APPENDIX: MORE REACTIONS! MOTHERS FOR PEACE 70 Station Road, Burley- in-Wharfedale, Ilkley LS29 7NG Letter reference : 95 FEB.040 Dear Robert Malecki. Thank you for your letter describing your past activities in trying to prevent/stop the Vietnam War and your current situation. Your letter has been seen by the members of the Mothers for Peace committee. As we are not a lobbying or campaigning organisation we feel there is little we can do here to futher your cause. I will therefore mention your letter and give your address in our next newsletter. We send you our best wishes. In peace Beryl Milner National Co-ordinator Co-founders : Lucy Behenna and Marion Mansergh INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF CONSCIENTIOUS WAR RESISTERS Dear Robert: We received your passionate letter at the International Movement of Conscientious War Resisters in Israel/Palestine last week and we were very impressed by your dedication, struggle and suffering and would very much like to express our support for you.We agree that your search for vindication for your courageous actions in trying to stop the Vietnam War is certainly justified. One might think that it would have been purer if you had gone to the American ghettos and tried to convince the Blacks of the necessity to refuse conscription rather than acting unilaterally and without their consent in destroying their draft records. Still the enormous might of the American military machine pummelling the Vietnamese demanded immediate action and to raise the consciousness of the Blacks to resist the draft is a program that would have taken years if not decades to accomplish.You helped push America out of Vietnam. We sympathise with the pain of your exile and your inability to be reunited with your family. We have written a letter to Pres. Clinton stating our support for a pardon for you and have enclosed a copy. If there is anything else that we can do, please let us know Keep well and we hope we hear from you soon In peace and love Toma Sik Coordinator INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF CONSCIENTIOUS WAR RESISTERS President Clinton The White House Washington,D.C. U.S.A. Dear Pres. Clinton We recently received a letter from Robert Malecki, an American in exile in Sweden for the past 22 years. He cannot return to the U.S. without serving a long prison sentence for his activities in destroying draft files during the Vietnam War 1968-1969. In light of the fact that the war ended over 22 years ago and that American foreign policy has changed notably since the Vietnam War, it seems inappropriate to continue to punish this anti-war activist. If the Office of the President would grant amnesty, it would be an acknowledgement of the reconciliation and healing of the American psyche after this divisive war and would allow Malecki to be reunited with his family which has remained in America. We strongly urge you to drop the charges against Malecki and d emonstrate the magnanimity of spirit which America is supposedly famous. Sincerly yours. Toma Sik Coodinator LETTER FROM PHIL BERRIGAN AND FRIENDS Dear Bob Thanks for your letter and the good explanation. Am sending your letter to everyone worth while. I can think of. Hopefully, you'll get some action in your behalf. Should have told you that this is an anti-war community (anti-nucl. wpns, anti-interventionary war). Everyone here has done prison time for Plowshares Witnesses (2nd chapt. of Isaiah) against 1st strike weapons. There have been over 50 of these actions - most in the U.S., but in England, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany, and Australia as well. The Bible is our handbook, everyone is dedicated to n. violence, we live poor against the gross consumption of the culture. I spent most of 94 in prison - between Vietnam and the doomsday race, I've done over seven years. My wife Elizabeth is perhaps the foremost woman activist in the U.S. -We have 3 children, two are in college, our youngest in high school. We work with our hands to support ourselves and that means carpentry, painting, roof repair, masonry. I'm 71 and still in excellent physical shape. Currently, we are preparing resistance for the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki and the white-washing of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that bombed Hiroshima. We all send you love and good cheer and Christ's peace. Prepare your mind for no effective response to your return(pardon or amnesty) and the real possibility that return means taking your chances. Fraternally Phil Berrigan "When the Church that had stood up nonviolently to the brutal repression of the Roman Empire found itself strangely victorious,it naively assumed the role of court chaplain to an empire eager for its support. It is as if Satan, unable to defeat the Church by violence, surrendered to the Church and became its ward. The price the church paid however, was embracing violence as a means of perserving the empire. But the gospel blasted the keystone from the arch, and Christianity collapsed into a religion of personal salvation in an afterlife jealously guarded by a wrathful and terrifying God - the whole system carefully managed by an elite corps of priests with direct backing from the secular rulers now regarded as the elect agents of God,s working in history." (Walter