All Out for April 9
• All U.S. Troops Home Now! Organize for an Anti-War Government
• Protests Across the U.S. Mark Eighth Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq
• Call to Action for April 9, 2011
All U.S. Troops Home Now!
Organize for an Anti-War Government
Americans across the country joined people worldwide in actions that denounced the U.S.-led aggression against Libya and condemned all U.S. wars and occupations. The wars and aggression against Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine and now Libya were opposed. Demonstrations took place across the country March 19, the anniversary of the Iraq invasion, and the day the U.S. attacked Libya. As one many youth, workers and anti-war veterans stood to demand All U.S. Troops Home Now! The claims that U.S. bombings serve to “protect” civilians are being rejected. The experience from the eight years of government lies and disinformation about Iraq, the drone bombings in Pakistan also in the name of “protecting” the population from terrorism, are being used to unite all. War is not peace. There is no such thing as U.S. bombers bringing “humanitarian” aid.
Voice of Revolution salutes all those demonstrating and mobilizing against U.S. aggression. The issue at stake is U.S. violence and use of force against the peoples. Holding firm to this orientation of targeting U.S. aggression and wars as the source of problems, organizations and activists are meeting the government effort to divert and divide the anti-war movement by trying to make Libyan leader Qaddafi the issue. Troops Home Now is the resounding call and the humanitarian act of Americans. As Americans, we defend the rights of all by demanding an end to U.S. aggression and interference and rejecting use of force in the settling of conflicts among nations. We urge everyone to continue to build resistance by stepping up the fight against U.S. wars and for the rights of all in April 9 anti-war actions in D.C. and San Francisco and May Day actions across the country.
The situation with Libya and continued U.S. aggression against Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan again emphasize that violence and use of force are the weapons of choice for the U.S. The U.S. blocked efforts by the African Union (AU) to secure a ceasefire and resolve the situation in Libya peacefully. The U.S. and NATO continue to reject calls for a ceasefire, although Libya has accepted having one. Alongside continued bombing, the U.S. is sending another 4,000 marines into the region and preparing for a ground invasion.
U.S. double standards when it comes to taking a principled stand on the issue of state violence against civilians have also been sharply revealed. The people in Yemen saw 52 unarmed protesters massacred by government, yet the U.S. calls only for “restraint,” and does not denounce it. The same can be said about Bahrain and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Most obvious is the continued U.S-backed siege of Gaza, a crime of genocide condemned worldwide, including by the UN, but which continues based on U.S. funding and protection of fellow war criminal Israel. As part of opposing state violence against civilians, we demand an end to all funding for U.S. wars, aggression, and interference of all kinds, including the billions for Israel.
The violence against Libya also showed that world affairs are conducted according to the dictate of the U.S., with its striving for world empire. The U.S. Empire has made the United Nations Security Council irrelevant as far as debate on matters are concerned and relevant only for giving legal authority to whatever the U.S. Empire finally decides is in its narrow interests. The only debate that mattered was the one within the U.S. ruling elite. The stand of other countries and more importantly of the peoples in the U.S. and abroad are marginalized using U.S. force and violence.
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As continued uprisings and demonstrations show, the peoples are pushing forward with solutions that favor them, not U.S. Empire. Critical to this is the fight for an anti-war government. Such a government would contribute to peace by immediately bringing All U.S. Troops Home Now! It would end all U.S. interference abroad and take responsibility for U.S. crimes by providing reparations for all U.S. crimes, from its origins in slavery and genocide against Native peoples to the present. An anti-war government is also a pro-social government. The broad resistance to the anti-worker and anti-social attacks taking place in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere is one with the anti-war stand to Stop War Funding and Fund Our Rights! Let all together step up work for an anti-war, pro-social government, using the many tactics at our disposal to achieve political empowerment of the people.
Protests Across the U.S. Mark Eighth Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq
Across the U.S. on March 19 demonstrations and other actions demanded an immediate end to all U.S. wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now the aggression against Libya, which started that very day. March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The various demonstrations included contingents of anti-war veterans, Palestinians and other Arabs, unions and many youth. Signs, chants and various speakers denounced U.S. efforts to claim aggression against Libya was for humanitarian purposes. Drawing on the experience with Iraq and Afghanistan, they brought out that U.S. wars and aggression serve empire, serve the U.S. drive for world domination and control of natural and human resources and strategic areas. Everywhere, signs demanding U.S. Troops Home Now were evident, indicating the firm stand that U.S. intervention does not serve the peoples. Demonstrators also denounced claims at the federal and state levels that “there is no money” to justify massive anti-social attacks on education, healthcare and pensions. The people demanded instead an end to war funding as an immediate source of trillions of dollars and a contribution toward world peace. The actions were also used to mobilize for national actions planned for April 9 in Washington, DC and San Francisco.
