'TWENTY-O-THREE' FOR 2007

CONCLUSION OF 'TWENTY-O-THREE' FOR 2007
Today (20:03) a small group of us took the signed originals of our open letter to George Bush to Martin Place.
Between all of us who got involved in the event we gathered two thousand, eight hundred (2,800) individual signatures. They came from all over the place (including a good number from Tasmania). We can all feel very pleased with our efforts.
We were not permitted to have any contact with any member of the consulate staff (such is their level of
paranoia) and had to hand the bundle over to a member of the Federal Police (who will hand it on to the Chief Security Officer, who will hand it on to the Consul General, who will hand it on...). It is an elaborate game of Chinese Whispers, garanteed to shield anyone from hearing something they don't want to hear!
Be that as it may, it still feels as though the exercise was worth it.
After delivering to the CG, we walked to the Prime Minister's Sydney office and delivered photocopies of most of the originals. We enclosed a covering letter (attached).
The Marrickville Peace Group is enormously grateful to all the groups who took part. We don't know all the individuals involved, so we rely on you who receive this message to pass it on so that everyone involved knows that we appreciate their efforts.

A copy of the letter that was delivered is below

Twenty-0-Three



Mr John Howard 20th March 2007
Prime Minister


Dear Mr Howard


Today, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, we have delivered an open letter addressed to US President George Bush to the office of the US Consul General in Sydney.

To keep you informed, as a courtesy, we are also delivering photocopies of the signed originals to your Sydney office.

Please take note of the fact that 2,700 individuals have signed this letter – with only a couple of weeks’ exertion on our part. Last year we spent a full month and only managed 1,000 signatures. When gathering signatures we encountered fewer arguments than last year. We could discern a noticeable difference in the mood of the people.

We believe you should become aware that opinion is turning against policies that deliver violence and destruction. The war in Iraq is extremely unpopular.

These groups involved themselves in our “Twenty-O-Three” event:-

The Marrickville Peace Group
The Pennant Hills Area Peace Group
The Newtown Peace Group
The Leichhardt Peace Group
The Parramatta Peace Group
Pax Christ NSW
The CFMEU
Unions NSW
The Greens
Quakers for Peace and Justice
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom


Sincerely,


Nick Deane
(c/- Marrickville Peace Group, PO Box 647, Marrickville, NSW, 2204)