Wink) When the Church abandoned nonviolence to sacralize the empire it also abandoned community's resistance to evil, especially the crimes of the State. What we witness today in the church is the agonising effort to desert the empire and its violence, and return to roots - non violence, community, and resistance. >From our corner of the vineyard: - Greg Boertje-Obed and Bill Frankel-Streit were arrested at the U.S.S. Intrepid with 18 other Atlantic Life Community members on January 14.The Intrepid is the Big Apple's war museum. -Max Obuszewski was jailed for 30 days for leafleting at the Applied Physics Lab of the John Hopkins University. At his trial, officials admitted that only demonstrators trespassed and were arrested for leafleting. -Kim Lamberty was jailed for 1 day for the same offence. - Trials are scheduled for the same offence for Bill Frankel-Streit. (February 6); Michael Walli (February 21), Liz McAlister (March 6); George Kehoe-Ostensen (March 16); and Greg Boertje-Obed (April 19) -Phil waits to serve his 2 days in the Alexandria Jail. -Planning and meetings continue (the first Saturday of each month) for anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "50 Years are Too Many: Disarm Now!" The Coalition is strategizing as well to do some truth speaking in relation to the Smithonian Institution,s Air and Space Museum's exhibition of the Enola Gay. It is now uncertain whether or not the exhibition will be cancelled or reduced to such a degree that it no longer makes sense to address it. We are submitting our application to the Zoning Board in Baltimore to begin building on the cemetery property. We profusely thank friends for loving support, for prayer, and vision. Christ's peace in 1995. Michele Naar-Obed Gregory Boertje-Obed Rachel Obed Sue,Bill,Issac, and Anna Frankel-Striet Liz McAlister Katy and Phil Berrigan NEWS FROM NOWHERE Dear Robert Enclose is a copy of the letter I wrote on behalf of the shop to President Bill. I hope its OK. I hope that you are doing well and succeeding in your fight. Best Wishes in Solidarity Sally Evans NEWS FROM NOWHERE Dear President Bill Clinton, I am writing on behalf of News from Nowhere Cooperative regarding a U.S. citizen named Robert Malecki who has written to us requesting our help. He wrote explaining how he'd been charged with conspiracy to bomb public buildings and other crimes that never in fact happened which is when he went into exile. His crime was in fact protesting against the Vietnam War and the harming of innocent people in that war, and that he put his ideas into action. He has been in exile for 22 years and previously served 27 months in prison. Its time to let this man visit his children and grandchildren in the U.S.A. Its time to pardon this man. T he sad and ironic truth is that people who do cause injury and death to innocent people are applauded as "heroes of the nation" whereas those who wish to prevent this happening are charged with crimes against the nation. There are people in Vietnam who are still suffering as a result of the war. It is time to redress the balance. Please give Robert Malecki the freedom to walk the streets of his country again. Thank You Yours sincerely Sally Evans THE RECARING INSITUTE Dear Present Bill Clinton: I am a Democratic Precinct Captain for District 27, Area #30.. I contributed to your legal Defence, and the newspaper printed all our names and the given amount given. Now, I ask, GRANT AMNESTY to Robert Malecki (see attached)..NOW.. The W.W.II is over, and is a disgrace for him to have to seek "peace asylum in Sweden".. Please advise him, and me that he is welcome back in the U.S. and that we ARE NOT AT WAR, AND DO NOT INTEND TO BE. Thanking you for this attention, IMMEDIATELY, Yours for a just and peaceful world...Cordially Roger W. Axford, President Australia Dear Robert, I read your letter in Non-Violence Today, a publication of the Australian Non-Violent Network. I was moved and wrote the enclosed letter to President Clinton. I hope he receives a million letters so that he feels obliged to read at least a few of them. Good luck. May you be reunited with your family soon. I hope you never regret your anti-war activity. It is an inspiration to others 20 years after the war finished so it can't have been in vain. Yours faithfully Phillip White President Clinton The White House Washington D.C. USA Dear Mr. Clinton I have just read of the suffering of a US citizen by the name of Robert Malecki who is living in exile in Sweden because he will be imprisoned if he returns to his home country. His "crime" was to have opposed the Vietnam War. The details of what aspect of his opposition led to him being treated like a criminal include such things as destroying draft files and also the destruction of a Dow computer Network. Dow were making napalm at the time. By all accounts you shared his views about the Vietnam War at the time. History surely supports the opposition, expressed in various ways, of millions of Americans at the time. The crime was not to oppose that war. Rather the criminals were those who perpetrated it. The time has come to wipe the slate clean for people like Robert Malecki. I exhort you to allow him to return to his country without fear of imprisonment or any other sanctions against him because of his anti-war activities. Yours faithfully Phillip