The Ban Bus

Ban Bus Bound for Ottawa Departs from Berkeley, California

Jesse Jackson, america’s ambassador to africa, speaks up for a ban as the ban bus starts on the road to Ottawa….

(Berkeley, CA: 23 October 1997) Today the ban bus to Ottawa departed from Sproul Plaza on the University of California at Berkeley. In front of a crowd of over 1000 supporters, landmines campaigners shared the stage with Reverend Jesse Jackson who was speaking out against California’s controversial Proposition 209 which eliminates the state’s affirmative action laws. Rev. Jackson voiced his support for a total ban on antipersonnel landmines in front of the crowd and assembled media. He accepted an “absolute ban” t-shirt from US Campaign Coordinator Mary Wareham of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF). Ms. Volcano Mine, Dalma Foldes, distributed Ban bus brochures to students in her landmine costume while deminer Michael Hands of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) demonstrated his trade on the lawn aside the plaza. John Rodsted photographed the scene and Mette Eliseussen of Save the Children USA discussed her work with children in mine contaminated Kabul, Afghanistan. Afterwards, campaigners spoke to university students about the landmine issue for two hours and will have an informal dinner with them tonight.

At the rally ban supporters held placards and signs which read:
“Ban Landmines, Not Affirmative Action”
“Landmines Don’t Discriminate, Proposition 209 Does”
“Landmines - Equal Opportunity Destroyer”
“Rev. Jackson, Take A Stand for Africa’s Landmine Victims - Tell President Clinton to Sign the Ottawa Treaty”
“Rev. Jackson, as America’s Ambassador to Africa, We Urge You to Support a Total Ban on Landmines”

“THANK YOU CALIFORNIA for Supporting Landmine Ban Legislation (HR 2459):
Beccera, Bilbray, Brown, Capps, Dellums, Dixon, Dooley, Eshoo, Farr, Filner, Harman, Lantos, Lofgren, Martinez, Matsui, Miller, Pelosi, Roybal-Allard, Sanchez, Stark, Sherman, Torres, Tauscher, Woolsey, Waters.”

“CALIFORNIA, WHERE ARE YOU? Ban Landmines Now! Berman, Campbell, Millender-McDonald, Riggs, Fazio, Bono, Kim, Lewis, Rogan, Rohrbacher,
Royce.”

Tomorrow (Friday 24th - UN Day) the Ban bus will be in Davis, CA at events organized by Mary Ellen Dolcini, United Nations Association Northern California Chapter, tel. 916-753-3451. Then on Saturday in Chico, CA at events organized by Sandi Williams, Soroptimist International of Chico, CA, tel. 916-343-4632. Then on to Nevada and 20 other states before arriving in Ottawa, Canada on 1 December 1997.

Ban bus drivers Petter Quande and George Wilson collected over $300.00 throughout the day through donations and t-shirt sales. We are grateful to our financial supporters which include: NPA, VVAF, SCF USA, Women’s Division of the United Methodist Church, Save the Children Sweden, Forum Syd, Handicap International and the Landmines Project of the Open Society Institute. We are still, however, short of funds and any donations are warmly welcome - please contact Mary Wareham or Jill Greenberg of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines at 202-483-9222. Send messages of SUPPORT to the Ban bus by emailing banbus@vi.org or calling our mobile tel. 202-288-6504.

Thank you to our helpers in Berkeley: Paul Piatti of VVAF, Tripp Mikich, Eric Moon of AFSC, Alan Senauke of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Laura Keresty of the Presidio Project, Jerry Saunders of Berkely’s Peace & Conflict Studies, Heidi Kuhn of “From Mines to Vines”, Wendy Wank, Joelle, Barbara McDonald, Erica Harold and Peace Action California and the many other supporters! Apologies if we have forgotten anyone!