FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, 415-235-6517
Jodie Evans, CODEPINK co-founder, 310-621-5635
Leading CODEPINK activists and other peace organizations meet with Iranian president in New York
NEW YORK -- Calling it a "major step forward" in relations between
Iran and the United States, leading activists Medea Benjamin and Jodie
Evans of CODEPINK Women for Peace -- along with more than 150 other
U.S. peace group representatives -- met Wednesday afternoon with
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here following his appearance at
the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
At the meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, coordinated by
interfaith peace group the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the peace
activists talked to Ahmadinejad about their desire to strengthen
people-to-people ties between the two countries. They presented several
proposals for the Iranian government to consider and copies of a
petition signed by 50 U.S. mayors all over the country calling for
diplomatic engagement with Iran, not military action. The petition,
promoted by CODEPINK, illustrates how local U.S. leaders are anxious to
move national resources away from military intervention and into
reinvestment in infrastructure, schools and health care. CODEPINK
proposed taking a delegation of U.S. Mayors to Iran to create "sister
cities."
"U.S. government officials are quick to stir up hostilities with
Iran, but the American people are tired of war," said Benjamin,
co-founder of the nonpartisan women's peace group CODEPINK. "The peace
movement represents the sentiment of the majority of Americans who
want our two countries to find ways to work together and improve
relations. We are modeling the behavior we want to see our government
adopt."
The CODEPINK women proposed inviting American and Iranian
artists to build a "peace park" in Tehran, a memorial dedicated to
people-to-people commitment to peace and diplomacy between our two
countries.
They also proposed a plan to invest funds in an Iranian
business, one that produces green and sustainable products, such as
bicycles. This grassroots investment would be the opposite of efforts
by the Bush administration and Congress to tighten sanctions, a move
which CODEPINK thinks would only hurt ordinary, everyday Iranians. Such
a symbolic CODEPINK investment in a green, sustainable business would
challenge U.S. regulations blocking trade with Iran and would show how
diplomacy and trade are preferable to war and sanctions.
The meeting, which took place in a cordial and positive atmosphere, was considered a great breakthrough.
"It's rare for a head of state to take time during an official U.N.
visit to meet with the peace community, especially in a situation where
the host government—represented by the Bush administration—is so
hostile," said Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK. "The fact that the
meeting took place and was so positive is, in itself, a major step
forward." | 
