Fw: [ANSWER]: 850 organizers attend Next Step Anti-War Conference in NYC

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer.general at action-mail.org>
To: <answer.general at action-mail.org>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 3:37 AM
Subject: [ANSWER]: 850 organizers attend Next Step Anti-War Conference in
NYC


> INITIAL REPORT
> on MAY 17-18 NATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. CONFERENCE
>
> Plus:
> ACTION PLAN
>
> More than 850 activists and organizers who have helped
> forge the U.S. arm of the global peace movement came
> together from across the U.S. and several other countries
> to participate in the National Conference Against War,
> Colonial Occupation & Imperialism sponsored by the
> A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition on May 17-18 in New York City.
> Those who attended the conference came in buses, vans and
> car caravans from communities throughout the East Coast,
> South and Midwest, and nearly 100 people attended from the
> West Coast. The worldwide anti-war movement sent messages
> and delegations from many countries.
>
> The conference included major plenary sessions entitled
> "What is the Bush administration planning?" and "Where is
> the movement going?", plus 16 different workshops where
> panels. Organizers and leaders in different struggles
> analyzed the imperialist objectives of the Bush
> administration's foreign policy and the racist and
> anti-worker assault on civil rights and civil liberties at
> home, and then discussed effective organized resistance.
> Reports and discussions took place on a wide range of
> issues, including the occupation of Iraq; the Bush
> administration's threats and attacks against Cuba, Korea,
> the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and
> other countries; civil rights, civil liberties, immigrant
> rights, union and workers' rights; and much more.
> Particular attention was paid to the rise over the past
> year of the global movement and which presents the
> greatest hope and potential political power to stop the
> U.S. war machine.
>
> Participants also reflected on their experiences of
> organizing over the last year, and discussed building on
> the momentum of the peace movement and strategies and
> plans for mobilizing against the administration's drive
> for empire and war at home. On Sunday, the conference
> attendees formed into several discussion breakout groups
> where organizers and activists from around the country -
> who have assumed responsibility for mobilizing both local
> and national actions during the past year and a half - met
> with each other for information sharing and free flowing
> discussions. During these discussions organizers proposed
> next steps, discussed a national action plan, and began
> charting coordinated local organizing initiatives. In the
> final plenary, volunteers gave reportbacks from the
> multiple discussion groups to the full conference.
> Notetakers are currently preparing more detailed reports
> from these discussion sessions.
>
> The National Action Plan, detailed below, includes a
> demonstration on July 4 in Philadelphia where Bush will be
> speaking; a September 27 International Day of Protest
> Against War and Occupation from Iraq and Palestine, to
> Korea and the Philippines; and a summer public education
> campaign to spread the word about the need to fight war
> and militarism and in defense of social and economic
> rights. The Action Plan also included May 19-20
> coordinated local actions opposing Bush's new attacks on
> Cuba. On these days, rallies, press conferences and street
> meetings took place in Tucson, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San
> Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY;
> Providence, RI; Houston, TX; Washington DC; Winnipeg,
> Canada; and more.
>
> For those who were not able to attend the conference, the
> A.N.S.W.E.R. website will soon contain a section with
> talks from the conference and additional information about
> the discussions that took place there. The full conference
> program ­ including plenary speakers, and topics and
> descriptions of the 16 workshops ­ is available at
> http://www.internationalanswer.org/pdf/m17program.pdf
>
> We want to thank all the A.N.S.W.E.R. volunteers who gave
> so much of their time to make the conference so
> successful, and also the plenary and workshop panelists
> who represent the depth and breath of the struggle for
> global and domestic justice. Thanks also to the organizers
> and activists who were able to attend for sharing their
> successes and learning experiences, as well as to the many
> thousands of other A.N.S.W.E.R. organizers in towns large
> and small who have committed themselves to working for
> real justice and an end to military and economic conquest
> and exploitation.
>
> Below is the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition's projected Action
> Plan:
>
> JULY 4:
> THOUSANDS WILL MARCH TO PROTEST GEORGE W. BUSH IN
> PHILADELPHIA
>
> George W. Bush has been invited to the opening of the
> National Constitution Center. We need to be there to say
> No to U.S. Wars at Home and Abroad; No to Colonialism and
> Empire; End the Occupation of Iraq; No to Racism, Attacks
> on Civil Rights and Immigrants, the USA Patriot Act and
> the Shredding of the Constitution; and to Call for Funding
> of Social Programs - not the Pentagon's War Machine.
>
> The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition supports this initiative
> brought forward by local Philadelphia organizations who
> have come together to issue a call for thousands of people
> to join in a national march on July 4 in Philadelphia
> protesting U.S. wars at home and abroad. The A.N.S.W.E.R.
> Coalition urges its Organizing Centers and all people of
> conscience to be in the streets of Philadelphia. In
> addition to the July 4 national protest, a number of
> groups are sponsoring local and regional protests on that
> weekend. Philadelphia organizations involved in the local,
> regional and national protests include Philadelphia
> A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), PRAWN
> (Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network), Minority
> Experience Network, Avenging the Ancestors Coalition
> (ATAC), Unite for Peace, International Concerned Family
> and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and others.
>
> In addition to the July 4 national protest, a number of
> groups are sponsoring local and regional protests on that
> weekend. Philadelphia organizations involved in the local,
> regional and national protests include Philadelphia
> A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), PRAWN
> (Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network), Minority
> Experience Network, Avenging the Ancestors Coalition
> (ATAC), Unite for Peace, International Concerned Family
> and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and others.
>
> SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27:
> GLOBAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST OCCUPATION AND EMPIRE,
> & IN SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE WHO RESIST ­
> FROM PALESTINE TO IRAQ TO THE PHILIPPINES TO CUBA AND
> EVERYWHERE
>
> September 27 is the third anniversary of the beginning of
> the second Intifada of the Palestinian people whose
> resistance against colonial occupation in the past decades
> has been the very center of the anti-colonial struggle
> throughout the Middle East. This will be a global action
> of solidarity with all of those who are resisting empire.
>
> SUMMER PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN
>
> In response to requests from activists across the country,
> this summer, A.N.S.W.E.R. - on a national level - will
> produce educational materials, including fact sheets,
> brochures, pamphlets, booklets, and more. We will focus on
> a wide range of issues, including (but not limited to)
> countries that the Bush administration is attacking,
> social service cuts versus military spending, racist
> repression at home, and the expansion of U.S. militarism
> globally. We encourage local organizers to use these
> resources to carry out mass leafleting and tabling
> campaigns in cities around the country. A.N.S.W.E.R.
> national organizers are available to speak at forums,
> teach-ins and community meetings.
>
> ---------------------
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION:
>
> A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
> Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
> http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
>
> info at internationalanswer.org
> New York 212-633-6646
> Washington 202-544-3389
> Los Angeles 213-487-2368
> San Francisco 415-821-6545
>
> To make a tax-deductible donation, go to
> http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
>
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