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***Forward Widely*** Vermont Says No to War A State-wide Conference for Peace and Against War and Occupation Sept. 9th through 11th Burlington, VT In March of this year, dozens of cities and towns across Vermont passed anti-war resolutions opposing the war on Iraq. Having suffered one of the highest per capita rates of war casualties, the people of Vermont have set a bold example of opposition to the Bush Administration’s unjust war and occupation. To build on this anti-war sentiment, many organizations such as the Peace and Justice Center and Green Mountain Veterans for Peace have come together this spring to form the Anti-War Conference Committee. Together we are planning a statewide conference for September 9th through 11th. The conference, entitled “Vermont Says No to War,” aims to bring together the broadest possible network of people and organizations for an educational and activist event. We aim to offer plenaries and workshops that will examine the international and domestic consequences of the war. In all these sessions, we will call attention to the interconnections between the war and many other issues. We want to explore how the war and occupation are related to corporate globalization, the destruction of the environment, attacks on labor, under-funding of social programs and institutions, and the undermining of our civil rights and civil liberties. We will highlight in particular how the war has fueled racism directed against Arabs and Muslims in the US and around the world. This conference is meant to be an educational event and also a vehicle for encouraging grassroots activism. Many of the workshops will focus on training activists in skills such as working with the media and organizing civil disobedience. On Sunday, the Conference will host a meeting for activist organizers to discuss and organize anti-war actions in Vermont. It will also help mobilize people for the September 24th Anti-War demonstration in Washington, DC. “Vermont Says No To War” thus flows from a democratic vision of social change. As the history of the twentieth century demonstrates, informed and educated mass movements have been the source of progressive change, from the labor movement winning Social Security in the 1930s to the various movements of the 1960s that won civil rights and ended the war in Vietnam. We aim to help our state’s anti-war movement develop the clearest possible understanding of the war and how we can end it through building a rich and varied grassroots movement. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to help us organize the conference, please make the check out to the Peace and Justice Center, write Anti War Conference in the memo line, and send it to the Peace and Justice Center, 21 Church St, Burlington VT, 05401. Our next meeting is at the Peace and Justice Center in Burlington on June 16 at 5pm.
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