Two years after the invasion of Iraq, there is more
opposition to the war in the US, in the coalition
countries, and all over the world than ever before.
The justifications for the war have all been
proven to be lies. A widespread and popular
resistance has risen up against the occupation
forces. Over 100,000 Iraqis and over 1,500
coalition soldiers have been killed. With the
global condemnation of the war and the inability
of the United States to quell the resistance in
Iraq, we stand at a critical moment in which there
is a real chance that the war could be stopped.
Now is the time for the anti-war movement to
take action, not to retreat. It is time to escalate
the protests, not to give up. A defeat for US-led
forces in Iraq will be a victory for everybody
facing US aggression globally.
We demand an end to the occupations of Iraq and
Palestine.
We demand that the US desists from attacking
Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and
other countries. We must highlight the dangers of
global war especially in Latin America where the
US threatens to intervene in many countries. We
call for a Global Day of Action against War on
March 19/20 demanding troops out of Iraq now,
no more wars. We call for a rolling wave of
massive demonstrations, civil disobedience, and
other forms of protest around the world.
IRAQ
We call for the immediate withdrawal of
occupation troops and support all efforts to bring
them home. We support efforts to organize
soldiers, conscientious objectors, and military
families against the war. We support the counterrecruitment
campaign and demand political
asylum for deserters.
We support the right of the Iraqi people to resist
occupation while condemning the killing of
innocent civilians. We support efforts to
understand the full range of civil, political, and
armed resistance in Iraq to further strengthen
our campaigns. We commit to deepening our
links of solidarity with the people of the Middle
East.
We demand the closure of US military bases
around the world and support efforts towards the
abolition of nuclear weapons, the banning of the
arms trade, and other moves towards
demilitarization.
We support efforts to stop the economic
occupation of Iraq by corporations and
international financial institutions. And we will
escalate our campaign against these war
profiteers through boycotts and direct action.
We call for protests against Bush and his allies
wherever they go.
PALESTINE
We support the Palestinian people’s struggle for
justice, self-determination, a sovereign
independent state with Jerusalem as its capital
and the implementation of the right of return in
accordance with UN resolution 194.
We call upon the international community and
governments to impose political and economic
sanctions on Israel, including an embargo on
armaments. We call upon the social movements
to mobilize also for divestment and boycotts.
These efforts aim to force Israel to implement
international resolutions, and the advisory
opinion of the International Court of Justice, to
stop and take down the illegal wall and end all
occupation and apartheid policies.
We support the Israeli anti-colonialist, anti-
Zionist activists who share this struggle.
We reaffirm the call for a Global Day of
Action on March 19/20 and a wave of
protest to stop war and end the
occupations.
*To send plans for demonstrations on March
19/20, email: website@march19th.org or
office@march19th.org for more information on
campaigns, email info-assembly riseup.net
COUNTRIES DEMONSTRATING ON MARCH 19/20: (preliminary list) Iraq, Palestine,
Argentina, Brasil, India, US (400 cities), Italy,
Greece, Ireland, Japan, Britain, Turkey,
Macedonia, Cyprus, Philippines, Australia,
Thailand, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka,
Hungary, Poland, Canada, Austria, Mexico, Spain
(Barcelona, Madrid), Hawaii, Venezuela, New
Zealand, The Netherlands
DETAILED ACTION PLAN
PROPOSALS FOR MARCH 19/20:
– Common slogan: Troops Out of Iraq
Now! No more wars! Each country is of
course free to use their own slogans.
– To hold big demonstrations or other
forms of protest in your own countries
– List all cities and countries
demonstrating on a common website:
www.march19th.org
– Call on teachers and lecturers in schools
and universities to discuss the war and
to call for action on March 19/20 that
involve children and students.
PROPOSALS FOR BUILDING LINKS WITH THE
MIDDLE EAST AND STRENGTHENING THE
RESISTANCE:
– Organize a roundtable conference
outside Iraq inviting all the different
groups and anti-occupation forces in
Iraq to dialogue with the global anti-war
movement
– Support the existing campaigns that
build links between civil society in Iraq
and other countries.
– Send a team to Iraq to work with Iraqis
to produce a multimedia project, Voices
of Resistance, that shows all the
different forms of resistance in Iraq to
serve as a mobilizing tool to get rid of US
occupation.
– Make use of all opportunities to link
with the Middle East, including the
Cairo Conference March 24-27, the
Mediterranean Social Forum in June,
the World Tribunal in Iraq in 2005 and
the World Peace Forum in Vancouver,
Canada on June 21-27, 2006.
– Encourage all groups to share contacts
and information so as to avoid
replication of efforts.
PROPOSALS TO OPPOSE OTHER US THREATS
OF INTERVENTION
– Because George Bush is the symbol of
global war, there should be protests
wherever he goes: (1) July 2nd-6th:
Edinburgh Scotland, Global Action
against Bush and the G8. (2) November:
Mar del Plata, Protest against Bush and
American Summit of Presidents.
– Link our anti-war work to campaigns
against attacks or threats of intervention
in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba,
Venezuela and other countries.
PROPOSALS AGAINST WAR PROFITEERS AND
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
– Strenghten protests and direct action
against the 2 largest war profiteers:
Halliburton and Bechtel.
– Encourage people not to buy goods from
US/UK multinationals and encourage
people instead to buy from local
businesses.
– Encourage socially responsible
companies to take a stand against the
war
– Protest against the World Trade
Organization (WTO), especially on the
6th Ministerial on December 13-18 in
Hong Kong
– Launch a campaign to stop Iraq from
becoming a member of the WTO
– Disseminate materials on the war
profiteers in Arabic
PROPOSALS FOR PALESTINE
– Send civilian missions to Palestine
– Launch a campaign of sanctions, boycott
and divestments
– Launch a campaign for embargo on
arms and suspension of economic
agreements with Israel
PROPOSALS FOR WAR RESISTERS
– Organize a gathering of anti-war forces
from the countries that support the
coalition forces in Iraq to coordinate
strategies
– Strengthen efforts to encourage young
people NOT to join the military
– Provide support for soldiers who refuse
to fight in Iraq including:
(1) encourage countries like Canada
and individual cities to provide
asylum
(2) organize speaking tours of
dissenting soldiers
(3) collect stories from various
countries of soldiers who refused to
fight
PROPOSALS AGAINST MILITARY BASES AND
NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
– Support and get involved in the process
of building an international movement
demanding the closure of foreign
military bases around the world
– Show solidarity with the struggle of the
Okinawans to stop the construction of
US bases in Henoko
– Support global actions on May 1 to
demand the abolition of nuclear
weapons
– On the 60th anniversary of the atomic
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
call for global actions on August 6-9 to
say “No more Hiroshimas! No more
Nagasakis”