A Global Appeal for 'No more violence!'

Deeply saddened by the suffering and deaths of thousands in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, we, people of many different backgrounds from around the world, join with millions of others to denounce these latest acts of terror against innocent civilians. We believe that military retaliation in response to this mass murder will only accelerate the cycle of fear, anger and violence.

We urge our political and religious leaders to heed our appeal for nonviolence. We will not be swayed by calls to support further violence. We will respond to cries for revenge with caring, calm and reason. Violent retaliation and war will only lead to greater losses of life. This, in turn, will only serve to breed more anger, hatred and terror.

Instead, we support the rule of international law. The perpetrators of these crimes, and all other crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes, should be brought to justice. No individual, group or government should have immunity from international law.

As we mourn for those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001, we also mourn for all those around the world dying from the violence inflicted by terrorism, war or the lack of food, medicine, water and housing.

Pledge of Nonviolence

Standing firmly together, we will embrace nonviolence to stop the cycle of violence from spiraling even further out of control. We join in solidarity with others around the world to build our common security through disarmament, dialogue and social justice -- not through violent attacks and military might.

We pledge ourselves to support nonviolence as the way towards a peace with justice.

Concerned Individuals:

• Please encourage others to sign by including the URL in your email signature. This appeal needs to be forwarded to as many political and military leaders, media outlets, community leaders, activists, organizations, and appropriate listserves as possible. Thanks.
• We have created a simple poster for this appeal. It's in a PDF format that you can download and print out. Please print this poster and display it in the window of your home, car, on posts, in offices, stores, churches or anywhere else. Thanks.
• Please seek endorsements from organizations for this plea. Organizations endorsing this appeal should send an email confirming their support to the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.
• If you have a web site, download the banner at the bottom of the page and include it in a link to this site. Text links to http://www.flora.org/coat/appeal/ are also appreciated! We also like hearing about links to this site, so please send us your link if you have set one up to us. ad207@ncf.ca
• We are also seeking assistance to translate this appeal into as many other languages as possible.
• Please join with others in organizing events to call for an end to cycle of violence. Withdrawing cooperation, consent and/or participation in war sends a powerful message. If possible, join with or support organizations that use disciplined, nonviolent actions (in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.) to resist war and violence.

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