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Brooklyn For Peace Statement on Russia, Ukraine, and NATO

BFP Team
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Peace Activism

Brooklyn For Peace unconditionally condemns Russia’s brutal, illegal, and unjustified war against Ukraine, its independence and its people. The suffering and death, and the targeting of the civilian population, are most certainly crimes against humanity.

We also reject the one-sided narrative that has bombarded our airwaves that the United States and NATO are somehow innocent players and guarantors of democracy in this conflict. We cannot ignore history. Despite promises made to Mikhail Gorbachev, at the time of German reunification, the US has relentlessly promoted the expansion of NATO to include the countries of Eastern Europe, and former republics of the Soviet Union.

The promise of eventual NATO membership to Ukraine and Georgia, in conjunction with US withdrawal from the ABM and INF arms control agreements, has posed an obvious threat to Russian security.  As George Kennan explained years ago, the eastward expansion of NATO was “the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-war era” and could produce catastrophic results.  

We demand peace now! We, along with peace protestors all over the world, including tens of thousands in Russia, want an immediate cessation of the hostilities, an end to the Russian bombing and shelling of cities, and safe harbor for refugees trying to flee the violence. We stand in solidarity with the brave Russian peace activists who are speaking out against Putin’s brutal invasion of their neighbors in Ukraine. 

Brooklyn For Peace believes that Ukrainian as well as all other refugees from war-torn countries are entitled to humanitarian aid and safe accommodations.  We deplore the racist policies of those European countries, as well as the United States, which have treated refugees of color with contempt and have turned them away. We also condemn the discriminatory treatment of Africans and people of color by police and soldiers in Ukraine.  

We also note that the stocks of weapons manufacturers have increased exponentially in recent weeks, that the military-industrial complex is the largest and most powerful lobbyist in Washington, and that our government’s policy is mightily influenced by their pressures.  That is why those of us who value peace have a special role to play. The danger of a wider, more devastating war is very real, and the specter of that developing into nuclear conflict has ceased to be a remote possibility. That is why we are compelled to demand PEACE NOW. 

We urge the US government: 

  • De-escalate now. Call for a ceasefire, and support an end to this conflict by negotiations that guarantee the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and answer Russia’s legitimate concern for its national security.
  • Stop sending thousands of advanced missiles and other weapons into the conflict. Stop dispatching more US troops into the area.
  • Limit sanctions to those which punish the Russian leadership. As experienced in Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela, broad-based sanctions have been a disaster for ordinary people but have not achieved their stated aim of changing governments or policies.  We oppose broad-based sanctions that would have a collective punishment effect on the Russian people and their economy.
  • End our dependence on fossil fuels which drive these wars and conflicts. Ukraine is very much a war about oil and gas and pipelines, despite what our media would tell us. By turning to green energy, we can reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
  • Revive the arms control process. Renegotiate the INF Treaty and make the elimination of nuclear weapons a national priority. The dangers of the present crisis make all too clear the dangers of a world in which nuclear weapons remain an important instrument of national policy. 
  • Move the money from war to our communities. The invasion of Ukraine should not be used as the excuse for increasing an already bloated military budget.  It’s unacceptable that our government is spending trillions on weapons and endless wars, while programs that tackle the Climate Crisis, help Americans recover from the pandemic and prepare for future public health crises languish in Congress with objections that they are too “costly.”

Brooklyn For Peace Board of Directors,
March 24, 2022

Article by BFP Team

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Brooklyn For Peace

7 hours ago

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RES 423 toMOVE THE MONEYfromWAR to our COMMUNITIES **** now has ELEVEN sponsors ****and more every day! See below to see how we can win more Council Members to step up and sponsor RES 423.


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Brooklyn For Peace

4 days ago

Brooklyn For Peace


Have you called your Council Member, urging them sponsor RES 423 to …Move The Money from War to Our Communities?Ten sponsors already and growing day by day.YOUR CALL COUNTS! Let’s Pass it!★ Watch a constituent call his Councilmember.Then call yours! Find your CM here: bit.ly/find.rep#movethemoneynyc


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Calling my NY City Councilmember to ask them to sponsor RES 423

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NY City Council RES 423, if passed, (it already has 10 sponsors) would have our city official call on Congress to make substantial cuts to the swollen Pentag…


