from http://www.iacenter.org/ Information Action Center Founded by Ramsey Clark, Former U.S. Attorney General National March against War and Racism in Washington DC, Saturday, September 29; Rally 12 noon at Lafayette Join a new anti-war coalition: International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) Please join us in signing this call for a new anti-war coalition: We join with people all over the world in condemning the horrific killings of thousands of persons in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences are with those whose loved ones were lost or injured on September 11, 2001. At this moment, we would all like to take time to reflect, to grieve, to extend sympathy and condolences to all. But we believe that we must do more. We must act now. We are assembling International A.N.S.W.E.R. to call for worldwide rallies against war and racism. On September 29, there will be a national march and rally at the White House in Washington DC, as well as marches on the West Coast of the U.S. and around the world. We call on all people of conscience and progressive organizations to take up this call and organize rallies around the world. Unless we stop President Bush and NATO from carrying out a new, wider war in the Middle East, the number of innocent victims will grow from the thousands to the tens of thousands and possibly more. A new, wider U.S. and NATO war in the Middle East can only lead to an escalating cycle of violence. War is not the answer. We must also act against racism. Arab American and Muslim people in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere, as well as other communities of color, are facing racist attacks and harassment in their communities, on their jobs and at mosques. Anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism is a poison that should be repudiated. The U.S. government is attempting to curb civil liberties and to create a climate in which it is impossible for progressive people to speak their mind. The Bush administration is attempting to take advantage of this crisis to militarize U.S. society with a vast expansion of police powers that is intended to severely restrict basic democratic rights. On September 29, tens of thousands of people had planned to demonstrate against the Bush administration's reactionary foreign and domestic policy and the IMF and World Bank. In light of the current crisis, with its tragic consequences for so many thousands of people, we have refocused the call for our demonstration to address the immediate danger posed by increased racism and the grave threat of a new war. We call on people to demonstrate around the world on that day. Now is the time for all people of conscience, all people who oppose racism and war to come together. If you believe in civil liberties and oppose racism and war, demonstrate on September 29 in front of the White House and around the world. October 12-13 will be International Days of Action Against War and Racism. We urge all organizations internationally to join together at this critical time and take action. For more info or to endorse the above statement, go to <http://www.iacenter.org/> ===== Dear RN list, Locally, friends are helping me to expand anti-war organizing in a way that we invite more people to join us. I'm copying two draft texts, a press release and a letter-to-the-editor below which may inspire others in their local actions. all the best, Jan draft press release re: Digby vigil scheduled for Friday, Sept. 28: Walking with our sisters and brothers Can a terrible attack like that of September 11 help bring peace? If that is our choice, yes. Many Canadians helped make peace real in the way they welcomed stranded air passengers from around the world. As one passenger explained, he had been headed for a holiday in New York, but found himself in heaven instead! If we want peace, what is our task, now that the stranded passengers have left? Let us walk with our brothers and sisters, wherever they are. No one should be left to live in fear. Some Muslim Canadians (and Canadians from other ethnic backgrounds) have been attacked or brought under suspicion as a result of the emotions stemming from the bombing. Some are fearful to leave their homes. In Afghanistan, people are leaving their homes, becoming refugees in a country which apparently already has the highest proportion of refugees of any country in the world. The most sophistocated, expensive weapons on earth did not protect the U.S. from the attack of September 11. Indeed, by diverting resources from constructive work, war-making is the biggest threat to our future there is. To coincide with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Ottawa, on Oct. 5-8, people from around the world (some only from afar) will participate in a Festival of Nonviolence (Ottawa, Oct. 6). Nonviolence, a force which has also been called many things, sometimes simply love, is ultimately stronger than fear or hatred. We dare to hope that humanity has evolved to a point where we can make this force more and more real. No one should be left alone in fear. And so, we are walking with our sisters and brothers, wherever they are, whatever their station in society, their appearance or their beliefs. After the attacks, musician Jann Arden joined with others in holding a benefit concert in Alberta. She said, essentially, that whoever was behind those attacks wants us to hunker down in fear, to reduce our lives to a kind of khaki-coloured existence. In going ahead with the benefit concert, in daring to work towards a world without war, we are defusing the terrorists' vision. We invite all people of good will to find a way to walk with our brothers and sisters, and get at the roots of violence, of racism and war. ************************************************* Dear Editor, The September 11 attack has, I believe, much to teach us about globalization. The attack was directed against symbols of corporate globalization or US imperialism: the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. It killed people from more than a dozen countries and many faiths. It is being blamed on Muslim extremists and some people seem willing to believe that Muslim extremists have a monopoly on evil. No way. The attack harmed people from around the globe and whoever is responsible for it could have come from anywhere on earth. We cannot yet be sure we know who is responsible. We must not join in the war fervor. We'll never triumph over evil by heaping even more evil on the world. Our task is to find ways to globalize the things we hold most dear, things like democracy, the pursuit of health and happiness, love. Sincerely, Jan Slakov Box 35, Weymouth, NS B0W 3T0 (902) 837-4980
