Call for march to demand an end to US occupation of Iraq

WASHINGTON — The following statement was issued on September 5 by International Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) and United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) on September 5 to announce that they have joined forces to call on all those who oppose the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq to unite on Saturday, October 25, in Washington DC for a truly massive outpouring that reflects the growing popular opposition to the Bush administration's foreign and domestic program.

It was the peace and anti-war movement in the 1960s and 1970s that proved to be one of the decisive factors ending the US war in Vietnam. The October 25 demonstration will be a powerful repudiation by the people of the United States of US President George Bush's criminal war and occupation of Iraq and will be a signal of the new anti-war movement's potent political force.

UFPJ and ANSWER have both organised anti-war demonstrations numbering in the hundreds of thousands in the last year and have now agreed to join forces for the purpose of organising the October 25 National March on Washington, under the banner: End the occupation of Iraq, Bring the troops home now!

The protest will also condemn the vast cuts in vital domestic social and economic programs and demand money for jobs and education. It will also mark the second anniversary of the passage of the so-called Patriot Act, which authorises political arrests, indefinite detentions, domestic spying, and religious and racial profiling.

By working together we are optimistic that this mobilisation will be an expression of the widespread opposition to the occupation of Iraq. We urge you to do everything possible to help bring massive numbers of people to Washington DC on October 25.

From Green Left Weekly, September 10, 2003.

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From GLW issue 553