National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].
Join us at the White House to act against the Afghanistan War!
Join us October 5th when we visit the White House, and you can sign the petition to President Obama… HERE!
If you plan on being a part of the October 5th mobilization in Washington, please fill out this online form.
We will be gathering at McPherson Square (15th and I Streets NW) at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 5th and then silently processing (two and a half blocks) to the White House to deliver a letter to Obama and request a meeting. The gathering will feature Liz McAlister as a speaker.
In front of the White House we will be joined by various affinity groups, such as the Atlantic Life Community, Witness Against Torture, Veterans for Peace, World Can’t Wait, and Activist Response Team. Other groups fully endorsing the action and participating are Peace Action, Code Pink, the War Resisters’ League, Voters for Peace, The Washington Peace Center, and Student Peace Action Network. During this action we will all be following the Nonviolence Guidelines listed on this site.
For those actively participating, we ask that either a “We Will Not Be Silent” t-shirt, or a simple black shirt be worn.
We are calling for withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, ending the illegal bombing with US drones, including neighboring Pakistan, and the closing of the Bagram prison and ending indefinite detention and torture. We are calling for an end to these wars and occupations, including that of Iraq, so that our resources can be used for life-sustaining actions including the funding and the rebuilding of Afghanistan’s and Iraq’s infrastructure and medical assistance to Afghans and Iraqis, in addition to poverty reduction programs in the United States and world wide. We are calling for accountability for those who have committed war crimes.
If you wish to join us in DC on the Monday of the same week our nation will be entering its 9th year of War in Afghanistan, contact the NCNR Co-Conveners! We will meet on Sunday, Oct. 4th, 2-5 p.m. at the Festival Center located at 1640 Columbia Road NW.
Resistance
A nationwide network of individuals and organizations committed to ending the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and working for the abolition of torture, utilizing the nonviolent practices and disciplines of Gandhi, King, and Day.
CIVIL RESISTANCE
In 2002, the Iraq Pledge of Resistance was formed to prevent a war with Iraq. While we failed, we continued to engage in nonviolent direct action to end the war and the occupation. Eventually, the group, in expanding its focus, became the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].
As a group with lots of direct action experience, NCNR has consistently encouraged organizations and individuals to recognize the difference between civil disobedience and civil resistance. We see the difference as being important in the struggle for nonviolent, positive social change.
The classic definition of civil disobedience, as practiced by the civil rights movement, is the breaking of an unjust law with the intent of changing it. In Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, Rosa Parks broke an immoral law when she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white person.
It is rare for today’s activists to do “civil disobedience,” as it removes the onus from the government to prove a defendant was engaged in criminal activity. Doing CD eliminates the argument that the government, or a corporate entity, is the lawbreaker. Doing CD can cause a majority of the people to plead guilty and pay a citation fee. An individual has to decide whether to pay out or not. However, if a large number of people are arrested, and the organizers urge participants to pay out, that can amount to the payment of a hefty “protest tax.”
Today, NCNR activists engage in civil resistance, which means taking action to uphold the law. For example, we repeatedly challenged the Bush/Cheney government which disavowed the rule of law.
Using the term civil resistance is important for several reasons. First, in every statement about an action we point out that a government, or a corporate entity, is breaking the law. Second, we stress our Nuremberg obligation to act against the government’s lawbreaking. Finally, there is the matter of speaking in court after the action. A defendant who states s/he was engaged in civil disobedience not only is pleading guilty, but is letting the government off the hook for its failure to prosecute the real criminals.
If we are arrested, we encourage participants to go to trial and then use the courtroom to state that the action was lawful since its intent was to expose actual violations of the law—starting an illegal war, torturing prisoners or destroying the environment.
In court, we point out citizens have a Nuremberg obligation. At the Nuremberg trials, the court determined that citizens must challenge the government when it breaks the law.
