A Strategy For A Teach-In And Lobbying Campaign


Contact Karl Meyer at Nashville Greenlands for additional information 615) 322-9523




1.. Find the most likely church congregation and an affinity organization to adopt the Iraq sanctions issue as a


priority focus for action – in the case of Nashville, Nashville Friends Meeting and War Resisters League


Nashville Chapter. (See below: Attachment #1 is a good position statement used by the Nashville group.)




2.. Approach the pastors and social action committees of other churches, and program committees of


other organizations with a request to organize a congregational education meeting or "teach-in." (See


Attachment #2, a sample initial cover-letter to pastor.)




3.. Use these meetings to raise awareness and to collect signatures.




a).. Circulate at the educational meetings a petition, which includes a space for recording the place and


date at which the signatures are collected. (See Attachment #3 – adapted from Nashville petition.


This petition will be used both for sending in to elected politicians and for collecting a list of


supporters.)




b).. For free handouts (to be distributed at the meetings) we recommend the following items:


i).. 2 page Iraq Action Coalition (IAC) summary of UNICEF Report "Situation Analysis of Children and


Women in Iraq" – the most credible and authoritative source on the statistics and magnitude of the


humanitarian crisis; or 2 page IAC "Summary of Facts" – additional credible facts and sources (IAC


Website: http://leb.net/IAC/).


ii)... N.Y. Times 1/3/99 article (p. wk5) by Stephen Kinzer, "Smart Bombs, Dumb Sanctions" –


confirmation from authoritative, mainstream newspaper


iii).. 5/23/97 NCR interview with Kathy Kelly, by Bob McClory, "Iraq’s Horror is Worst Activist Has Seen"


– on of the best interviews for personalizing the story


iv).. Basic Voices in the Wilderness brochure – to connect people with an action project


v).. The Progressive interview with Denis Halliday by Matthew Rothschild, 2/99, pp.26-29.


vi).. Iraq Notebook, published by Houston FOR. For copies, contact (713)524-2682


vii).. Covert Action Quarterly Spring 1998 article by Roger Normand, (pp. 4-10)




c).. Voices can provide visual aids, such as enlarged pictures or videotapes, for your meetings. Please


contact us at the above address or number.




d).. After the meeting,


i).. Ask the pastor or other principal organizer of the meeting to transmit copies of the petitions, with a


cover letter from the church or the organization, to two local Congresspeople, two Senators, and Vice


President Al Gore (because he is running next year). A series of 10-15 signatures sent in by many


organized groups (with date and place of collection indicated) are more effective than 200 signatures


sent in by one organizer. This way the Congressperson will know that he/she would be held


accountable for his/her answer, which would get reported back to those groups.


ii).. You can help facilitate this by


(1).. collecting the petitions at the end of your "teach-in"


(2).. then making 6 copies – 5 to be sent to the above-mentioned politicians and 1 for your record (See


below, Step 6.)


(3).. providing the pastor with contact information when you ask him/her to write the cover letter.




e).. Such a steady stream of petitions, coming from organized groups, as part of a coordinated campaign, is


most likely to eventually get the attention of the members of Congress.




4.. Come up with a concrete step you would like your Congresspeople to take towards lifting the sanctions.


For example, see attached letter from Rep. Bob Clement from Nashville to the President asking him to


justify his support for the sanctions in Iraq – Attachment #4. (You can even ask them to travel to Iraq if it


seems at all likely!) Then,


a).. Select, for special focus, one Congressperson or Senator who is most likely to change position on this


issue (in Nashville’s case, Democratic Congressman Bob Clement).


b).. Focus on getting a positive action response from him/her, by


i).. letters and a delegation visit (See Attachment #5)


ii).. a steady stream of church petitions and letters to him/her


iii).. bi-weekly or monthly "presence visits" the local office, in which a group of activists goes to the office


to wait for whatever response is presently being asked from him/her, and waits in the lobby of the


office for several hours showing photographs, giving out literature, and discussing the issue with


members of the staff, with constituents visiting for interviews or service requests, with Federal


security officers, with local police, and anyone else who comes on the scene. Try to build an


on-going relationship with the office by respecting their space and dialoguing with them in the spirit


of non-violence.




c).. Such visits and the dialogue created by them will


i).. conscientize people at the staff level; that is, cause the Congressperson and the whole staff to begin


to pay attention to the moral dimension of the Iraq issue


ii).. educate people who are tangentially involved, such as other constituents and security personnel


iii).. give members of your group on the job training in active nonviolence


iv).. bring the media into this as a local story, especially if the Congresspeople lose their cool and have


you arrested


v).. move the Congressperson from current position on the Iraq issue, with the hope that he/she will make


it to home base.




5.. If the targeted Congressperson moves sufficiently in the desired direction, move on to the next


Congressperson or Senator on your list.




6.. Start an ad hoc committee and maintain an on-going list of supporters. (See Step 3 and Attachment #3.)


a).. Set a tentative goal of how many names you plan to gather up.


b).. Involve prominent people in your area to support the committee by having their names listed in the letter


head column.


c).. Print the rank-and-file names on the back page as you collect them.


d).. When you get a substantial number, start using your constituency list in putting the heat on your


members of Congress.




http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw