National Demonstration - This Saturday 3pm Dublin

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday April 26, 2002 14:35 by Contre La Guerre - Irish Anti War Movement info at irishantiwar dot org

Phone and email everybody- all out mobilisation for tomorrow

ANTI WAR NEWS - Thursday 25th April NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION - THIS SATURDAY - DUBLIN CITY CENTRE AT 3pm - FOR INFO CONTACT 087 7955013

Last November politicians claimed that the fall of Kabul marked the end of the war in Afghanistan and the first victory in the wider ‘war on terror’. Nearly 5 months later do we live in a safer and more just world?

In Afghanistan over 8,000 Afghan civilians have been brutally murdered. Tens of thousands are homeless and facing starvation. The Taliban has been replaced with another band of warlords. US and British troops are still bogged down in mountain combat and ‘democracy’ is as far away as ever for ordinary Afghans.

Regional tyrants across the globe have used Bush’s rhetoric of a war on terror to settle local scores. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks and many thousands more been made homeless as the basic infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority was destroyed. Closer to home, civil liberties are being eroded with all of us now legally defined as potential terrorists. Closer still, US Marine Hercules planes are still landing at supposedly neutral Shannon airport.

In Venezuela, the ‘war on terror’ helped orchestrate a coup and temporarily remove the President, Hugo Chavez. Post September 11th racist hysteria was whipped up across Europe and the States, with the unimaginable now happening in France - fascist le Pen in the Presidential run-offs. From overthrowing the government of the Philippines to ousting Jose Bustani - chair of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - the hallmarks of Bush’s war are everywhere.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 children continue to die every month because of the sanctions imposed against the people of Iraq - and still Bush and Blair want to bomb Iraqi civilians. If anything, the world is a much more unstable place than on September 10th.

But in the last 5 months we have seen millions protest across the globe against the real terrorists - Bush, Blair & Sharon. In Ireland, thousands have taken to the streets to show our solidarity with ordinary Afghans and Palestinians and to show our contempt for a government that allows war planes refuel in Shannon.

This Saturday’s demonstration will be very big. Buses are coming from Belfast, Cork and Derry (details below). Many organisations, including the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland are building for the demonstration. We should pull out all the stops to make this a massive demonstration and show our politicians that we do not support this war on the poor.

Practically, this means

Telephoning friends/workmates/flatmates/family and bringing them along on Saturda

Bring a banner from your local organisation, trade union or students’ union

Bring banners/flags/placards and music

Last minute leafleting at train stations and outside shopping centres (contact 087 7955013 if available for leafleting)

Get on the radio - call into local chatshows and explain why you’re coming on the anti-war demo and why you are outraged that US warplanes are landing in Shannon

Make this an election issue - the election is on May 17th and the same politicians who signed a blank cheque for George Bush will soon be calling to your door. Don’t let them off easily.

Come to the anti-war social on Saturday evening (7pm starts with screening of the Battle of Algiers - then continues to late with music - cost €5 or donation - venue: Sean O’Casey’s, Marlborough St., off Abbey St., Dublin.

National Demonstration

Assemble 3pm at Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin

For directions/info/press contact 087 7955013.

BUS DETAILS

DERRY: leaves promptly at 10am from Foyle St at the entrance to the bus station. Tickets £10 (waged) and £5 (conc.). To book contact 07771 781958.

GALWAY: leaves from Eyre Square at 10am on Sat 27th - contact 086 8473529

CORK: contact 086 3125465

OTHER EVENTS

GLOBALISE RESISTANCE

Final preparations for Saturdays demo are being made in Spacecraft this Friday from 6.30 onwards. The puppets and props are pretty close to being finished but we still urgently need wooden poles or thin strips of wood, also paint and glue of any sort are always handy. Also on Friday night we need to decide roughly who's going to be what so that we know how many of whichever whatevers we have to bring to wherever, if you catch my drift. For more information contact Joe on 087 9032281.

SWP

Public Meeting

THE DRIVE TO WAR - THE OTHER FACE OF GLOBALISATION

Richardsons, Eyre Square, Galway, Friday 26th at 6.30pm

Speaker: Eamonn McCann, prominant political commentator, author, HOT PRESS journalist, and a leading activist in the civil rights movement in Derry.

Admission free - all welcome. For info contact Dette McLoughlin at 091 - 590452

Any information or notification of anti war events for inclusion in next anti war news please email in details by next Monday or contact 087 7955013.