| |
Cluster Bomb Survivors Meet with Religious, Community Leaders;
Press Senators, Candidates to Ban Cluster Bombs
Washington, DC….A 17-year old Afghani boy who lost both legs to a cluster bomb, the father of a five-year-old boy killed by these weapons in south Lebanon, and the mother of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq while cleaning up U.S. dropped cluster bomblets will travel to key mid-western states in October. The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs is arranging the October 6-15 tour to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to build public support for Senate legislation that would effectively ban the U.S. from using and exporting cluster bombs.
“As a people, as a country, we are so much better than this,” said Lynn Bradach, referring to the United States’ use and sale of cluster bombs. “Please help me celebrate my son’s life by saving others.” Her son Travis, a Marine, was killed in Iraq in July 2003 while clearing unexploded U.S. cluster submunitions from an Iraqi battlefield.
The Pope, Bishop Desmond Tutu, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNICEF, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Christian relief group World Vision, among others, have condemned the use of these indiscriminate weapons. One hundred and ten national governments, representing more than half the nations of the world, agreed in May to ban cluster munitions, but the U.S. has refused to join the global treaty. Tour participants will be calling for legislation that would prohibit the U.S. military from using these weapons in civilian populated areas.
"As a victim of cluster bombs, I propose to those who produce, use and transfer these harmful weapons: Please ban cluster bombs," says Soraj Ghulam Habib, who was gravely wounded by the explosion of a submunition in Afghanistan when he was 10 years old. "You would ban them for sure if your own children faced them." Soraj will be part of the Midwest trip.
"These individuals are witnesses to the devastating civilian toll cluster munitions take," explained Lora Lumpe, the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines. "We are touring Midwestern states to build public support for our campaign to urge the next president and Congress to support the global treaty on cluster bombs."
Details
When: October 6 - 15, 2008
Where: Chicago, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Cleveland, Columbus, Richmond (IN), Indianapolis, Chicago. Find out more and download flyers.
What: Cluster Bomb Survivors meet with religious leaders, political figures, community
Participants:
- Raed Mokaled is from southern Lebanon. His son, Ahmad, was killed by a cluster submunition on 12 February 1999-his fifth birthday.
- Soraj Ghulam Habib is from western Afghanistan. While playing when he was 10, he ran into an object that blew off both of his legs and injured several of his playmates.
- Lynn Bradach is a native of Portland, OR. Her son Travis, a U.S. Marine, was killed by a U.S. cluster submunition while serving in Iraq in 2003.
See bio of all participants.
Background
Cluster munitions are large weapons containing dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions or bomblets that kill or maim in an area the size of two to four football fields. The vast majority of the victims of these weapons are civilians. Over the last ten years the United States has used these weapons in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Unexploded bomblets the U.S. dropped in Vietnam and Laos more than 30 years ago are still killing and maiming people today.
Two features of this weapon led the international community to ban its usage:
- their wide-area coverage. Cluster munitions kill and injure civilians who are present during military strikes.
- their high failure rate. Many submunitions (up to 30%) do not explode, becoming de facto landmines that cause civilian casualties for months, years, or even decades to come.
The United States is the leading user, producer, stockpiler, and exporter of cluster munitions. Although Congress has placed a one year moratorium on the export of most U.S. cluster bombs, the administration has refused to join the global negotiations leading to a cluster bomb treaty. Instead, following the Dublin negotiations, the Pentagon articulated a new policy that calls for the use and, if permitted by Congress, export of these weapons for another decade.
Last year, Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Patrick Leahy (VT) introduced the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S. 594), which would require the United States to cease use and export of all but the most reliable cluster bombs (those that leave behind less than 1% of their unexploded submunitions). It would prohibit any use of cluster munitions in areas that are normally populated by civilians. The bill currently has 23 co-sponsors in the Senate. Several Mid-western senators, including Senators Voinovich, Lugar, and Levin, are key to the effort to ban U.S. cluster bombs.
Learn more about cluster bombs at www.banclusterbombs.org.
########
The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) is a coalition of thousands of organizations and people working to ban further US use, production, and export of anti-personnel landmines and cluster bombs. The Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) is the coordinator for the USCBL.
|
|
