[1307] in peace2
Senate votes to invade Netherlands!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aram W Harrow)
Tue Dec 11 22:58:16 2001
Message-Id: <200112120356.WAA05518@nerd-xing.mit.edu>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 22:56:34 -0500
From: Aram W Harrow <aram@MIT.EDU>
well, not in so many words, but this bill is still bad news.
unfortunately, neither of the subcommittees below have anyone from
massachusetts on them, but maybe some people's home states are there.
*************************************************
TAKE ACTION TODAY TO STOP ANTI-INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT LEGISLATION!
We urgently need your help to contact members of the House and Senate in
the next 48 hours by telephone or fax to let them know that you strongly
oppose Senator Helms' anti-International Criminal Court amendment.
Please email, call, or fax the offices of the Senators and Representatives
who appear on the list below.
Background information and talking points follow.
We appreciate your continued efforts on behalf of the ICC.
* * * * * * * * *
BACKGROUND
Last Friday, after a vigorous debate, the Senate adopted Senator Jesse
Helms' anti-ICC amendment, the so-called American Servicemembers Protection
Act (ASPA), as part of the bill that provides funding for the Defense
Department (the Department of Defense Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year
2002). Although Senator Helms was forced to drop many of its worst
provisions, if the amendment becomes law, it would still be a major setback
for US relations with the Court.
The House has also passed an anti-ICC amendment that cuts off funding for
cooperation with the Court. However, unlike the Senate amendment, which
would become a permanent law, the House amendment is more limited in that
it only applies to this particular pot of money and expires at the end of
the fiscal year.
The fate of the ASPA will now be decided by a joint meeting of members of
the House and Senate (a "conference committee") that has the job of
resolving differences between the bills adopted by the House and Senate.
OUR FUNDAMENTAL MESSAGE TO ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IS THAT WE SUPPORT THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ICC AND STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY LANGUAGE THAT WOULD
UNDERMINE OR RESTRICT US COOPERATION WITH THE ICC. We recognize, however,
that it will be extremely difficult to defeat the ASPA altogether in the
current context. Therefore, our secondary message is that, failing the
removal of all anti-ICC language from the Defense Appropriations bill, the
House amendment would be less damaging in the long run to the ICC than the
Senate amendment, because the House amendment would not become a permanent
law. We would then ask that the Senate drop its amendment (technically
this is known as "receding to the House," or letting the House have its way
on this issue).
* * * * * * * * *
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please email, call, or fax members of the Senate and House Subcommittees on
Defense and Senate Majority Leader Daschle as soon as possible. Tell them
you support the ICC and urge them to oppose the Helms anti-ICC amendment.
Make the following points:
-- I support the establishment of the International Criminal Court and
urge you in the strongest possible terms to do everything within your
power to remove the anti-ICC language from the Defense Department
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2002.
-- I understand that Senator Helms attached an anti-ICC amendment to
this year's Defense Appropriations bill and that this bill will shortly
be "going to conference."
-- The Helms amendment would prohibit the Administration from
participating in aggressive negotiations in the establishment of an
international criminal forum of justice and to be at the table to see
that this is done right. It is best to allow the Administration to be
present to help formulate a future ICC, not to prevent Administration
negotiations in crafting a future ICC.
-- If you are contacting a member of the Senate: I strongly oppose this
amendment and believe that it should be removed. Short of striking the
anti-ICC language from the bill, the Senate should recede to the House
on this issue. The House amendment would expire at the end of FY '02 at
which time the Administration would regain the flexibility it needs to
re-engage in international negotiations on this topic.
-- If you are contacting a member of the House: I strongly oppose the
anti-ICC amendment and believe it should be removed. Short of striking
the anti-ICC language from the bill, the House should demand that the
Senate drop the Helms provision and insist upon the House version. The
House provision expires at the end of FY '02 at which time the
Administration would regain the flexibility it needs to re-engage in
international negotiations on this topic.
