People of the world say with one voice: NO WAR!
By John Catalinotto
Three men met at a military base on an island in the middle
of the Atlantic Ocean on March 16 to plot the unleashing of a
murderous war on the people of Iraq. As George Bush, Tony Blair
and Jose Maria Aznar plotted carnage in the Azores, 6 billion
people in the rest of the world surrounded them, the vast
majority of them demanding peace.
Some 3 million to 5 million people had joined ranks the day
before around the world to say "No war on Iraq." March 15
turned into an urgent international day of action just four
weeks after 15 million had demonstrated worldwide to establish
a powerful mass anti-war movement, which has continued to
confront U.S. imperialism.
As the U.S. attack approaches, this movement has begun job
actions, strikes, boycotts, e-mail campaigns, blocking trains
and ships, anything to stop the war before it starts. On March
14 workers throughout Europe followed the call of the
Confederation of European Trade Unions and "crossed their arms"
at noon for 15 minutes in a symbolic general strike. The
strongest participation was in Greece, Italy, Spain and
Germany.
March 15 protests took place in 2,000 cities in 98
countries, CNN reported. This was even more widespread than a
month earlier. Turnouts were dramatic: Millions marched in
Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and dozens of cities in the Spanish
state. Hundreds of thousands of union workers marched in Milan,
Italy. These two countries' governments have supported the U.S.
war, but their populations are fighting against it.
Another 100,000 came out in Berlin to form a human chain
throughout the city; 150,000 in France, including 100,000 in
Paris; 60,000 in Brussels; 20,000 in Copenhagen, Denmark; and
15,000 in Athens, Greece.
Protests strong in the Arab world
Another 200,000 demonstrated in Sana'a, Yemen, and tens of
thousands marched in Baghdad, pledging to defend their country
against U.S./British occupation. And thousands more marched in
Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon, Cairo, Egypt, and many
Palestinian cities and refugee camps as the Arab world
coordinated its actions with the U.S. and European
movements.
People took to the streets throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania
and the Americas. Thousands more turned out in Moscow, Tokyo,
Bangkok, Seoul, Cal cutta, New Delhi, Wellington and New
Zealand. Some 250,000 marched in Montreal--even more than on
Feb. 15. Protests took place in Vancouver, Toronto and at least
40 Canadian cities; Sao Paolo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; and many other cities and countries.
The movement targeted the symbols of U.S. political and
military power, including the White House, the Rhine-Main Air
Base near Frankfurt, Germany, the military base at Suda in
Crete, U.S. embassies in Greece, Cyprus and Mexico City, and
U.S. ships illegally unloading in Isken derun, Turkey. Hundreds
surrounded the naval base in Portsmouth, England, and others
burned U.S. figures in effigy in Delhi, India, in a protest
called by 22 secular parties.
What next for the movement?
With war imminent, this new world movement has vowed to
continue the struggle. In Britain, the Stop the War Committee
has announced mass mobilizations for both March 22 and March 29
in London, whether or not the war has begun. There are also
demonstrations plan ned for March 22 in New York City and in
Amsterdam.
The European labor movement plans to extend its successful
symbolic action on March 14 into a four-hour general strike on
March 21.
Worldwide, the movement has agreed to hold immediate local
actions the day the U.S. launches its onslaught, or the day
after, if the attack begins at night. It will protest in
capitals or major cities the following weekend. This attack is
coming without the cover of United Nations approval, as existed
in 1991--or even NATO approval, as the Pentagon had during its
bombing raids on Yugoslavia in 1999--and with the minimum
allied support for the U.S. military machine.
Those government leaders who back the U.S. assault are
themselves isolated in their own countries. Blair's cabinet
members are beginning to resign, Aznar faces millions in the
streets, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been
pelted with eggs in the streets of Adelaide. And even with a
mammoth propaganda mac hine that keeps repeating the most
egregious lies to the population, a strong anti-war movement
has grown within the U.S.
Under these conditions, the world considers Bush, Blair and
Aznar rogue leaders of rogue states who are endangering the
lives of everyone on earth. As such, the movement has
authorized strikes, direct action, calls for refusal of
soldiers in the imperialist armies to fight, and whatever else
it takes to impede the U.S. war machine, stop murdering Iraqis
and bring the troops home from the Middle East.
Reprinted from the March 27, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
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