British Anti-War Activist to Attend Vigil in Sacramento

Press Advisory: For Immediate Release, June 13

Contact: Sacramento Area Peace Action, 916-448-7157; sypeaceact [at] jps.net



British Anti-War Activist to Attend Vigil in Sacramento

Milan Rai, a British anti-war activist, will attend Tuesday’s weekly 16th & J Peace vigil from 4-6 pm in downtown Sacramento on June 20, 2006 before speaking at 7 pm on “Stopping the War in Iraq:  A British Perspective” at the Newman Center.*

Rai’s book, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Why We Shouldn't Launch Another War On Iraq, has been translated into eight languages. He was the first person to be arrested for breaking the economic sanctions on Iraq by taking children's medicines to Iraq without an export license. Rai has been to prison three times for protesting the war on Iraq. He received a Peace Award from the Transport & General Workers' Union.

Milan Rai is the author of four books: Chomsky's Politics, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Why We Shouldn't Launch Another War On Iraq, Regime Unchanged, and now 7/7: The London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War (published in April 2006.) Milan was a co-recipient of the Transport & General Workers' Union 'Frank Cousins Peace Award' in 1993.
 
Milan is also the first person to be charged and convicted with organizing an unauthorized demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament. Milan's 'crime' was to organize and participate in the reading of names of the Iraq war dead with Maya Evans on 25 October 2005, opposite Downing Street. Maya was reading the names of British soldiers who had died in the conflict; Milan was reading the names of some of the Iraqi civilians who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation.

Milan co-founded JUSTICE NOT VENGENCE and the British branch of VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS in 1998.  Milan went on four sanctions-breaking delegations to Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness between 1998 and 2001 and was the first person to be arrested for breaking the economic sanctions on Iraq - for taking children's medicines to Iraq without an export license. Milan's prison diary is here:  http://www.j-n-v.org/Mil_Prison_Diary.htm  Pictures of the action are on Indymedia here: http://tinyurl.com/mwe4x

The two events are endorsed by Sacramento Area Peace Action, Grandmothers for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Sacramento Coalition to End the War, Not in Our Name and other organizations. For more information, contact Sacramento Area Peace Action, 916-448-7157; sypeaceact [at] jps.net

*Newman Court comes off Carlson between H and J, just north of CSU Sacramento.