Troops Out Now Coalition’s call to action
Published Dec 24, 2005 8:04 AM
ON MARCH 18 & 19,
the third anniversary of the war:
* World unity against the war—Bring all the troops home now!
* End all occupations
* Stop the war abroad and the war at home
* Justice for Katrina survivors
* Money for people’s needs, not war
* Unite against racism, poverty
and
war!
TONC contingent in New Orleans march supporting Katrina survivors Dec. 10.
|
In New York City—
March from Harlem
to Times Square!
Demonstrations in Boston, Detroit,
Denver, Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, Raleigh, N.C., Washington,
D.C., Buffalo, N.Y., and across the country!
The Troops Out
Now Coalition (TONC) joins the world movement against the war in calling for
coordinated mass protests and resistance to the war and occupation of Iraq on
the weekend of March 18 and 19, the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion. It
must be clear that the people will not be fooled by partial withdrawal plans. We
demand the withdrawal of all occupation troops now.
Let’s stand
together with our sisters and brothers across the world against all colonial
occupations—from Iraq and Palestine, to Afghanistan and Haiti, to the
Philippines, South Korea and Puerto Rico. Stop the threats to Iran and
Venezuela. Hands Off Cuba. Together we demand no more new wars.
Bush’s arrogant response to the demand to withdraw the troops from
Iraq is a renewed vow to continue the criminal colonial occupation of Iraq and
elsewhere until “victory.” The leaders of the Demo cratic Party, for
all their criticism of the way that the Bush regime has conducted the war,
remain war supporters.
If we’ve learned anything over the past
three years, it is that the only force that we can rely on to stop the war and
occupation, bring the troops home and stop the plan for world empire by military
force is the people mobilized into a mass, militant movement that makes itself
felt in the streets.
In the U.S., TONC urges all anti-war coalitions and
organizations, at the nation al and local level, to work together on the
mobilizations in March, for this is the best way to ensure that the popular
opposition to the war be turned into mass opposition in the streets. It is not
necessary that all coalitions have identical views, BUT it is necessary that we
not allow differences to be an obstacle to unity.
With the level of
opposition to the war stronger than ever, we could bring the entire country to a
halt on March 18 and 19. We, as a movement, can do that only if we commit to
forging unity.
TONC will be organizing for March 18 and 19 in every city
large and small—from Boston to Los Angeles, from Atlanta to Detroit. In
New York City, TONC invites everyone to join us in a mass march from Harlem to
Times Square for a rally on Saturday, March 18. By marching from the capital of
the African-American community in the U.S. to the center of the city, we hope to
underscore the reality that we are fighting to stop two wars—the war
abroad and the war at home against racism and poverty.
Among the many
challenges that we face as anti-war activists and organizers, nothing is more
important than linking the concrete struggles of poor and working people,
especially people of color in this country, to the anti-war struggle. Calif.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s denial of clemency to death row inmate,
Stanley Tookie Williams, is only the latest example of the systemic racism that
oppresses, tortures and kills people in many different ways.
Our unity is
strengthened by supporting full rights for immigrant workers here in the
U.S.—not sweeps, arrests, deportation and fear. And our unity is
strengthened by standing with people struggling for the right to return to their
homes—this includes tens of thousands of people in New Orleans and the
Gulf Coast kept from their homes by the criminal neglect and racism of FEMA, and
the struggle of the Palestinian people for the right to return to their historic
homeland.
The racism and lethal hostility of the government towards poor
and working people, exposed by the response to Hurricane Katrina, has made the
strengthening of links all the more urgent. TONC proposes that all anti-war and
progressive forces demonstrate solidarity with the struggle of Katrina survivors
by making the demand for justice for Katrina survivors central to the March
protests by engaging communities of color; making the protests relevant to these
communities; coordinating with the survivors of Katrina and the activists
involved in the Katrina struggle.
Let’s keep the movement where it
needs to be—in the streets—and let’s work together like never
before.
TROOPS OUT NOW COALITION
39 W. 14th St., Suite
206
New York, N.Y. 10011
(212)
633-6646
[email protected]
www.troopsoutnow.org
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