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Nation's Largest Peace Group Denounces Bush Visit to Gandhi Memorial on Trip to India at Gandhi Statue in Washington, DC; Photo Available

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 15:00 CST

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- At a press conference at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Washington, DC's Embassy Row, Peace Action Education Fund earlier today denounced the plan for President George Bush to lay a memorial wreath in honor of Mohandas K. Gandhi in Rajghat, India on Thursday.

Dozens gathered in front of the 15-foot high Gandhi statue, with the Indian Embassy to the U.S. as a backdrop, holding placards with a picture of Gandhi and the caption: "Gandhi Says No Nukes, No War!" (photograph available, see below)

"Mahatma Gandhi was a man of peace and non-violence and lived by the Hindu principle of ahimsa, action based on refusal to do harm. As his war-strewn presidency shows, George Bush knows nothing about ahimsa and non-violence. Bush should reconsider this cynical, disrespectful display of symbolism," said Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action Education Fund.

The plan for Bush to "honor" Gandhi is even more astonishing given one of the main purposes of Bush's trip -- to cement a deal for US nuclear aid to India, which would violate current US nonproliferation law and has drawn criticism from a host of peace, disarmament and non-proliferation groups. The deal will also be a tough sell to a skeptical Congress, which would need to amend US law to create a "loophole" to give nuclear technology to India because of its nuclear weapons arsenal.

"Does Bush think Gandhi would bless one of the main purposes of this trip -- to promote nuclear aid to India?" asked Martin. "Gandhi abhorred nuclear weapons and would surely call for the US and India to pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons. Gandhi himself said, 'The only weapon that can save the world is non- violence.' The Bomb, he said, 'will not be destroyed by counter- bombs.' Indeed, 'hatred can be overcome only by love.'"

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PHOTO EDITORS: A high-resolution, publication-ready photograph supporting this story is available for free editorial use at: http:/ /www.wirepix.com/newsphotos

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Peace Action Education Fund, founded in 1957, is the sister organization to Peace Action, the country's largest peace and disarmament organization with over 90,000 members nationwide. Its headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. Website: http://www.peace-action.org

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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