WORLD AGAINST WAR
ISSUES CALL FOR
MARCH PROTESTS
(The
following article is from
the January 1-15,
2008
issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles
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Over 1,200
delegates from the global
anti-war movements came to London in early December for the World
Against War International Peace Conference. Videos of speeches at the
event can be seen at the Stop the War UK website, http://www.stopwar.org.uk.
Delegates
from 26 countries addressed the conference, reported on developments in
their regions and discussed strategy for the movement. There was
unanimous agreement to organise demonstrations for "Troops out of Iraq
and Afghanistan" and against an attack on Iran in every country, around
the fifth anniversary of the attack on Iraq between March 15 and 22.
(The Canadian Peace Alliance has called for demonstrations on March 15.)
Delegates
adopted the following declaration:
This
conference of delegates from peace, anti-war, anti-imperialist and
liberation movements across the world declares its opposition to the
"endless war" prosecuted by the US government against states, peoples
and movements in all parts of our planet.
We oppose the
interference of the US and its allies in sovereign states, and assert
the right of all peoples to self-determination. We support all people
fighting for peace and against imperialism.
In
particular, we demand:
- An immediate end
to the illegal
military occupation of Iraq, which has caused hundreds of thousands of
deaths and displaced millions of people, a withdrawal of all foreign
troops and the full transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and
their representatives.
- A halt to all
preparations for an
attack against Iran, and a commitment to solve any issues through
exclusively diplomatic means.
- A withdrawal of
foreign troops from
Afghanistan, allowing the Afghan people to determine their own future.
Justice for the
Palestinian people,
and an end to Israeli aggression throughout the Middle East.
- An end to plans
for US missile
defence, and that all states actively pursue nuclear disarmament.
We affirm the
solidarity of all those fighting for peace, social justice and
self-determination worldwide, and commit ourselves to strengthening our
unity and developing new forms of co-operation.
We therefore
designate the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq as a worldwide day of
action in support of the demands NO ATTACK on IRAN and TROOPS OUT OF
IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN and call on all national anti-war movements to hold
mass protests and demonstrations on that day.
Found
at:
http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/articleprint09/WORLD_AGAINST_WAR_ISSUES_CALL_FOR_MARCH_PROTESTS.html