(Cambridge) May 24 – Massachusetts Peace Action joins the Peace in Ukraine Coalition to fan out across congressional home district offices today, to deliver a petition in The Hill that urges Presidents Biden, Putin and Zelensky to support peace talks and a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Members will deliver the petition to the JFK Building offices of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and to district offices of Rep. Stephen Lynch, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Jake Auchincloss and Rep. Katherine Clark.
Peace activists in Washington DC will also share a copy of the petition/ad with Congressional offices on the Hill and with offices of the US State Department and the Ukrainian and Russian embassies.
The petition, published as a full-page ad today in The Hill, reads, “The longer the war goes on, the greater the danger of spiraling escalation which can lead to a wider war, environmental devastation and nuclear annihilation.”
The petition reinforces the efforts of global leaders who are involved in peace initiatives, including the presidents of China, Brazil, and South Africa; the UN Secretary General; and the Pope. It also reflects the growing U.S. public skepticism about continued U.S. support for the war.
Massachusetts Peace Action asks Massachusetts lawmakers to issue a public statement calling on Biden, Putin and Zelensky to support an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations without preconditions.
U.S. activists plan to bring the petition to the upcoming International Summit for Peace in Ukraine that will take place on June 10-11th in Vienna, a global gathering to amplify the urgent call for a ceasefire in a war that poses the risk of nuclear annihilation.
The petition featured in the ad was signed by leaders of national and international organizations, including Massachusetts Peace Action, CODEPINK, Defuse Nuclear War, Veterans for Peace, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom-US, Progressive Democrats of America, RootsAction, World Beyond War and the Ukrainian Movement of Pacifists.
The petition was also signed by prominent authors, historians and diplomats, among them Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower; Medea Benjamin, co-author, “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict;” Jeffrey Sachs, economist, global leader in sustainable development; Roger Waters, co-founder, Pink Floyd: Matthew Hoh, Eisenhower Media Network, former Marine Corps officer and State Department and Defense official; Col. Ann Wright, former State Department official; Jack Matlock, former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union; Norman Soloman, founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, Dr. Cornel West, author, “Race Matters”, ”Democracy Matters and others, plus over 7,000 ordinary citizens.
The activists will also deliver copies of a separate full page ad urging peace in Ukraine that appeared in The New York Times on May 16, signed by a group of former national security officials.
