For further information, contact: Emerald Thomas I [email protected] I 970-672-6412
For immediate release March 20, 2023
Medea Benjamin Speaks on the Ukraine War
When and Where: April 1, 3:30-5pm, Highlands United Methodist Church, Denver; April 2, 2-5pm, Unity of Boulder Church; April 3, 12:15-2pm, Ekeley Science Building, CU Boulder; April 3, 5-7pm, Avo’s Restaurant, Fort Collins; April 4, 5-7pm, Korbel School, Denver University; April 5, 2:30-5pm, Chinook Center Colorado Springs.
What: Medea Benjamin, peace and justice activist, and co-founder of Code Pink will give six talks on the War in Ukraine in the Front Range of Colorado. She will speak in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. Benjamin is the author or co-author of 13 books including books about Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Drone Warfare. Her most recent book is War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict (co-authored with Nicolas J.S. Davies).
Background: Medea Benjamin has won numerous awards for her bold international work on behalf of peace and social justice. These awards include the Martin Luther King Award, the National Peacemaker Award, the Merton Center Peace Award, the U.S. Peace Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, and the DJPC Global Justice and Peace Award.
The book War in Ukraine provides ample historical context for the current conflict. It discusses, among other things, Russian and Ukrainian politics, the 2014 Maidan insurrection, the Minsk II Peace Plan, the realities of NATO, information warfare, and the danger of nuclear war. Benjamin and Davies condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but they also criticize the NATO-United States provocations which made the Ukraine War much more likely. The authors write:
“[T]he Russian invasion of Ukraine was not only criminal, but also a catastrophic move and a terrible miscalculation….But western nations’ treatment of Russia in the decades following the demise of the Soviet Union was a policy mistake of epic proportions. NATO expansion was a disaster waiting to happen…” (p.18)
The Code Pink website advocates a peace settlement of the Ukraine War with these provisions:
- a comprehensive ceasefire,
- withdrawal of Russian forces,
- Ukrainian commitment to international neutrality,
- an agreement or referendum on the future of the Donbas region.
Medea Benjamin will extend and elaborate on these provisions. She will also discuss what the United States can do to help end the Ukraine War and establish a stable peace. A poster with dates, times, and locations is attached.
Press release prepared by the Global Peace Collective of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
