19 March 2005: International Day of Protest

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CALL TO ACTION of the ANTI-WAR ASSEMBLY,
World Social Forum 2005, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Two years after the invasion of Iraq, there is more opposition to the
war in the US, in the coalition countries, and all over the world than
ever before. The justifications for the war have all been proven to
be lies. A widespread and popular resistance has risen up against the
occupation forces. Over 100,000 Iraqis and over 1,500 coalition
soldiers have been killed. With the global condemnation of the war
and the inability of the United States to quell the resistance in Iraq,
we stand at a critical moment in which there is a real chance that the
war could be stopped.

Now is the time for the anti-war movement to take action, not to
retreat. It is time to escalate the protests, not to give up.
A defeat for US-led forces in Iraq will be a victory for everybody
facing US aggression globally.

We demand an end to the occupations of Iraq and Palestine.

We demand that the US desists from attacking Iran, North Korea, Syria,
Cuba, Venezuela and other countries. We must highlight the dangers of
global war especially in Latin America where the US threatens to
intervene in many countries. We call for a Global Day of Action
against War on March 19/20 demanding troops out of Iraq now, no more
wars. We call for a rolling wave of massive demonstrations, civil
disobedience, and other forms of protest around the world.

IRAQ
We call for the immediate withdrawal of occupation troops and support
all efforts to bring them home. We support efforts to organize
soldiers, conscientious objectors, and military families against the
war. We support the counter-recruitment campaign and demand political
asylum for deserters.

We support the right of the Iraqi people to resist occupation while
condemning the killing of innocent civilians. We support efforts to
understand the full range of civil, political, and armed resistance
in Iraq to further strengthen our campaigns. We commit to deepening
our links of solidarity with the people of the Middle East.

We demand the closure of US military bases around the world and
support efforts towards the abolition of nuclear weapons, the banning
of the arms trade, and other moves towards demilitarization.

We support efforts to stop the economic occupation of Iraq by
corporations and international financial institutions. And we will
escalate our campaign against these war profiteers through boycotts
and direct action.

We call for protests against Bush and his allies wherever they go.

PALESTINE
We support the Palestinian people's struggle for justice,
self-determination, a sovereign independent state with Jerusalem as
its capital and the implementation of the right of return in
accordance with UN resolution 194.

We call upon the international community and governments to impose
political and economic sanctions on Israel, including an embargo on
armaments. We call upon the social movements to mobilize also for
divestment and boycotts. These efforts aim to force Israel to
implement international resolutions, and the advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice, to stop and take down the illegal wall
and end all occupation and apartheid policies.

We support the Israeli anti-colonialist, anti-Zionist activists who
share this struggle.

We reaffirm the call for a Global Day of Action on March 19/20 and a
wave of protest to stop war and end the occupations.
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More about the 19 March 2005 International Day of Protest demos on:
http://amigaphil.planetinternet.be/cgi-bin/show.cgi?nowar33

More about the EuroManif in Brussels on:
http://www.wsf.be/euromanif.htm
IMC coverage: http://archive.indymedia.be/

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)