The town board sent copies of the resolution to the Iranian consulate at the U.N., the U.N. Security Council, Amherst's Congressional delegation and President Bush. According to town board members, the U.S. government cannot send mail directly to Iran, thus mail is handled via Pakistan, which acts as a liaison.
"The [resolution encourages] the U.S. to use diplomacy with the government of Iran, and the ironic part is that we're not allowed to directly communicate with the government of Iran because President Bush has said that we won't negotiate with them," said select board member Gerald Weiss.
Director of the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mostafa Rahmani replied in a letter, "We would like to express our appreciation for the courageous stance of the participants of the Amherst Town Meeting in urging diplomacy with Iran and expressing opposition to any U.S. military action against our country."
According to Rahmani's letter, a copy of the resolution was forwarded to the office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad's office has not yet directly contacted Amherst, but Rahmani said he will notify the town if he receives a response.
Town meeting member Carol Gray drafted the resolution. "There are a lot of articles about how there might be a buildup towards war," she said. "Military plans already exist. The more I researched, the more I realized that even if you assume the worst case scenario-that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons-all the experts that I was reading say that going to war would be completely counterproductive, not only disastrous for the Middle East, but also for the U.S. and the whole world."
The other resolutions passed at the November meeting of the Amherst town council called for the U.S. to take immediate action to end the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and immediately withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank commented on a resolution that called for an immediate withdrawal of forces from Iraq. He said that he has been opposed to the war from the outset but does not necessarily support an "immediate" withdrawal of troops.
Board member Robie Hubley said of the international response the resolutions have garnered, "It amazed me and made me feel that doing those kinds of things in town meetings or wherever you can do them is not an empty gesture. People do read them and consider what you say."
However, not all the residents of Amherst are pleased that international political issues are on the town warrant.
"We have very vital issues beginning with our budget and other kinds of important civic issues that occupy weeks and weeks of our time," said town meeting member Louis Greenbaum. "I think [these resolutions] are alien and quite distant from our charge and responsibility in town meetings."
However, Gray says that town governments are right to address international issues, which are relevant even at the local level. "I'm not happy that more than 30 teachers got laid off last year [but] if our nation were not at war we might not have such constraints from the state legislature that we do."
Amherst officials received a letter from Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the U.K.'s ambassador to the United Nations Security Council, who noted various ways Iran has refused attempts by the U.N. to diffuse the nuclear crisis. The Security Council has requested that Iran halt uranium enrichment and related processing activities in return for a suspension of U.N. sanctions. However, Iran plans to increase its enrichment capacity and has rejected U.N. inspectors.
Town meeting member Larry Kelley observed that shortly following Amherst's resolution that the U.S. abstain from military actions against Iran, Iran's military test-fired dozens of missiles, including the Shahab-3 that can reach Israel. "The current president of Iran has said publicly that he wants to wipe Israel off the map, so to get a letter of commendation is the same as if we were in 1941 and we got a letter from Hitler saying, 'Thank you,'" said Kelley. "I'm not a warmonger. But if [Iran] was about to attack Israel and we have an airplane within close proximity that could take out that missile, then let's do it."
Greenbaum agrees. "I think Iran is the last country in the world [with which] we should attempt to conciliate. It is the outstanding champion of terror dedicated against the west, it provides all manners of assistance for Hezbollah and Hamas. It has held international conferences in which it denies the Holocaust," said Greenbaum. "The final point is the entire oppression of their people. They are deprived of basic liberties."
In defense of the resolution, Gray said, "This is the hardest patriotism. Trying to stop your country from going down a road that would lead to a needless war is the essence of patriotism."
Although the resolutions have sparked controversy, the town board expects that foreign policy issues will continue to appear on the town's agenda. "It happens every year," says Weis. "Town meetings are still an important form of government in many parts of Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire."