ANSWER coalition builds bridge to world
By Deirdre Griswold
Despite efforts by those in power to pooh-pooh their
significance, mass demonstrations have often played the
decisive role in changing U.S. history.
This writer remembers being in a huge demonstration that
ringed the White House during the Vietnam War. The press
reported that President Richard Nixon wasn't paying any
attention. He was watching the football game, they said, to
show his contempt for the "kids" and "bums" attacking his
policies.
Many years later, long after the U.S. was forced to end its
aggression in Southeast Asia, Nixon chief of staff and
convicted Watergate criminal H.R. Haldeman revealed that the
president had indeed been watching the protest, peeking through
the blinds at the protesters. What he saw did not encourage
him. He began drafting a speech, writing a note to himself at
the top of his yellow pad: "Don't get rattled--don't
waver--don't react."
Today the Bush administration pretends that its plans for a
horrendous military assault on Iraq have the support of all but
a small "fringe" of people in this country. Indeed, most of the
highly monopolized mass media cooperate in this falsehood.
Proving just the opposite, however, are the anti-war
demonstrations that have been growing ever larger over the past
year and a half. They are making visible in the most
irrefutable way the sentiment that otherwise would be deemed
non-existent by the political establishment.
The main force behind these demonstrations has been the
ANSWER coalition, which stands for Act Now to Stop War &
End Racism. This coalition, representing many organizations
committed to social justice, came together in September 2001,
after the Bush administration, taking advantage of the terrible
Sept. 11 attacks, began vigorously pushing forward an
aggressive agenda already formulated. It included a massive
military mobilization aimed at dominating the oil-rich areas of
the Middle East and, at home, stepped up repression in the name
of "homeland security," targeting Muslims and Arabs in
particular.
That led to ANSWER's first national march in Washington, on
Sept. 29, when 20,000 people braved the flag-waving and fear
mongering to demand no war and no racial profiling.
Succeeding demonstrations have grown too large to be ignored
by the establishment media, particularly the Oct. 26, 2002,
mass marches in Washington and San Francisco against a war on
Iraq, which brought out a total of a quarter of a million
people.
WW spoke to some of the members of the ANSWER Steering
Committee about what they think the Jan. 18 demonstrations will
achieve.
Peta Lindsay is a Howard University student who
joined ANSWER while still in high school and now coordinates
youth and student outreach. She sees tremendous growth in this
area:
"The vast majority who come to the protests are youth and
students. We can't vote until we are 18, but we can go to these
large demos and make a change. Civil rights, the Vietnam
War--people are realizing more and more that it was the youth
and students in the streets that made the difference. We're in
touch with high school students all over, from Michigan to
Kansas to Maryland. They can feel isolated in their
communities, but when they get on the bus and travel to these
demos, and find they're with 200,000 other people, they know
they're not alone but on the side of the majority of the people
of the world."
Elias Rashmawi brings to the coalition steering
committee the determination and passion of the Free Palestine
Alliance, USA:
"I believe that the people of the U.S. have a moral duty and
a responsibility to oppose the march toward war and the
escalation in the level of hate that exists today in the world.
The people of the U.S. are the only ones fully equipped to stop
it. No one else in the world has the ability--diplomatically,
militarily--to challenge this empire or the way it functions
internally.
"The people around the world have their eyes focused on Jan.
18, waiting to see how the people of the U.S. collectively
speak with their feet and tell the representatives of their
government, 'We will not let you march to war, not allow you to
destroy nations and peoples.' The ANSWER coalition is
positioned, because of the partnership it has with affected
people throughout the world, particularly the Arab people right
now, to galvanize and lead a movement to stop this war before
it starts."
Chuck Kaufman, a national co-coordinator of the
Nicaragua Network, believes there's no substitute for
large-scale activism:
"The only place that U.S. wars have ever been stopped is in
the streets. The only thing that impresses our government is
when there's massive non-cooperation with the war machine."
Jennifer Wager represents the Interreligious
Foundation for Community Organization/Pastors for Peace:
"Our organization for 35 years has advanced struggles for
self-determination, racial, economic and social justice. We
believe there's no more fitting way to honor the memory of Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. than to come out and 'break the silence'
and express our outrage at the war-mongering of the Bush
administration. We know that Jan. 18 will continue to build
momentum for this growing movement for peace with justice in
the U.S. and worldwide."
'Preemptive war' meets preemptive anti-war
movement
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a civil rights attorney and
co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice, thinks the
Bush administration is "shocked" by the emergence of a mass
anti-war movement and its impact worldwide.
"This movement is having a significant impact on their
plans. He has put out this idea of calling for 'preemptive
war'--and he is being met with a preemptive antiwar
movement.
"There are times when it is critical for people to come
together in a mass assembly for the largest possible
mobilization. By having a significant physical and vocal
presence, we send an unmistakable and undeniable rebuke to the
administration."
ANSWER is prepared if the focus of Bush's wrath turns
against the people of Korea. On the steering committee is
Yoomi Jeong, deputy secretary general of the Korea Truth
Commission, who says:
"The people around the world recognize that the real axis of
evil is in fact the USA. I think it is very important for the
people here to stand up for justice and peace. This is our
moral obligation to the humanity that is affected by U.S.
imperialism.
"Having said that, as a member of the ANSWER Steering
Committee, I am very much inspired by comrades representing
different nations, races, regions and issues. This is a true
form of international solidarity; across the borders of
religion, culture and language. We are one against the tyrant
of U.S. imperialism. Along with Iraq, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea--North Korea--is being singled out as a next
target of U.S. military attack. I am very happy that we are
represented at the Jan 18th march and rally in Washington so
people can hear what the Koreans have been saying all
along."
Brian Becker, a national coordinator of the
International Action Center, says:
"The ANSWER coalition believes that the mobilization of the
people can be the decisive factor in stopping the planned war
of aggression against the people of Iraq. The war is an
imperialist war for objectives that have nothing to do with
disarmament. Rather the Bush administration, operating on
behalf of the biggest transnational corporations and especially
big oil and the big banks, seeks to conquer Iraq and all the
Middle East in order to loot and plunder the vast natural
resources of the area.
"People at the grassroots level all over the country are
utilizing every avenue of struggle to stop the war. But there
are moments in history when having a huge national mobilization
is essential to show the power of the movement and to inspire
confidence and stimulate a firestorm of countrywide militant
opposition."
These leaders, along with others on ANSWER's diverse
steering committee, show that a new kind of coalition is
leading this anti-war struggle. It reflects the energies,
experiences and sensitivities of the many peoples and cultures
now incorporated into the working class and progressive
movement in the United States. But it is also a bridge to
peoples all over the world who are resisting the imperialist
globalization of the planet.
Reprinted from the Jan. 23, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
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