At the same time the tragic violence in Ukraine wages as a result of the violent imperialism of both Russia and the US, we are coming up on a national day of action regarding Yemen (March 1st), a humanitarian catastrophe not to be forgotten. Please stay tuned the next couple days for announcements on upcoming actions regarding Ukraine.
END US/SAUDI WAR ON YEMEN
Dear Rhode Island-Area Peace Activists,
Please join us on Tuesday March 1 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at Raytheon’s facility at 1847 West Main Road in Portsmouth, RI 02871 as part of a national call to protest the U.S.- enabled bombing and blockade of Yemen.
And help end the U.S, supported war on Yemen by insisting that our Congressmen support a war powers resolution for Yemen. Two members of Congress will introduce a war powers amendment. They explain why and describe current conditions in Yemen here.
After seven years of war in Yemen, hundreds of thousands of civilians have died, 2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and a blockade is preventing fuel, food, aid and medical supplies from reaching the Yemeni people. The US has been providing maintenance and logistical support for the Saudi coalition’s airstrikes which have not only targeted vital civilian infrastructure including hospitals, food depots, dams, and communication centers but large gatherings like weddings and funerals. Since Congress greenlighted the sale of weapons to the Saudis and UAE in late 2021 the bombing has risen to its highest rate since the first few months of the war. President Biden promised that the US would end its support for the Saudi coalition’s war on Yemen on Feb. 4, 2021, but he has not fulfilled that promise.
A war powers resolution for Yemen, like the one that bi-partisan majorities passed in both the House and Senate in 2019 (but was blocked by Trump’s veto), can put a stop to US complicity in the world’s largest humanitarian disaster and Saudi coalition war crimes against civilians.
You can help in many ways:
1) Join us at Raytheon on March 1. Bring signs calling for Congressmen Cicilline and Langevin to co-sponsor a war powers resolution for Yemen or calling for an end to the bombing or an end to the blockade. Raytheon bombs have been used in many of the attacks on civilian targets, Raytheon has played an integral part in lobbying for more arms sales both with Congress and within the executive branch and their executives have, at times, lauded how the war is good for business. Signs addressing that would also be appropriate.
2) E-mail your Congressmen using this link.
3) Call your Congressman and both our Senators by using this link and following the instructions you find there. A short script is provided to help you make your calls.
Please see the attached note linked below on parking near Raytheon which contains important safety and logistical information.
This will be a peaceful demonstration. We intend to respect ourselves, others and our community while forcefully advocating that our elected officials stand up to end US participation in the war. And we do need to remind the community that military weapons manufacturers are providing the bombs and missiles that are killing Yemeni civilians every day and that their complicity in violence against innocent people must not be forgotten or ignored.
This call is being put out by an ad-hoc coalition of local people, including:
Nancy Hood, East Bay Citizens for Peace
Jonathan Daly-Labelle, No Endless War or Excessive Militarism
William Smith, III, Pax Christi-RI
Nancy Houston, FCNL
Tyler Barnes-Diana, Brown War Watch
David Oppenheimer
For inquiries, please contact David Oppenheimer at oppyman@gmail.com or 401-527-1851 or riadvocacyteam@gmail.com
For more on Raytheon and Yemen check out these links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/us/arms-deals-raytheon-yemen.html
https://masspeaceaction.org/yemen-crisis-linked-to-weapons-maker-raytheons-influence-on-us-foreign-policy/
https://inthesetimes.com/features/us-saudi-arabia-yemen-war-arms-sales.html
PARKING – If you want to attend please check out this section!
- Rt. 144 (West Main Rd.) in Portsmouth is a heavily travelled road and vehicles drive fast. Cross the road only at the pedestrian crossing.
- The entrance to Raytheon is a turn to the west at a traffic light on Rt 144 There is a guard-house set back about 30 yards. Beyond the guard-house (besides Raytheon) are the Newport Car Museum (large parking lot to the left), an indoor golf place, and a credit union. All these are open to the public.
- Parking Option #1: In theory we could go to the guard, say we’re going in to the Car Museum, park, and walk back past the guard to the grassy edge of Rt. 114 for our demonstration. However, the guard might not let us walk back into the area to retrieve our car after the demo. I haven’t yet tried that one.
- Parking Option #2: Turn to the east at the traffic light into the entrance to the BoysTown complex. There is room for several cars on the grassy edge of the driveway. Police have allowed us to park there, but there is not room for lots of vehicles.
- Parking Option #3: South of the Raytheon entrance, there is a gravel lot on the east side of Rt. 114 which appears to be a Town public works area. There is a lot of room to park, however we would need to walk back about 300 yards to the light and pedestrian crossing.
- If you’re carpooling, there is room to pull into the Raytheon entrance, stop before the guardhouse and let passengers out, then make a U-turn, go back onto Rt 114 to park either at BoysTown or at the gravel lot.
Brown War Watch 