------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Oct. 3, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
AT A CRITICAL MOMNT: ANTI-WAR FORCES GEAR UP FOR OCT. 26 Special to Workers World With just one month to go before the Oct. 26 march on Washington, organizing is kicking into high gear across the country. As one of the march's initiators, the International ANSWER coalition--Act Now to Stop War and End Racism--is reaching out to anti-war, peace and civil-rights organizations to build the broadest possible demonstration to "Stop the War on Iraq Before It Starts." "Despite the Iraqi government's agreement to accept unconditional UN weapons inspections, the Bush administration and the Pentagon are moving full-speed ahead with their plans to invade Iraq in defiance of the whole world," said Brian Becker, a spokesperson for ANSWER. "It is critical at this juncture for all who oppose a new war against Iraq to come together to mobilize the greatest possible expression of anti-war sentiment in the United States," Becker continued. "We urge everyone who agrees with the demand to 'stop the war before it starts' to join us in making Oct. 26 a massive outpouring the White House can't ignore." A West Coast regional demonstration is also planned for Oct. 26 in San Francisco. A delegation from the International Action Center, one of several groups that make up the ANSWER coalition steering committee, participated in a Sept. 17-19 anti-war conference in Baghdad, Iraq. At the conference, attended by delegates from over 80 countries, they announced plans for the Oct. 26 march and urged activists in other countries to make it an international day of protest. So far, demonstrations are planned in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, south Korea, Spain and more. More than 2,300 organizations and prominent individuals have endorsed the Oct. 26 mobilization, according to Sarah Sloan of ANSWER. Dozens more add their names every day. Sloan told Workers World that Oct. 26 sponsors include: Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation; National Lawyers Guild; San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO); 1199/SEIU health care workers union; New York City Labor Against the War; Fellowship of Reconciliation; Student Liberation Action Movement (SLAM); Black Voices for Peace; Not In Our Name/Pledge of Resistance; Los Alamos Study Group; and Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Also: former UN Oil for Food Program Director Dr. Hans von Sponeck; former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit; the Rev. Graylan Hagler, Plymouth Congregational Church in D.C.; political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal; historian Howard Zinn; Kathy Kelly, Voices in the Wilderness; and Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. The ANSWER coalition steering committee includes: Partnership for Civil Justice-Legal Defense and Education Fund, IFCO/Pastors for Peace, Free Palestine Alliance, Mexico Solidarity Network, Nicara gua Network, Korea Truth Commission, International Action Center, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Middle East Children's Alliance, Muslim Student Association and Bayan USA-International. "We are getting phone calls, emails and letters from people all over the country who are planning to bring buses to D.C.," Sloan added. "But we need more." Bev Heistand of the IAC chapter in Buffalo, N.Y., said there is great enthusiasm for the Washington anti-war protest in Western New York. "We've already reserved two buses," she told WW. The groups building for the Oct. 26 march are also supporting many anti-war activities around the country leading up to that date. This includes the National Day of Protest for Palestine. Major actions are planned Sept. 28 in San Francisco and Sept. 29 in Chicago, along with other cities. Organizers will join a Sept. 29 "March Against War" in Washington, D.C., sponsored by several peace and justice organizations. The march is one of many protests planned to coincide with the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in late September and early October. They will also participate in the Oct. 6 "Not In Our Name" rally at New York's Central Park. For more information--including how to endorse, get a speaker, organize transportation, or make a tax-deductible donation--readers can visit ANSWER's Web site at www.internationalanswer.org or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] In New York, call (212) 633-6646; Wash ington (202) 332- 5757; Chicago (773) 878-0166; Los Angeles (213) 487-2368; San Francisco (415) 821-6545. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. 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