-- The Helms bill literally authorizes the President to invade other
countries, including the Netherlands (where the ICC will be located), to
release persons detained for crimes against humanity and genocide. This
provision does not apply to Americans only. It applies to anyone at all
working for or on behalf of more than a dozen other countries because
the bill covers widely defined "allied persons."
-- It is not in the United States' interest to attack our closest allies
at a time when we are trying to work together to bring to justice those
responsible for crimes, which the ICC is designed to prosecute. Our
closest European allies vigorously oppose the Helms amendment, which has
been called "the Hague Invasion Act."
-- The bill could make the US a safe haven for the world's worst
criminals by prohibiting the US Government from sending anyone to the
Court. That's why the bill has also been called "the War Criminals Safe
Haven Act."
-- Already 139 countries have signed the ICC and 47 ratified it. This is
not the time for the United States to abandon pursuit of international
justice and to prohibit the Administration from aggressively negotiating
terms for establishment of an International Criminal Court.
* * * * * * * * *
Contact details for Senator Daschle and members of the Senate and House
Subcommittees on Defense
Senate Majority Leader Daschle (D-SD): (202) 224-2321 --
http://daschle.senate.gov/webform.html
SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE
Inouye (D-HI): (202) 224-3934 ? senator@inouye.senate.gov (Chair)
Stevens (R-AK): (202) 224- -3004 ? senator_stevens@stevens.senate.gov
(Ranking)
Hollings (D-SC): (202) 224-6121 ? senator@hollings.senate.gov
Byrd (D-WV): (202) 224-3954 ? senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov
Leahy (D-VT): (202) 224-4242 ? senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Harkin (D-IA): (202) 224-3254 ? tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Dorgan (D-ND): (202) 224-2551 ? senator@dorgan.senate.gov
Durbin (D-IL): (202) 224-2152 ? dick@durbin.senate.gov
Reid (D-NV): (202) 224-3542 ? senator_reid@reid.senate.gov
Feinstein (D-CA): (202) 224-3841 ? senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Kohl (D-WI): (202) 224-5653 ? senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
Cochran (R-MS): (202) 224-5054 ? senator@cochran.senate.gov
Specter (R-PA): (202) 224 ? 4254 ? senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
Domenici (R-NM): (202) 224-6621 ? senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov
Bond (R-MO): (202) 224-5721 ? kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
McConnell (R-KY): (202) 224-2541 ? senator@mcconnel.senate.gov
Shelby (R-AL): (202) 224-5744 ? senator@Shelby.senate.gov
Gregg (R-NH): (202) 224-3324 ? mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
Hutchinson (R-TX): (202) 224-5922 ? senator@hutchison.senate.gov
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE
Lewis, (R-CA): (202) 225-5861 ? jerry.lewis@mail.house.gov (Chair)
Murtha, (D-PA): (202) 225-2065 ? murtha@mail.house.gov
Young, (R-FL): (202) 225-5961 ? bill.young@mail.house.gov
Skeen, (R-NM): (202) 225-2365 ? joe.skeen@mail.house.gov
Hobson, (R-OH): (202) 225-4324 ? david.hobson@mail.house.gov
Bonilla, (R-TX): (202) 225-4511 ? henry.bonilla@mail.house.gov
Nethercutt, (R-WA): (202) 225-2006 ? george.nethercutt-pub@mail.house.gov
Cunningham, (R-CA): (202) 225-5452
Frelinghuysen, (R-NJ): (202) 225-5034 ? rodney.frelinghuysen@mail.house.gov
Tiahrt, (R-KS): (202) 225-6216 ? tiahrt@mail.house.gov
Dicks, (D-WA): (202) 225-5916 ? norman.dicks@mail.house.gov
Sabo, (D-MN): (202) 225-4755 ? martin.sabo@mail.house.gov
Visclosky, (D-IN): (202) 225-2461 ? peter.visclosky@mail.house.gov
Moran, (D-VA): (202) 225-4376 ? james.moran@mail.house.gov
