Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 18:41:02 -0800 (PST)
From: nowardc@yahoo.com ("International A.N.S.W.E.R.")
Subject: [anti_war_protests_in_arizona] APRIL MARCH ON WASHINGTON UNITY STATEMENT FROM THE A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION
To: nowardc@yahoo.com
Reply-To: anti_war_protests_in_arizona@yahoogroups.com
APRIL MARCH ON WASHINGTON UNITY STATEMENT FROM THE
A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION
- Issued February 27 -
In response to calls for unity in the anti-war
movement the International A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act
Now to Stop War & End Racism) is announcing that it is
moving its National March on Washington Against War
and Racism from April 27 to April 20, 2002.
*For a Calendar of Activities for April 19-22, scroll
to bottom*
Clearly everyone understands the need for many
activists from many movements to be in Washington D.C.
to protest the dangerous racist war drive that
threatens the people of the planet and to fight Bush
and Ashcrofts attempts to dismantle the Bill of
Rights, criminalize dissent, and invetigate and
imprison people based on racial and religious
profiling.
A.N.S.W.E.R. calls on people to rally at the White
House at 11 a.m. on April 20, 2002, before marching to
the Justice Department and on to a unified rally with
the other coalition. This march will be the first that
breaks the ban on demonstrations in front of the White
House that was unconstitutionally imposed prior to
anti-war demonstrations in September during the
head-long rush to war.
A.N.S.W.E.R. has been organizing for an anti-war Marchon Washington since November 2001 and widely
disseminated a call for April 27 in December. The
Coalition settled on the April 27 date out of
deference to the National Colombia Mobilization taking
place April 19-22. In recent weeks other groups and
individuals have come together to call an anti-war
march on April 20. It became evident that having two
anti-war demonstrations on succeeding weekends on
seemingly similar themes, without very compelling
reasons, would be a disservice to the movement. Upon
learning about the April 20 mobilization, A.N.S.W.E.R.
took the initiative to try to open lines of
communication in an effort to rectify this unfortunate
situation.
People around the country are saying that what the
movement needs on April 20 is a united front. This
means those with political differences marching with
independence while showing that we can come together
to fight the war makers. All movements have different
currents. The only way we are going to stop George
Bushs declared endless war is to have a movement
that comes together against this common foe.
A.N.S.W.E.R. believes that the anti-war movement must
be broad, that it must embrace the workers movement,
unions, communities of faith, immigrants, students and
youth, and particularly communities of color. We also
believe that the movement must strongly express its
solidarity with the struggling people of the Middle
East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,
who are fighting to determine their own destinies free
from U.S. imperialist and colonial domination and that
of the transnational corporations.
Our experience since forming the A.N.S.W.E.R.
Coalition on September 14 has proven that you do not
have to choose between being broad and embracing the
oppressed peoples of the world and making the
connections between their fight and the fight of the
people in the U.S. The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition
includes more than 500 organizations and prominent
individuals who have campaigned against U.S.
intervention in Latin America, the Caribbean, he
Middle East and Asia, and organizations that have
campaigned for social and economic justice for poor
people and civil rights inside the United States. The
steering committee includes Nicaragua Network, Mexico
Solidarity Network, IFCO/Pastors for Peace,
International Action Center, Partnership for Civil
Justice LDEF, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Middle
East Childrens Alliance, Committee for Justice to
Defend Palestinian Rights, Bayan USA (Filipino
community) and the Korea Truth Commission.
The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition rejects the opportunistic
use by the Bush administration of the tragedy of
September 11, to pursue, through military means,
pre-existing imperialist objectives while
simultaneously ramming through domestic policies that
strengthen corporate rule, attack civil rights and
attempt to crush dissent, all at the expense of
working people. As the war and occupation in
Afghanistan is continuing, the Bush administration has
sent almost 700 troops to the Philippines, has
increased their support for the Colombian governments
intensified war against the Colombian people and the
Israeli repression of the Palestinian people.
A.N.S.W.E.R. will take a stand against any new war
carried out by the Bush administration, whether its
in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, North Korea, Yemen,
Indonesia or elsewhere. We must not only oppose war
and racism at home. We must stand firmly with the
peoples struggles of the world.
A.N.S.W.E.R. demands that the Bush Administrations
war budget of more than a billion dollars a day be
converted into funds for human needs, jobs, education,
health care, and assistance for the poor.
We call on all those who believe the people of the
world are not our enemies and are our brothers and
sisters to join together in the National March on
Washington D.C. If you support self-determination, not
U.S. military and corporate domination, meet at the
White House at 11 a.m. on April 20.
A.N.S.W.E.R. calls on activists and organizations
everywhere to work doubly hard to fill the streets of
Washington with protestors April 19 -22. We encourage
people to support the National Colombia Mobilization
and the protests against the IMF and World Bank.
We have also learned that Ariel Sharon will be the
featured speaker along with President Bush at a
right-wing pro-war conference organized by the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) over
the same weekend as these protests. Sharon and Bush
are scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April
22nd. A.N.S.W.E.R. and other organizations are calling
a demonstration at that time and appeal to those who
are coming to Washington for the weekend to stay over
if at all possible to participate in that very
important demonstration.
As we build our grassroots movement against the war
towards our spring National March on Washington, we
encourage activists to focus on important upcoming
dates such as April 4, the anniversary of Martin
Luther Kings assassination and his Beyond Vietnam
speech, as well as tax day April 15, to organize local
events.
STOP THE RACIST WAR MACHINE - ALL OUT FOR APRIL 20!
FOR MORE INFORMATION see
http://www.internationalanswer.org, or email
ANSWER@afgj.org, or call New York 212-633-6646,
Washington 202-543-2777, Chicago 773-583-7728, San
Francisco 415-821-6545
TO ENDORSE, GO TO
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/april/a20-endorse.html
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
APRIL 19-22
National Colombia Mobilization
http://www.colombiamobilization.org
APRIL 20
NATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON DC
Assemble 11 am at the White House
The people of the world are not our enemy - solidarity
against U.S. world domination!
http://www.internationalanswer.org
APRIL 20
Stop the War at Home and Abroad
http://www.a20stopthewar.org
APRIL 20-21
Protest the IMF and World Bank
http://www.globalizethis.org
APRIL 22
Protest Ariel Sharon and George Bush - 7 pm at the
annual conference of American Israeli Public Affairs
Committee
FOR MORE INFORMATION see
http://www.internationalanswer.org, or email
ANSWER@afgj.org, or call New York 212-633-6646,
Washington 202-543-2777, Chicago 773-583-7728, San
Francisco 415-821-6545
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