On Video, Vermonters Confront Bernie in Stowe, Demanding Meeting re: Yemen

Contacts: 
MaryDiane "MD" Baker, Action Corps Vermont organizer, [email protected]
Isaac Evans-Frantz, Action Corps director, [email protected]
 
Video: Isaac Evans-Frantz, Action Corps director, joined by Vermonters from across state Saturday, confronted Bernie Saturday about his refusal to meet with constituents about the largest humanitarian crisis on the planet.
Rally at Bernie Event: "Meet with Vermonters about Yemen!"

Sign messages include “BERNIE: MEET WITH US ABOUT YEMEN.” Mary Diane "MD" Baker, Action Corps Vermont's organizer, based in Brattleboro, had emailed Sen. Sanders' office requesting a meeting for Vermonters with him about Yemen, and Friday at approximately 11:20pm received an email stating that the senator would not be available for a meeting. The group had requested an in-person or Zoom meeting. “Vermonters, as Bernie's constituents,” she said, “Should be able to meet with their senator about Yemen.”
​

When Bernie withdrew his Yemen War Powers Resolution December 13 on the Senate floor, he promised he'd be back for a vote if needed. “I look forward to working with the administration who is opposed to this resolution," Bernie said, "And see if we can come up with something that is strong and effective. If we do not, I will be back.”

In announcing his support for the Yemen War Powers Resolution in December, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy affirmed that unconstitutional U.S. military participation in the Saudi war  in Yemen had not ended. Moreover, the US State Department was offering more weapons sales to Saudi Arabia to use against Yemenis this spring -- at a time when the Saudis and Yemenis were having historic peace talks! The Saudi blockade continues to strangle Yemen, and Saudi Arabia could resume its airstrikes -- with US-made bombs and fighter jets serviced by US contractors -- at any point. Bernie's apparent silence -- as the historic leader on the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the Senate -- is providing cover for other members of Congress to fail to act.

Isaac Evans-Frantz, executive director of Action Corps, and a Vermonter, said:

“Because U.S. military participation in the Saudi war in Yemen has not ended, because Bernie has not yet kept his promise to act, because Bernie has not yet met with us, and because there was no option for asking questions or making comments during Bernie’s ‘town hall,’ Vermonters who care about Yemen gathered outside Bernie’s ‘town hall’ in Stowe with signs demanding that Bernie meet with us and that he stay strong and reintroduce the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the Senate. Vermonters will have his back when he does this – but he needs to start by meeting with the people who he represents.”

Action Corps is an organization with people in 30 states who campaign for U.S. policies to save lives around the world.  

Action Corps praised Sen. Peter Welch for his statement in May, when he became an early supporter of the Yemen peace talks. He tweeted: “I’m encouraged by the progress toward ending Yemen’s civil war. This is a humanitarian crisis. We should end U.S. military support to this Saudi-led war and help relieve the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

Rep. Becca Balint was one of 39 House members who signed the Khanna-Tlaib Yemen letter the same month calling for the lifting of the Saudi blockade of Yemen and threatening the introduction of a Yemen War Powers Resolution in the absence of executive action. Sanders’ staff has yet to directly respond to multiple requests of the Vermont senior senator to send a similar letter to President Joe Biden.

Vermonters have been calling on Sen. Sanders to follow through on his leadership to help end US participation in the war in Yemen at multiple rallies this year, as reported by the Brattleboro Reformer and The Commons. The Vermont Progressive Party and Libertarian Party of Vermont have released statements calling on Sen. Sanders to reintroduce the Yemen War Powers Resolution this spring, as reported in the Manchester Journal.