American opposition abroad to converge on Prague

11.11.2003
PRAHA [American Voices Abroad]
Autor: AVA, tel: +420 271720885, +420 608819276.

On November 21st, the American Voices Abroad (AVA) coalition will convene its second worldwide congress in Prague. The coalition’s immediate goal is to develop broad opposition among American émigré communities to the foreign and domestic policies of the Bush administration, including the doctrine of preemptive war and the Patriot Act.

Several prominent speakers will address the assembly in Prague’s Tyrsuv Dum over the three-day conference, including former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, the ACLU’s Jennifer van Bergen, peace activist Damu Smith and Iraqi dissident Ahmad Ghlim. Approximately 50 delegates representing organizations of Americans living in Europe and the Middle East will attend to plan events and projects for the run up to the presidential elections in the United States next year.

AVA is a non-partisan coalition, drawing from a wide spectrum of groups and individuals, from members of mainstream political parties to democracy activists and unaligned professionals, journalists and teachers. With a network as far flung as Mexico and South Korea, AVA strives to provide a progressive voice for the estimated 6 million American civilians living abroad. As a result, this coalition, forged in Berlin on July 4 this year, has become the primary vehicle for the American opposition overseas.

“Democracy requires dissent and criticism to be called democracy,” says Gwendolyn Albert, one of the conference organizers. “The end of the Cold War was supposed to bring more freedom and stability to the world, not a situation in which citizens, elected representatives and the media engage in self-censorship for fear of being labeled insufficiently patriotic—or worse, terrorists. Those of us who live outside the US and travel on US passports have a responsibility to participate in the political fate of our country.”

Beyond opposition to current US domestic and foreign policies, AVA’s mission includes promoting media openness and diversity, free and fair elections in the United States, an international justice system, responsible US foreign policy and greater international dialogue.

Julie Wornan, AVA liaison in Paris adds, “The war in Iraq did not begin on March 20, 2003, nor did it end on April 9th. It continues in Afghanistan and Iraq, where promises of democracy, security and peace remain unfulfilled. It continues for Americans and foreigners living in the US, whose civil rights have been restricted; and it continues for children in US schools whose school funding has been cut while the defence budget swells. The Bush administration's assault on the legitimacy of the United Nations and the entire post-WW II framework for international security continues unabated. If America is to remain a world leader, some fundamental changes are needed.”

AVA is an affiliate organization of United for Peace and Justice, the largest coalition of US non-partisan opposition and civil society.


PRESS ACCREDITATION:

Media and press personnel who wish to attend the events and news briefings of the AVA conference or interview our guests are respectfully asked to register with AVA Prague for press accreditation. The accreditation form can be found at http://prajections.tripod.com/avap.htm. You may also simply send your reporter’s name, agency name and events you wish to attend to avaprague@seznam.cz. Once you have registered, your press documentation will be waiting for you at Tyrsuv Dum on Friday, November 21. You will be asked to show a standard press pass or other press identification to receive it. Please call Anna Meadowlark at t: +420 271720885 or t: +420 608819276 for further information and assistance.


PRESS EVENTS:

Several portions of the American Voices Abroad congress will be open to accredited press.

Press Briefing: At 16:00 on Friday, November 21st in Tyrsuv Dum (Ujezd 450/40, Mala Strana, Prague) in the AVA Press Room, conference organizers, guest speakers and a spokesman for AVA’s “100,000 for 2004” campaign will greet international journalists and answer questions.

Opening Ceremony: At 17:00 on Friday November 21st, AVA will convene its second worldwide conference in the main AVA hall at Tyrsuv Dum. African-American peace activist Damu Smith will deliver the keynote speech.

Presentation by ACLU lawyer Jennifer van Bergen: Renowned civil liberties advocate, Jennifer van Bergen will address the AVA conference at 09:00 on Saturday, November 22nd. She will present findings on the legal basis and realities of the USA Patriot Act and other new US legislation.

AVA Open Evening: At 17:00 on Saturday, November 22nd, AVA will sponsor a panel discussion in Tyrsuv Dum between Dave Blalock of the Stop the War Brigade, Dr. Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous of Democrats Abroad Lebanon and Iraqi dissident Ahmad Ghlim on the current situation in Iraq and possible solutions to the crisis of occupation. At 18:00, the conference’s key public lecture will be presented by Scott Ritter, former UNSCOM inspector in Iraq, addressing the basis for the Iraq war and the role of the United Nations. Afterwards, the film “Unprecedented,” which documents the questionable US presidential elections in the year 2000, will be screened in the conference hall.

Closing Ceremony: The AVA congress will close at 17:00 on Sunday, November 23rd. Any specific results of delegate negotiations may be presented to the press at that time.

Further information about the conference schedule and internal events can be obtained at: http://prajections.tripod.com/avap.htm

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