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Brooklyn For Peace

4 days ago

Brooklyn For Peace


Let’s Pass It!Find your Council Member here: bit.ly/find-cmAsk them to sponsor RES 423 (if they already have, well THANK’EM!).Put our city ON THE RECORD toMove The MoneyFrom War To Our Communities!★ THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER LINCOLN RESTLER ★ We appreciate your sponsorship of City Council RES 423 that now has TEN sponsors. We’re on a roll – let’s go for more sponsors – You can help!★ Find your Council Member here: bit.ly/find-cm★ If they’re already a sponsor – thank them and ask them to ask their colleagues to sponsor 423.★ If they are not yet a sponsor – call or write them and remind them that our city faces a financial cliff. Also, tell them that THERE IS MONEY – but Congress shovels our taxes into war spending by funding huge Pentagon budgets, year after year … at the expense of our cities, its residents, and their constituents. ASK THEM TO SPONSOR RES 423 which puts our city on official record urging substantial cuts to the Pentagon budget so that the urgent needs of our people can be funded and met. LET’S PASS IT!CURRENT SPONSORS: • Carlina Rivera – Primary SponsorCo-Sponsors-• Alexa Avilés • Charles Barron • Carmen N. De La Rosa • Amanda Farías• Shahana K. Hanif • Crystal Hudson• Kristin Richardson Jordan • Farah N. Louis • Lincoln Restler#movethemoneynycNY City Council Council Member Lincoln Restler NY City Council Brad LanderNYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams Councilmember Chi Ossé Jumaane D. Williams Eric Dinowitz City Council Member Keith Powers Council Member Sandra Ung Council Member Francisco Moya Jumaane D. Williams Brad LanderTiffany Cabán Council Member Sandy Nurse


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Brooklyn For Peace

5 days ago

Brooklyn For Peace


We’re on a roll!Ten Councilmembers have now signed on as sponsors of RES 423 to MOVE THE MONEY from WAR to OUR COMMUNITIES!** Call your Councilmember today – * Thank them if they’ve already signed.or * Ask them to sponsor if they haven’t yet done so.Find your CM here: bit.ly/find-rep.★ THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER CRYSTAL HUDSON ★ We appreciate your sponsorship of City Council RES 423 that now has TEN sponsors. We’re on a roll – let’s go for more sponsors – You can help!★ Find your Council Member here: bit.ly/find-cm★ If they’re already a sponsor – thank them and ask them to ask their colleagues to sponsor 423.★ If they are not yet a sponsor – call or write them and remind them that our city faces a financial cliff. Also, tell them that THERE IS MONEY – but Congress shovels our taxes into war spending by funding huge Pentagon budgets, year after year … at the expense of our cities, its residents, and their constituents. ASK THEM TO SPONSOR RES 423 which puts our city on official record urging substantial cuts to the Pentagon budget so that the urgent needs of our people can be funded and met. LET’S PASS IT!CURRENT SPONSORS: • Carlina Rivera – Primary SponsorCo-Sponsors-• Alexa Avilés • Charles Barron • Carmen N. De La Rosa • Amanda Farías• Shahana K. Hanif • Crystal Hudson• Kristin Richardson Jordan • Farah N. Louis • Lincoln Restler#movethemoneynycCouncil Member Crystal HudsonNY City Council NYC Council Speaker Adrienne AdamsBrad Lander Jumaane D. WilliamsCouncilmember Chi Ossé


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Brooklyn For Peace

6 days ago

Brooklyn For Peace


THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES BARRONfor sponsoring RES 423 to MOVE THE MONEYfrom WAR to OUR COMMUNITIES.★ THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES BARRON! ★ City Council RES 423 now has TEN sponsors. We’re on a roll – let’s go for more sponsors – You can help!★ Find your Council Member here: bit.ly/find-cm★ If they’re already a sponsor – thank them and ask them to ask their colleagues to sponsor 423.★ If they are not yet a sponsor – call or write them and remind them that our city faces a financial cliff. Also, tell them that THERE IS MONEY – but Congress shovels our taxes into war spending by funding huge Pentagon budgets, year after year … at the expense of our cities, its residents, and their constituents. ASK THEM TO SPONSOR RES 423 which puts our city on official record urging substantial cuts to the Pentagon budget so that the urgent needs of our people can be funded and met. LET’S PASS IT!CURRENT SPONSORS: • Carlina Rivera – Primary SponsorCo-Sponsors-• Alexa Avilés • Charles Barron • Carmen N. De La Rosa • Amanda Farías• Shahana K. Hanif • Crystal Hudson• Kristin Richardson Jordan • Farah N. Louis • Lincoln Restler#movethemoneynycCM Charles BarronNY City Council NYC Council Speaker Adrienne AdamsBrad Lander Jumaane D. Williams Councilmember Chi Ossé


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