By Courage to Resist, February 12th, 2009.

Where: In your community (at your house, community center, religious space, etc.)

Organize a letter-writing party in your community to show support for war resisters. Robin Long, recently deported from Canada, is serving a 15-month sentence for refusing to fight in Iraq. Tony Anderson is currently serving a 14-month sentencing for resisting deployment to Iraq. Many more war resisters are sitting in prison for refusing to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, and countless more live with that possibility. Several war resisters have been threatened with deportation from Canada, and Chris Teske and Cliff Cornell have already been forced to leave.

We are asking allies of the G.I. resistance movement to gather together to write:

• Letters of support to war resisters in prison, awaiting court martial, or seeking refuge in Canada
• Letters to the Canadian government asking that war resisters be allowed to stay
• Letters to our own government demanding amnesty for war resisters

War Resister Letter-Writing Parties provide a concrete way to show emotional support for war resisters and establish human connections between civilian support networks and troops refusing to fight. The idea is for a group of people to bring their community together to write letters and to use the occasion to build awareness and solidarity around the issue of G.I. resistance.

We are asking folks to organize their letter-writing events around the sixth anniversary of the Iraq War so that we can take this somber occasion to recognize the brave troops who refuse to fight: the people who give us hope that an end to unjust war is possible.

Courage to Resist will provide you with all of the materials and information you need to host your letter-writing party, including: information and contact info of war resisters, template letters for U.S. and Canadian governments, and literature about G.I. resistance.

If you are interested in organizing a letter-writing party, or if you have any questions, please contact us at courage@riseup.net or 510-488-3559.

We are happy to walk you through the process of organizing a letter-writing party and brainstorm ways to tailor your event to the needs of your community.

Here are a few of the folks we will be sending letters to:

Anthony Michael Anderson PO Box 305 Fort Sill OK 73503-5305 Iraq War resister currently serving a 14-month sentence at the Fort Sill stockade. Expected release: November 2009

Robin Long PO Box 452136 San Diego CA 92145-2136 Iraq War resister deported from Canada currently serving a 15-month sentence at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar brig. Expected release: July 2009

Cliff Cornell c/o Courage to Resist 484 Lake Park Ave #41 Oakland CA 94610 Iraq War resister currently pending court-martial at Fort Stewart, Georgia after returning from Canada.

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