International activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly spoke on economic sanctions and the effects of war that she witnessed in Iraq at a press conference Monday morning.

The event, sponsored by the Peace and Justice Center and the Bangor Chapter of Veterans for Peace, was held at the center.

Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, a national peace activists group, told Veterans for Peace members and local residents at the press conference that U.S. economic sanctions enabled the U.S. military to win the war easily over a weakened Iraqi populace.

“Democracy is based on information,” she said. “We lost crucial information on ordinary people like ourselves in Iraq” when the sanctions were enacted.
Kelly explained the resentment Iraqi families felt against the U.S. military occupation and the state of children dying from waterborne diseases, pneumonia in the winter, and cancer. She expressed concerns not only for the Iraqi people but also for the U.S. soldiers she met who were confused about the war.
Kelly returned from her 21st visit to Iraq on April 19.

Founded in 1996, Voices in the Wilderness is based in Chicago. The organization functions as a network for nonviolent education and action, developing and practicing ways of nonviolent resistance. Since its founding, Kelly has organized more than 70 delegations of U.S. citizens who have delivered food and medicine to Iraqi children and families.

On July 29, the U.S. government served Voices in the Wilderness with a summons. This summons called on the organization to respond in 20 days to civil charges, stating that the organization has not paid $20,000 in fines plus interest and late fees for violations of the Iraqi Sanction Regulations.

“We were served the summons because we bought medicine and toys for children in Iraq,” Kelly said. “We will continue to do that and not pay the fines. We don’t believe what we have done is criminal.”

Kelly also has refused to pay federal income tax for more than 20 years. In 1998, she was sentenced to jail in Kentucky for planting corn over nuclear missile silos. She served nine months.

The activist also has participated and helped organize nonviolent direct action teams in Haiti and Bosnia. She has won several awards for her peacekeeping efforts, including being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, 2001 and 2002.Kelly plans to return to Iraq on Aug. 21 to distribute 13 videos of “A Force More Powerful,” a film that depicts nonviolent movements, such as the American civil rights movement, and has been translated into Arabic.

Kelly hopes to establish group work with the U.S. occupying forces in Iraq as well as get a neutral party of technicians to help build stability in the country.
“Someone needs to figure out how the garbage will be picked up.” she said. “And the Iraqi people need electricity and clean water and to feel safe enough to go outside their homes.”

Kelly also spoke about her experience in Iraq on Monday afternoon at the home of Deb Marshall and Kim Petty on Little Deer Isle.

Copyright 2003 Bangor Daily News
Bangor Daily News (Maine)