By Susan D. Borowitz The Student Committee of the Iraq Action Coalition is calling upon students to take action in opposition to the sanctions upon Iraq imposed by the United Nations and the United States. The IAC is publishing the following letter in student newspapers around the country. Dear fellow students, For more than a century, student movements have had an important place among the agents of social change.
Students have a history of fighting for peace and justice.
In the 1960s, students spurred debates in Congress about the war in Vietnam and led the protests for peace. Students also struggled against discrimination and racism - both in the civil rights movement in the U.S. and in the fight to end apartheid in South Africa. For more than eight years, our government has been waging a silent war against the people of Iraq. Since 1991, United Nations agencies and independent human-rights organizations have been reporting on the devastating impact of the sanctions on human life in Iraq. What has become increasingly clear is that no significant movement toward food security can be achieved so long as the embargo remains in place.