FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2002
Contact: Stuart Chapman 202.225.2661
Scott Lynch 202.862.9740x3030
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Received International Peace Bureau's Sean MacBride Prize
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California) was awarded the Sean MacBride Prize, given annually by the International Peace Bureau (IPB), of which Peace Action is a member organization, on Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 12 noon in her office, 426 Cannon Office Building, Washington, D.C.
IPB selected Lee for the prestigious prize because of the Congresswoman's courage in questioning the merits of going to war as a remedy for the September 11 terrorist attacks. Lee believed that the resolution was not only overly broad in its war-making powers, but it preempted any possibility for negotiations, a framework that Lee considers the most effective way of ensuring peace around the world. On the floor of the House, Congresswoman Lee told her colleagues that while "September 11 changed the world . . . I am not convinced that military action will prevent further acts of international terrorism against the US."
Announcing Lee as the MacBride winner, Cora Weiss, IPB President, said, "Barbara Lee is an outstanding woman, who truly represents the people of her district, who have consistently said 'no' to war. In this age, with over 30,000 nuclear weapons in the world, 639 million conventional weapons, and $839 billion for military spending and preparation for war, it is incumbent on people in positions of responsibility, such as Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to use every diplomatic, non-lethal solution at their disposal to resolve differences."
Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action said, "Representative Lee is the standard by which all other leaders in Washington are judged - sure in her convictions and unafraid to do the right thing for both her country and the world. By choosing Representative Lee for this award, the IPB has recognized her importance as a voice of reason in a national government that is recklessly enamored with the use of force as a means of resolving international conflict."
Ms. Lee joins an illustrious group of MacBride Prize winners including Ireland's John Hume, a Nobel Peace Laureate; The Committee of Soldiers, Mothers of Russia for opposing the war in Chechnya; and Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, Indian journalists who have campaigned against the nuclearization of South Asia.
The Prize is named for Ireland's great statesman and human rights activist, who was a founder of Amnesty International; was UN Commissioner for Namibia; and was President of the International Peace Bureau from 1974-85. MacBride received the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize. With her 200 member organizations in 60 countries, the IPB, the recipient of the 1910 Nobel Public Prize, is the oldest and most comprehensive of international peace federations.
Peace Action, (the merger of Sane and The Nuclear Freeze) is the nation's largest peace and disarmament organization.