White Dear Mr. Malecki, Both of your daughters have been in touch with me, evidently having learned--perhaps independently--that I used to be deeply involved in military defence work and related matters. I'm not sure how they learned, since most of that was many years ago. (I used to be staff counsel for the Lawyers Guild Asia Military Law Project, then for the ACLU Lawyers Military Defence Committee, and then I was editor of the Military Law Reporter, on the board of CCCO, etc.) But, I haven't been directly involved in this sort of stuff for well over ten years. In any event, I found your two page letter, which Heather sent me, very interesting. It certainly seems possible, given the current president and the furor over the recent McNamara book, that you might have a better opportunity for a pardon now than at any time in the past. Since I do not know what proceedings, if any, you have in the works, I am not sure how I might be able to help--if I can. As you can see, I am practising (relatively( normal law these days, but I still know many of the people who specialise in military related stuff. Unfortunately, it is not at all as easy now as it used to be during the war to get volunteer lawyers. I have no idea what your financial situation is, but assume it is not terrific. Anyway, I would not mind hearing from you and seeing if there is any way I could be of help. Sincerely William H. Schaap OUT OF BOUNDS Dear Robert Malecki, I read your letter to Peace Magazine with interest. I,d be interested to hear more. I've enclosed a copy of a zine I do with several other people. I used to work for military intelligence (1985-1991) though I was never involved in any intel operations, Most just administrative and archival duties, I quit in "91" after being politicised by the Gulf War (massacre?). I've spent the last few years getting involved in the zine community (do-it-yourself publishing), various dissidents and dissident movements and other various trouble-makers and free-thinkers. Maybe we could include something concerning your case in the next issue of OoB. Let me know if you are interested. Keep in touch and I hope you can return to the US sometime soon. Sincerely, Tom Wheeler Sydney Peace Squadron Sydney 2001 Australia Dear Robert, In January we received your letter asking for help to end your exile from the U.S.A. We have sent a letter to President Clinton (copy enclosed) and hope it will be helpful. Sorry for the very long delay in responding. We passed copies of your letter to some other groups and individuals: including Max Watts, whose letter in reply you may have received. Good luck. We hope you will be able to return home very soon. Yours Sincerely Michael Powell SYDNEY PEACE SQUADRON President Bill Clinton The Whitehouse Washinton D.C. U.S.A. Dear President Clinton, We appeal to you to allow Robert Malecki, an anti-Vietnam War protester who is still exiled from the United States to return home. In a letter to us Mr. Malecki states that twenty-five years ago he was jailed for destroying draft files and the international computer network of a company which produced napalm and agent orange, He took public responsibility for these actions and was released on bail after serving twenty-seven months. While in jail he was charged with, among other things, conspiracy to bomb electrical power plants and other public buildings. He claims that these were trumped up charges and went into voluntary exile in Sweden, where he was granted political asylum. Now he wishes to return to the United States as a free person so he can visit his children and grandchildren. He points out that the man who led the My Lai massacre is now free and emphasises that he has always taken public responsibility for his actions. We very strongly support his request for an amnesty or pardon. If his claims are accurate then his situation is reminiscent of that of the philosopher Henry Thoreau, who also went to jail because his sincere beliefs led him to defy the established law. It was not done thoughtlessly and, for Mr, Malecki, was motivated by humanitarian ideals which have been accepted internationally as representing the highest level of morality. Many of the war crimes, human rights abuses, waste and destruction carried out by both sides during the Vietnam War should show the anti-war protests in a more positive light. It seems that when a person has the courage of their convictions to the extent of risking jail for protest actions which do not risk other people's lives then they also deserve recognition and acceptance so long after the war. Please give sympathetic consideration to Robert Malecki,s request. Yours sincerely Michael Powell Hi Robert, I'm with a group called Neither East or West. We publish ON GOGOL BLVD. (sample enclosed) in many publications. We,d like to publish your case. We read about it in Peace M agazine March/April 95. Perhaps we can get our friends in the east to write protest letters for you or something. Right now our sections are being published. The next time will be end of summer fall /fall 95. Please write us any update on your letter in Peace Mag. But we need specifically who to protest to. Just Clinton? Is there an official way to demand an amnesty or pardon? Do you have a support group/person(s) in the U.S.? Please write we garantee to publish you Bob MCGLYNN