protesters press Congress to bring troops home, USA Today, (January 2007)
- ^ "NYPD Debates Civil Liberties Attorney Over Police Spying of Protesters" Archived April 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Democracy Now!. March 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f United for Peace and Justice Unity Statement, UFPJ official site. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
- ^ Roy Rollins, Still looking for the "lesser evil;" As Bush flounders, Liberal Left left leaderless, Left Hook, 10/27/2005
- ^ "UFPJ Web Site". Unitedforpeace.org. 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Turn Up the Heat: A Plan for 2004 and Beyond Peacework Magazine, January 2004
- ^ UFPJ Web Site Archived May 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tom Good, UFPJ Diary: The Case for Participatory Democracy.
- ^ UFPJ Rejects Future Work with ANSWER Archived 2005-12-28 at the Wayback Machine, December 12, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2006.
- ^ A.N.S.W.E.R. Responds to UFPJ: Our Position on Unity in the AntiWar Movement Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine December 16, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2006.