55 Arrested at US Mission to the UN Urging Changes in US Foreign Policy

22 January 2002

New York - Fifty-five people were arrested today on the steps of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations this morning as they called for a change in US foreign policy that would continue the legacy of peacemaking begun by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the spirit of King's anti-war stance, the men and women occupied the steps of the mission demanding an end to the war in Afghanistan and renouncing any expansion of the war.

Tuesday's act of nonviolent civil disobedience was the culmination of a four-day series of presentations and training reflecting on the life of Dr. King.

&qupt;Dr. King's dream of a just society has yet to be realized. As King said, 'The greatest purveyor of violence is my own country,' said Ceylon Mooney of Memphis, TN, one of those arrested today. &qupt;As I and many others have seen, this is still true, and our collective conscience calls us to confront not only the violence committed on behalf of Americans, but also the institutions committing those acts.&qupt;

Joining the group on Tuesday morning were Amber and Ryan Amundson, widow and brother of Craig Scott Amundson, who was killed on September 11 in the attack on the Pentagon.

&qupt;Bush has said that the 'war on terrorism' requires sacrifice from the American people. The nonviolent protest in front of the US Mission to the UN is really a frontline battle of the war on terrorism, and the people who were arrested are showing the sacrifices needed to lead to a true victory against all forms of terror,&qupt; said Amundson.

The protest was sponsored by War Resisters League www.nonviolence.org/vitw/ and Kairos Community/ALC.

War Resister's League media release

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