The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement called on the world to fill the streets on March 20 to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq.
The General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement convened on January 19 at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, India.
Meeting for the whole day, the Assembly began with an assessment of the current political situation, followed by reports from various activists involved in various anti-war movements around the world. Reports were also made by many anti-war campaigns such as the World Tribunal on Iraq, the “Close the US bases” campaign, the Campaign for Disarmament, the Occupation Watch Center, the Caravans to Iraq and the Civil Missions to Palestine. It ended with a session dedicated to strategizing on ways forward and common campaigns to be supported.
Envisioned to be the biggest and most representative meeting of the anti-war movement since the invasion, the Assembly was a collective effort by anti-war coalitions spanning all continents of the globe.
The Assembly had participants and endorsers from the largest anti-war coalitions around the world including the European Coalitions which organised the massive marches on February 15th last year, Stop the War Coalition in the UK, United For Peace and Justice and ANSWER in the US, the Anti-War Coalition in South Africa and the Asian Peace Alliance, as well as various social movements, trade unions and farmer and peasant groups such as the CUT in Brasil, the Social Movements Network and Via Campesina.
Competing with the lively drumming of nearby cultural performers, the dust and noise from the constant flow of passing demonstrations and the general chaos of the WSF, the Assembly discussed, debated and strategized on the ways forward to globalising the resistance and ending the occupation of Iraq.
The Assembly ended with the call for an International Day of Action on March 20, the anniversary of the attack on Iraq. It calls for all movements in all continents to organize mass protests on that day to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq. Different countries will organise protests of different scales and forms; the important point is to mark the anniversary across the world.
Resistance in Iraq and around the world is growing daily and March 20 will be the day when the global resistance tells not only Bush but all the occupation troops and warmongers that the movement will not rest until the occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the “war against terror” is ended.
For more information, please contact: marylou focusweb.org
The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement was endorsed by:
All Together - Korea Anti-War Coalition - South Africa Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development Asia Pacific Movement on Debt Development Asian Peace Alliance Asian Peace Alliance - Japan Asian Women’s Human Rights ATTAC - Ag Globalisierung und Krieg, Germany ATTAC - Japan Bangladesh Krishok Federation Bastaguerra, Italy Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK) Campaña por la Desmilitarización de las Américas (CADA) Campus Antiwar Network, US Center for Economic Research and Social Change Central Unica de los Trabajadores (CUT) (Brazil) Centre for Development Studies, CIEDS Collective, India Centro de Estudios Internacionales, Managua, Nicaragua Chagos Refugees Group Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (India) Code PINK: Women for Peace Common Action for Peace and against the War Condi - Iraqi National Democratic Coalition Continental Campaign Against FTAA Corp Watch (USA) Documentation for Action Groups in Asia Echec a la guerre-Montreal El Foro Social de Madrid El Taller International Focus on the Global South Forum Against the War (Italy) Freedom from Debt Coalition Gathering for Peace - Philippines GENSUIKIN (Japan Congress Against A & H Bombs) GENSUIKYO (Japan Council Against A & H Bombs) German Peace Council Global Exchange Global Peace and Justice Coalition of Turkey Globalize from Below - Korea Grassroots Peace Network (National Network to End the War Against Iraq) Greek Social Forum Hemispheric Social Alliance Iniciativa Mexicana Contra la Guerra. No en Nuestro Nombre Institute for Popular Democracy International Association of Peace Messenger Cities International Civilian Campaign for the Protection of the Palestinian People (CCIPPP) International South Asia Forum (INSAF) Iraq International Occupation Watch Center Italian Movements of the European Social Forum JANANEETHI Jubilee South KALAYAAN! (Katipunan para sa Pagpapalaya ng Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights Korean People©ˆs Action Against FTA & WTO (KoPA) LALIT, Mauritius Le Mouvement de la Paix Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT), Mauritius Movement for Democratic Socialism (Japan) Movimiento por la Paz, Spain (MPDL) Movimento (dos trabalhadores rurias) Sem Terra (MST) (Brazil) National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (USA) NGO Federation of Nepal Not in Our Name Project, USA Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition Peace Boat (Japan) Peace Constitution League Peace Initiative of Turkey People’s Plan Study Group (Japan) People’s Task Force for Bases Clean Up - Philippines Polaris Institute Promoting Enduring Peace Red Mexicana de Accion frente al Libre Comercio Social Movements Network Solidarity (USA) South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) Stop the War Coalition - Greece Stop the War Coalition - UK Stop the War Initiative, Poland Sumpay Mindanao Tavolla della Pace The All India Peace & Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) The ASR Resource Centre The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) UK The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa The No War on Iraq Coordination - Turkey The People’s Peace Alliance (Pakistan) The South Asian Women for Peace The Swedish Peace Council UN PONTE PER (Bridge to Baghdad) NGO - Italy United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) - US US Peace Council Vimochana, Forum For Women Rights, India Via Campesina Workers Democracy, Thailand World Peace Council World Peace Now, Japan Xarxa de Mobilitzacio Global (Barcelona) Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) (India) ZENKO (National Assembly for Peace and Democracy)
* All organizations and movements around the globe are requested to send in their plans for March 20 to marylou focusweb.org *