ANSWER conference
Activists move from anti-war to anti-imperialist
By Deirdre Griswold
New York
Over the last year hundreds of thousands of
people in this country have protested the horrors of war in
Iraq and Palestine. Now, at a conference held the weekend of
May 17-18 in New York, many of them showed they have moved
ahead in their thinking. They are not satisfied with just
protesting the violence. They want to act in solidarity with
the struggles of peoples around the world who are resisting
U.S. imperialism and the corporations and banks it serves.
The National Conference Against War, Colonial Occupation and
Imperialism was organized by the ANSWER coalition, which formed
right after 9/11 to push back the wave of racism and war frenzy
generated and manipulated by the Bush administration. Close to
800 people came from all over the U.S. and as far away as Japan
to attend the conference at the landmark Washington Irving High
School in Manhattan.
They applauded a wide array of speakers representing popular
movements around the world as well as union and community
activists from the U.S. They also participated in two dozen
well-attended workshops and discussion groups.
At the end, they ratified a plan of action that will bring
many thousands into the streets again over the next few months.
ANSWER also intends to provide speakers and literature to
organizing centers around the country in a concerted
educational campaign to lay bare the relationship that the
cutbacks, layoffs and racist, sexist and homophobic repression
at home have to the vast plan for military expansion being
pushed by the Pentagon and the Bush administration.
Focus on targets of U.S. military
The talks and workshops on imperialist military expansion
put special emphasis on those countries under the greatest
threat today: Iraq, North Korea, Cuba, Palestine, the
Philippines, Venezuela, Colombia and the Balkans. While they
are very different societies, they have this in common: U.S.
troops are already there or are poised on their borders.
Larry Holmes of the International Action Center and Carl
Messineo of the Partnership for Civil Justice kicked off the
conference with presentations that stressed the global
character of this movement--which succeeded in coordinating
simultaneous demonstrations around the world that mobilized
millions--and the big, big task ahead. "We're not going to win
with one demo," said Holmes. "We are in a long struggle to
bring down the empire and prevent the U.S. from establishing a
military dictatorship over the world."
Their words were reinforced by the many solidarity
statements that had come in from organizations on every
continent, including one from the United American Indians of
New England that spoke of "knowing first hand what it is like
to be on the receiving end of a relentless campaign of war and
terror." It expressed hope that "this movement will lead to a
new understanding amongst all of us of each other's struggles
and of what it will take to build a new and just society right
here in the belly of the beast."
The first plenary session centered on a slide presentation
on Geopolitics and the Strategy of Imperialism in the Middle
East by ANSWER Steering Committee member Elias Rashmawi of the
Free Palestine Alliance. His detailed charts showed why U.S.
imperialist strategists view the area as essential for world
domination because of its strategic position, encompassing
major waterways and access to three continents, as well as its
rich repository of oil, the essential commodity for modern
industry.
Iraq Sanctions Challenge coordinator Sara Flounders boiled
down ANSWER's position on Iraq to the simple demands, "No
occupation, no colonialism." She showed how the Rumsfeld
doctrine for a quick takeover of Iraq wasn't going according to
plan but was being resisted every step of the way by the
people.
Gloria La Riva of the International Action Center brought up
the threats against Cuba that grow more serious every day.
Conference participants that evening joined a picket supporting
Cuba at its Mission to the United Nations and planned more
solidarity actions for when they returned home.
Joe Navidad, a Filipino representing Bayan USA, told of his
country's fight to end direct U.S. colonial rule from 1899 to
1946, and the continued need for solidarity with the people's
struggle as U.S. troops once again are carrying out operations
in the Philippines.
Guest speakers included Guillermo Guevara, a member of the
Venezuelan National Assem bly and founder of the Organiz ation
of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon. Charles Barron, an elected
member of the New York City Council who has shook up that body
with his militant politics, reminded the conference of the
struggle that continues in Zimbabwe, where white settlers whose
loyalties are still with Britain are trying to keep their
monopoly on the best farm land.
These are merely some of the many well-informed speakers who
brought the struggles of the oppressed peoples of the world
into a once-elegant girls' high school near Manhattan's Union
Square. Each in their own way, they drew the lessons that these
are not isolated struggles but are a response to the rampages
of a profit-hungry global system that can expand only through
war and repression.
The struggles at home
And this was just one side of the equation. Equally
important were the talks and discussion on how imperialism has
impacted workers here, and why it's crucial that the anti-war
movement not be "single issue" but address capitalist exploi
tation and the inequity here in the U.S. that places added
burdens on millions of people because of their color, national
origin, gender and/or sexual expression.
IAC leaders Ramsey Clark, Brian Becker and Teresa Gutierrez
were joined by Ismail Kamal of the Muslim Students Association,
Macrina Cardenas of the Mexico Solidarity Network and others in
mapping out "Where is the movement going?," the provocative
topic of the second plenary.
A workshop on Queers for Peace and Justice talked about how
to do anti-war organizing at the Pride marches. Another
explored the mechanisms of the Inter national Monetary Fund and
World Bank. Labor activists discussed how to defend unions and
workers' rights in this period of repression, especially
against immigrants. Brenda Stokely of New York Labor Against
the War talked of the struggle to move the unions to the left
and overcome the tradition of "business unionism."
Another workshop explored what can be done to reach the
youth who are prey to military recruiting because of the lack
of jobs and education.
People packed into the workshop on the Patriot Act to hear
attorneys and others talk about the assault on civil liberties
and immigrant rights. Lynne Stewart, herself fighting
prosecution for having legally defended Muslim leaders, Mara
Verheyden-Hilliard of PCJ, and Jim Lafferty of the L.A. Chapter
of the National Lawyers Guild gave advice on how to challenge
the unconstitutional tactics of the Ashcroft Justice Department
and support those who are targeted for repression.
Building anti-racist solidarity and the struggle for
reparations attracted unionists and community activists. Monica
Moorehead, a managing editor of Workers World newspaper and
coordinator of Millions for Mumia, showed how taking on these
questions is central to building a strong, united anti-war
movement.
Health care workers are facing a crisis in this country and
also are sickened by the immense suffering inflicted by the
U.S. on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. One workshop was
devoted to doctors and nurses who have been in the forefront of
the anti-war struggle.
Members of Youth & Student ANSWER played a big role in
pulling the conference together and defining its agenda, from
the opening talk by Caneisha Mills, chair of the first plenary,
to presentations on "Where is the movement going?" by Peta
Lindsay and Sarah Sloan, "Who profits from war?" by Natividad
Carrera, and "The Strategy and Tactics of Empire" by Leilani
Dowell.
The Action Plan adopted by the conference pinpointed two
important dates: July 4, when Bush will be in Philadelphia to,
ironically, open the National Consti tution Center, and Sept.
27, an Interna tionally Coordinated Day of Action against
Occupation and Empire and in Solidarity with Those Who Resist.
In Philadelphia, ANSWER will be joining with local
organizations that have issued a call for thousands to come and
protest U.S. wars at home and abroad.
The details on these actions as they unfold will be
available at www.internationalanswer.org.
Reprinted from the May 29, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page