Code Pink
Code Pink: Women for Peace is a pacifist, anti-war organization registered in the United States as a 501 organization. It focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestinian statehood, the Iran nuclear deal, human rights in Saudi Arabia, and peace on the Korean Peninsula. The organization has regional offices in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C., and several chapters in the U.S. and abroad.
With members wearing the group's signature pink color, Code Pink has conducted marches, protests, and other activist action in order to promote its goals. The organization describes itself as female-initiated, but it encourages men to participate in its activities. The organization's political positions, especially those regarding China and Venezuela, and funding have created controversy and drawn congressional scrutiny. Since 2017, roughly 25% of the organization's funding has come from groups connected to Neville Roy Singham, the husband of Code Pink's co-founder Jodie Evans.
History
Code Pink was founded on November 17, 2002, by a group of American anti-war activists, including Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, in the lead-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The group's name is a play on the United States Department of Homeland Security's color-coded alert system in which, for example, Code Orange and Code Red signify the highest levels of danger. Code Pink's founding statement calls forIn February 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq, Code Pink organized its first trip to the country; it subsequently led five delegations there. These delegations included parents of American soldiers killed in combat in Iraq, as well as parents of active soldiers. Additionally, they brought six Iraqi women on a tour of the United States, and published a report about how the U.S. occupation affected the status of Iraqi women.
On its website, Code Pink lists allegations of U.S. war crimes, and states that thousands of civilians were killed in Fallujah in 2004 due to the actions of the U.S. military. Along with other groups, they gave over $600,000-worth of humanitarian aid to refugees of Fallujah in 2004. In 2014, Code Pink was awarded the US Peace Prize by the US Peace Memorial Foundation "in recognition of inspirational anti-war leadership and creative grassroots activism".
Funding
In 2023 it was reported that since 2017, more than $1.4 million of Code Pink's donations have come from two groups connected to Neville Roy Singham, who married Code Pink's co-founder Jodie Evans in 2017. In 2022, the Benjamin Fund contributed $355,350.Political positions and activism
United States
The group opposed the United States invasion of Iraq. In early 2003, members of Code Pink protested what they called the "naked aggression" of U.S. President George W. Bush by spelling out the word "PEACE" using their naked bodies at demonstrations in California and New York. Code Pink participated in vigils at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to shed light on the plight of injured soldiers. Code Pink said that the purpose of the vigils was to highlight the lack of care for veterans and that the vigils have helped achieve improvements in that care.In the summer of 2009, Code Pink began their "Ground the Drones" campaign. This campaign was a response to the Obama administration's continued and increased use of drones in the war on terror, specifically in regions surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan. Code Pink said that many of the drone strikes intended to target terrorist leaders and strongholds often miss their targets, causing the unnecessary deaths of innocent civilians.
"Ground the Drones" was fashioned as a form of non-violent, civil disobedience, similar to protests earlier that spring, by groups such as Voices for Creative Non Violence. Code Pink targeted Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, claiming it was the "epicenter" for controlling drone activity. The goal of the protest was "halting unmanned aircraft strikes controlled via satellite links from Creech and other bases". The group continued protesting at Creech AFB through November and December 2009. Code Pink returned to Creech AFB in October 2011, along with other protest groups, to mark the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Protesters dubbed it the "largest anti-war demonstration ever at Creech Air Force Base. Code Pink members attended a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2015 and called for Henry Kissinger's arrest for war crimes. John McCain, who was chairing the hearing, called for the Sergeant at Arms and the Capital Hill Police to escort Code Pink out of the building and called after them "Get out of here you lowlife scum!"
