------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the March 13, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE IN LONDON: GLOBAL RESISTANCE PLANNED TO STOP U.S. WAR ON IRAQ By John Catalinotto London Representatives of the worldwide coalition that called the anti-war demonstrations on Feb. 15 met in London on March 1. Over 100 delegates from 26 countries unanimously agreed to organize popular escalated actions in the coming weeks aimed at stopping Washington from invading Iraq and slaughtering its people. The group said it would oppose the war "whether it has the backing of the United Nations or not." Representatives from many countries--among them the United States, Greece, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Denmark and Turkey--announced mass marches and rallies for March 15. This and other authorized actions included continuous interference with movements of U.S. troops and war materiel, already started in Italy, and blocking U.S. military bases. International Women's Day meetings will focus on the war. On the initiative of groups from Greece, Spain and Italy, delegates endorsed coordinated industrial actions, including some national general strikes on March 21. The group, which brought out an estimated 15 million people on Feb. 15, also announced dramatic actions should the war begin. In many countries the movement was already in motion. On the conference weekend, mass anti-war protests were underway in Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, Pakistan, India, Qatar and Japan, and activists were stopping war trains in Italy. The Turkish representative drew loud cheers on two occasions. First, from the podium, he announced a demonstration of 100,000 outside the Turkish parliament in Ankara. Later, after the official conference ended, he was cheered again as he informed the remaining delegates that the Turkish parliament had rejected letting U.S. troops into Turkey to attack Iraq from the north. This European Coordination Conference grew from the European Social Forum call in Florence, Italy, on Nov. 10, and was spread worldwide by the call at the Cairo Conference Dec. 19 and the January World Social Forum meeting. Delegates came from all over Europe, including all NATO countries except Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. Representatives also came from Israel, South Korea, Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil. As Angeles Maestro of Madrid, Spain, told the delegates, this group "more than any other in the world represents the overwhelming majority of humanity that wants the war to be stopped." She added that "the war has been decided [by Washington], but we can still stop it." U.S. MOVEMENT A delegation from International ANSWER, including Larry Holmes of New York and Gloria La Riva of San Francisco, represented the U.S. movement. Holmes reported on the rapid growth of the movement inside the United States and how the Feb. 15 demonstrations had spurred activists in the U.S. to press forward. Holmes told Workers World that "Feb. 15 shows that this movement has a mandate from humanity to take whatever action it sees necessary to stop the march toward war." La Riva spoke on the right of the Iraqi government to defend itself and to keep track of anyone entering the country at this time of crisis. Within Europe, people expressed the strongest anti-war feeling in those countries where the government gave the strongest backing to the United States' policy: Italy, Spain and Britain. Some countries had been able to move from demonstrations to direct action. Italian delegates reported on "train-stopping" actions that slowed down, forced route changes and even stopped some "death trains" carrying military equipment from Italy's north to Livorno on the western coast for shipment to Turkey. Despite government repression, rail workers provided the routes and schedules, activists blocked trains or pulled emergency cords on passenger trains on the route, while passengers overwhelmingly backed the actions. A delegate from Barcelona spoke of civil disobedience and plans for a March 15 protest there. Another protest was planned that day at the U.S. military base at Rota. The Greek movement timed its March 15 action to coincide with the meeting of the European Union's foreign ministers in Athens. The British Stop the War Committee, which called out 2 million people in London on Feb. 15, hosted the conference and directed the process of arriving at a final declaration. Since a diverse group of delegates-- from social forum, pacifist and anti-imperialist organizations--were present, the organizers focused on producing a minimum declaration that all could support. Still, there was much support for other issues. A Brazilian delegate representing the Trade Union Congress discussed the importance of bringing up all U.S. attempts to impose hegemony, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement. A South Korean delegate brought up U.S. threats on the Korean peninsula. SHOULD THE WAR BEGIN ... The delegates agreed quickly on what to do should the war begin. Their statement read: "We put the warmongers on notice that if they ignore world opinion and launch a new attack on Iraq, there will be a tidal wave of resistance. "On the day of an attack we call for mass protests in the center of every town and city in the world. "The following Saturday we call for mass demonstrations in every capital city. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Iraq in urging everyone, everywhere to play their part in trying to stop this insane war." - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. 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