On Thursday, January 13 at 11:05 A.M. Condoleezza Rice (U.S. Secretary of State from 2005-2009) will be speaking in the Marriot Center at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT. Protesters will gather just west of campus, in the parking lot of the old American Pie Pizzeria (1469 North Canyon Road) at 10:15 AM that same day. From there we will march south along canyon road and turn up 1230 North, approaching the Marriott Center.
BYU has made notoriously bad decisions when it has come to choosing speakers. Despite being owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, right?), the university has repeatedly invited leaders who are pro-war and pro-torture. Remember when Dick Cheney came? THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE OF POLITICAL PARTIES. It’s not about Republicans, Democrats or anybody else. This is about making sure that we don’t reward war criminals with high paying public speaking gigs. After all, Doctrine and Covenants 98:16 reads, “Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace…”
Why you should protest:
Dr. Rice has approved waterboarding alleged terrorists, among other methods of torture.
She lied about Iraq supposedly having weapons of mass destruction and helped trick the nation into war that has cost over $767 billion of taxpayer money, took the lives of thousands of US troops as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civillians, and contributed in the creation of a generation of young American veterans with severe psychological problems.
In addition to breeding the obvious evils that occur in war, this particular war is illegal. The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, following World War II, called a war of aggression “the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains the accumulated evil of the whole.”
According to the Washington Speakers Bureau, who represents George W. Bush as well as the rest of his administration, Condoleezza Rice charged an average speaking fee of $150,000 in 2009. The Bureau says that fees are flexible and used as guidelines, and we don’t know the exact number of how much BYU is paying Rice, but any amount of University funds (which are made up in large part by tithing money, in addition to tuition) is too much to pay a war criminal.
What you can do:
Write letters to local newspapers (The Daily Herald, The Daily Universe, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Deseret News) explaining why you don’t want Condoleezza Rice to speak at BYU.
Call the Forum Assemblies Office at BYU (801 422-4331) and explain exactly why paying Condoleezza Rice to come is a terrible idea.
Don’t attend the forum! Stand outside, study in the library or just stay at home, but don’t support this war criminal or BYU’s embarrassing decision.
Tell your friends. Make it your Facebook status or Tweet. Get the word out.
Come to the protest. Bring signs, banners, musical instruments and anything you can that will attract positive, peaceful attention from the community and media.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
