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VVAW/WSO Demonstration In Wash., D.C. Set For July

By VVAW

The National Steering Committee of VVAW/WSO, at its national meeting held at Yellow Springs, Ohio, last December, adopted a national strategy for bringing the idea of universal and unconditional amnesty to the forefront of public awareness. Within that strategy are plans for four days of national actions in Washington, D.C., from July 1st-4th.

The following demands will be raised individually during the first days and jointly during the big march and rally on July 4th:

*UNIVERSAL AND UNCONDITIONAL AMNESTY

*A SINGLE-TYPE DISCHARGE FOR ALL VETERANS

*IMPLEMENT THE PEACE AGREEMENT- END ALL AID TO THIEU AND LON NOL

*KICK NIXON OUT!

During our stay in Washington we will be conducting non-violent actions at the following targets: Veterans Administration, the Discharge Review Boards, Congress, the White House, Department of Justice and others. We urge all who support our demands to join us.

ABOUT OUR DEMANDS

Universal and unconditional amnesty means that it applies to all people who resisted the war. We believe that U.S. involvement in Indochina was wrong from the beginning, and those who resisted the war were justified in their resistance. This includes draft resisters, military resisters, those in prison for acts of resistance, those who are living 'underground', and veterans with less-than-honorable discharges. We believe that amnesty for these resisters should be unconditional-no alternative service.

A single-type discharge for all veterans is demanded because under the present system of multiple discharges means a lifelong mark- jobs are hard to get, chances of promotion are jeopardized and the rightful benefits that the government owes the veteran are often denied.

Implement the Peace Agreement-End All Aid to Thieu and Lon Nol: The peace agreement signed in Paris in January of 1973, offers the most viable solution to the war. The U.S. government is not living up to its part of the agreement, nor is South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, whom the U.S. government continues to send more than a billion dollars a year. The U.S. government also continues to give aid to the disastrous and unpatriotic regime of Lon Nol in Cambodia.

Kick Nixon Out! In addition to the economic disaster and political repression that Nixon has helped bring about in recent years in this country, he is also a direct obstacle to achieving any of our other goals of amnesty, a single-type discharge and an end to U.S. involvement in Indochina.

All organizations and individuals who support our demands are invited and warmly encouraged to join us in our demonstrations in Washington. The march and rally on July 4th will unite all of the demands and will be the high point of our actions. It is important that united action around these demands begin to take place. We do not see these July actions as an end in themselves; we see this as just the beginning in the long struggle for universal and unconditional amnesty. We hope that thousands of Americans will join us in building the amnesty and single-discharge movement and continuing the struggle to end U.S. involvement in Indochina and kick Nixon out.

For more information about our demonstrations this summer, to obtain a copy of our position on amnesty, or for more information about our other demands, please contact your nearest Regional Office listed in the paper, or contact the National Office.