------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Nov. 28, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
ANSWER SPEAKER TELLS CROWD: "SEE YOU IN D.C. ON JAN. 18-19" At the School of the Americas Watch demonstration, volunteers from Washington, Atlanta, Miami Beach, and Charlotte, N.C. helped get the word out about the ANSWER Coalition's People's Anti-War Referendum and Jan. 18-19 mass actions in DC against the war in Iraq. Almost half the people in attendance at the rallies voted no to war, and many took referendum sheets and information back to their cities, promising to organize buses of people to be in the streets of Washington. Following is a speech delivered by Sarah Sloan. I'm here representing the ANSWER Coalition --Act Now to Stop War & End Racism-- as we stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America against U.S.-sponsored terrorism. We have been working day and night to build a movement in solidarity with the people of Iraq, who have for the past 12 years been the victims of the terror of U.S.-led bombings, sanctions and covert actions. On October 26, 200,000 people took to the streets of Washington DC in a demonstration that was historic in that it was a massive outpouring of opposition to the war before it started by people who believed it could be stopped. How many people were on the streets of DC on October 26? [Huge cheers and applause] We represent the billions of people around the world who oppose this criminal war of aggression. As others have stated, George Bush does not speak for us. Congress does not represent us. But we have spoken with an undeniable voice to say that the people of Iraq are not our enemies, that they have a right to determine their own destinies free of outside interference, and that we, the people of the United States, need a war against poverty, a war against racism, a war against unemployment and cuts in education and social programs. To help keep the momentum going, the ANSWER Coalition has initiated a unique effort to combat any myth of consensus that Bush tries to use the congressional and United Nations resolutions to create. The People's Anti-War Referendum is a campaign to get every person who opposes this criminal war to cast a vote-a vote that, for once, will really count. You can vote on the paper ballots that are being circulated here today or online at www.VoteNoWar.org. Our goal is to gather 10 million signatures by January, when thousands will again converge in Washington, DC. On January 18-19 - the Martin Luther King anniversary weekend and the 12th anniversary of the Gulf War-there will be a massive march in Washington and the convening of a People's Peace Congress that will stand as a counter to the U.S. War Congress that does not represent the people. Buses will travel from all over the South, East Coast and Midwest. Both the Bush administration's threats of war against Iraq and the School of the Americas are testaments to the fact that Dr. King's statement, that "the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet is the U.S. government," is as true today as it was in the 1960s. What better way is there to honor his legacy than to be in DC on that weekend in a massive show of opposition to a new war in Iraq? And before you leave today make your opposition to the war count by joining the People's Anti-War Referendum. - 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. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