Washington, DC
More than 1,500 people participated in a civil resistance -action initiated by Veterans for Peace that led to the arrest of 113 people at the White House. Participants denounced U.S. aggression against Libya and exposed the lie that bombing attacks are humanitarian. They brought out that Libya is the largest producer of oil on the African continent and the U.S. wants to re-conquer the country and its resources.
Chicago, Illinois
On March 19 in Chicago, 1,000 people marched on Michigan Avenue to demand an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Protesters carried signs that read “No War on Libya!” and “Stand Against War and Racism: Money for Jobs and Education, Not War!” A popular chant was “End, End the War! Tax, Tax the Rich!”
The many contingents in the march included Palestine solidarity groups, those fighting for the freedom of U.S. soldier Bradley Manning (imprisoned for releasing documents exposing U.S. war crimes to Wikileaks), youth and student contingents and many neighborhood peace groups.
Los Angeles, California
The action in Los Angeles was also led by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, including active-duty soldiers and marines. More than 4,000 marched and chanted, “Money for jobs and education, not for wars and occupation!”
A student contingent from high schools and community colleges in Long Beach, Orange County and L.A. participated, along with teachers, Palestinians and various unions.
San Francisco, California
Nearly 2,000 people marched and hundreds more rallied in San Francisco demanding an end to the wars and occupations around the world and the attacks on working people in the U.S. Speakers at the opening rally condemned the launching of a new war against Libya, which had begun just hours before.
A strong contingent from UNITE HERE Local 2, the hotel workers union, helped lead the march, which ended with a massive picket line in front of the boycotted Westin St. Francis hotel.
Actions also took place in Boston, Massachusetts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fresno and Santa Cruz, California and Portland Oregon.
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Call to Action for April 9, 2011
WHO ARE THE WARMAKERS?
THEY are the government, corporate, and financial powers that wage war, ravage the environment and the economy and trample on our democratic rights and liberties.
WHO ARE THE PEACEMAKERS?
WE are the vast majority of humanity who want peace, a healthy planet and a society that prioritizes human needs, democracy and civil liberties for all.
The Warmakers spend trillions of dollars yearly on endless wars in pursuit of global domination and profit while murdering millions of innocent people, installing corrupt and hated governments and funding occupations that displace millions from their homelands – trampling on the right of oppressed people to self-determination.
THEY send our youth – victims of the economic draft – to fight over the very fossil fuels whose unrestrained use threatens the future of the planet while corrupt and virtually unregulated oil giants dump billions of gallons of death into our rivers and oceans.
THEY wage a fake “war on terrorism” at home – the new McCarthyism – that promotes racism and Islamophobia aimed at destroying civil liberties and democratic rights.
THEY grant repeated and untold trillions in bailouts to banks, corporations and financial institutions while breaking unions, robbing pensions, destroying jobs, foreclosing homes, de-funding education and vital social services and are once again threatening Social Security and Medicare.
THEY offer no solutions to the current crises other than more of the same.
THE PEACEMAKERS DEMAND a better world. Only a massive, united, inclusive and independent movement has the power to bring it into being.
WE DEMAND Bring U.S. Troops, Mercenaries and War Contractors Home Now: Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan! End the sanctions and stop the threats of war against the people of Iran, North Korea and Yemen. No to war and plunder of the people of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa! End U.S. Aid to Israel! End U.S. Support to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the Siege of Gaza!
WE DEMAND trillions for jobs, education, social services, an end to all foreclosures, quality single-payer healthcare for all, a massive conversion to sustainable and planet-saving energy systems and public transportation and reparations to the victims of U.S. terror at home and abroad.
WE DEMAND an end to FBI raids on antiwar, social justice, and international solidarity activists, an end to the racist persecution and prosecutions that ravage Muslim communities, an end to police terror in Black, Latino and Native American communities, full rights and legality for immigrants and an end to all efforts to repress and punish Wikileaks and its contributors and founders.
WE DEMAND the immediate end to torture, rendition, secret trials, drone bombings and death squads.
We Are Dedicated to a World of Peace and Justice.
All Out April 9, 2011
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