Code Pink member Desiree Fairooz was arrested for laughing after a description of Senator Jeff Sessions by Alabama U.S. Senator Richard Shelby of the nominee, that his history "treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented", during the January 2017 confirmation hearing as United States Attorney General. After she had been convicted at trial, that verdict was reversed by the chief District Court Judge Robert Morin. The judge said Fairooz should not have been tried for laughing, only for speaking out as she was being removed, and called a mistrial. Instead of dismissing the case, Morin set her retrial for September. Fairooz faced up to a year in prison and $2,000 in fines for disruptive and disorderly conduct and obstructing and impeding passage on US Capitol grounds. On November 6, 2017, District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu filed a notice of nolle prosequi in the case against Desiree Fairooz. Upon the decision, Code Pink released a statement calling the three trials a waste of time and tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars, adding, "These sentences are designed to discourage dissent and prevent activists from engaging in the daily protests that are taking place during a tumultuous time."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Code Pink campaigned in favor of the United States suspending its imposition of sanctions in order to alleviate the pandemic's impact on the populations of sanctioned countries. On World Press Freedom Day 2023, members of Code Pink interrupted a talk between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius to call for the release of Julian Assange.
Venezuela
During the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, the U.S. broke relations with the Nicolás Maduro administration and recognized Juan Guaidó as the acting president of Venezuela. On 10 April 2019, after the Maduro administration retired its diplomats from the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, US activists from Code Pink received keycards from the diplomats, moved into the building, and secured all entrances with chains and locks as Carlos Vecchio, Guaidó's ambassador appointed to the US, tried to gain access to the building. The US government considered the embassy as property of Guaidó's interim government. Clashes in May 2019 between US activists and pro-Guaidó Venezuelan demonstrators resulted in arrests on both sides. US authorities issued an eviction notice on the group on May 14. The last four activists were removed from the embassy by agents from the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and the US Secret Service on May 16.At the end of July 2019, some members of Code Pink that occupied the embassy visited Venezuela during the Foro de São Paulo. Maduro posed for pictures with the group and rewarded them with gifts, including a book on Simón Bolívar and a replica of Bolivar's sword. In October 2022 Code Pink collected signatures for a petition asking the U.S. Department of Justice to drop the charges against Colombian businessman Alex Saab. Saab was extradited to the U.S. from Cape Verde in 2020, charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with money laundering and pushing over $350 million through U.S. accounts. Code Pink described Saab as a political prisoner, who worked as a diplomat as part of Venezuela's Gran Misión Vivienda and CLAP food box distribution network. The organization has been criticized for its support of the Venezuelan government.
Israel and Palestine
Code Pink has organized more than seven delegations to Gaza, some of them at the invitation of the United Nations. Code Pink was criticized by Joshua Block, president and CEO of the Israel Project, for arranging a peace delegation to Iran in January 2019.Prior to the Gaza Freedom March, Code Pink endorsed the "Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid", which calls for comprehensive boycott of Israel. During the march, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin coordinated the organization's stay with Hamas. Members resided in the Commodore, a Hamas-owned hotel in Gaza City. Hamas security officials accompanied activists as they visited Palestinian homes and Gaza-based NGOs. Prior to the march, Benjamin said the Hamas government had "pledged to ensure our safety". However, Code Pink leaders claimed Hamas had hijacked the initiative from the onset after imposing prohibitions on the organization's movements around Gaza. Amira Hass referred to the event as "an opportunity for Hamas cabinet ministers to get decent media coverage in the company of Western demonstrators".
Code Pink helped to organize an International Women's Day Delegation to Gaza in March 2014. Upon arrival at the Cairo airport on March 3, 2014, Benjamin was detained and assaulted by Egyptian authorities. She was deported to Turkey after the authorities had dislocated her shoulder. Other members of the international delegation, including American, French, Belgian, and British citizens, who arrived the next day were also deported. Some members made it into Cairo, although no one from the delegation made it to Gaza. Code Pink opposed Israel's operation in Gaza following the October 7 attacks. It repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken's October 31, 2023 testimony to a Senate hearing on Israel aid from the United States, with protesters calling for a ceasefire during the hearing. Several peace activists were arrested, including David Barrows and retired colonel and diplomat, Ann Wright.