April 20 Mass Anti-War March and Rally

International A.N.S.W.E.R.
Act Now To Stop War & End Racism
2489 Mission Street #24, San Francisco, CA 94110
Email: answer [at] actionsf.org
http://www.internationalANSWER.org
(415) 821-6545

TENS OF THOUSANDS TO PROTEST BUSH POLICIES

MASS NATIONAL MARCHES BEING HELD ON APRIL 20, 2002, IN WASHINGTON D.C. AND SAN FRANCISCO TO PROTEST "THE REAL AXIS OF EVIL: WAR , RACISM AND POVERTY"

In response to an escalating "war on terror" with no end in sight, budget priorities that increase corporate welfare while gutting social services and environmental protections, and the strongest attack on civil rights in recent history, national marches against war, racism and poverty have been planned in Washington D.C. and San Francisco on April 20, 2002. In San Francisco, thousands of protesters from many communities and movements throughout the western United States will gather at Dolores Park at 11 AM, begin marching at 12 PM, and rally to hear speakers at the Civic Center at 1 PM.

This broad-based coalition of activists, workers, students, labor unionists, including Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General; Howard Zinn, Author and Historian; Barbara Lubin, Executive Director, Middle East Childrens' Alliance; Rev. Lucius Walker, Pastors for Peace; Michael Parenti Ph.D, author of "America Beseiged"; Bishop Thomas Gumbleton; Mumia Abu Jamal, Death Row Political Prisoner; International Action Center; Green Party USA; American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice; A Jewish Voice for Peace, San Francisco; National Lawyers Guild; Veterans for Peace; East Bay Women for Peace; San Francisco Labor Council; and other ordinary Americans demand:

* MONEY FOR JOBS, EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL SERVICES, NOT WAR.
* AN END TO THE SPREADING U.S. WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA -- NO TO NUCLEAR ATTACKS ON ANY COUNTRY
* A STOP TO THE ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT HOME.
* NO NEW WAR AGAINST IRAQ, SUPPORT THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE


BACKGROUND:
While the war in Afghanistan is clearly far from over, American troops have been dispatched to the Philippines, Colombia, Yemen, and Georgia. Public oversight and access to information about these activities is severely limited by the administration.

In Iraq, nearly 2 million men, women, and children have died from the continuing bombing and sanctions leveled against that country since the Gulf War. As the Bush administration pushes to assault a devastated Iraq again, a growing number of Americans are joining with millions in the Middle East to say: "No New War Against Iraq."

U.S. tax dollars are providing vast amounts of weaponry to Israel as it continues its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and its escalating violence towards the Palestinian people and denial of their right to self-determination.

The Pentagon has leaked its "Nuclear Policy Review," which calls for planning nuclear attacks on seven countries: Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria and Libya, the last five of which are non-nuclear powers. The report also calls for developing new generations of nuclear weapons. These plans pose a grave threat to the people of the world and constitute a gross violation of international law and U.S. treaty obligations.

The tremendous proposed increases in the military budget to nearly half a trillion dollars, coupled with tax cuts for the richest individuals and corporations will cause major deficits and cutbacks in critical social programs like Social Security, welfare, and education.

The denial of habeas corpus-in violation of the most basic tenets of the Bill of Rights-to hundreds of immigrants and minorities has caused massive concern over the erosion of domestic civil liberties. Bush and Ashcroft are reorganizing federal law enforcement into a domestic surveillance police state that gives the government license to listen to the public's phone calls, read the public's e-mail, execute covert searches, and target political and religious groups.

The U.S. military has historically been used to maintain American domination of economic resources, including the oil supply of the Middle East. This has resulted in widespread impoverishment, political disenfranchisement, and anti-Americanism both in the region and elsewhere. Over-reliance on military domination as a foreign policy tool inevitably leads to the continuation of the cycle of violence. The Bush administration's recent actions, including its belligerent nuclear policy and its aggressive posturing towards Iraq, North Korea, and others, highlight its failure to address the root causes of the conflict confronting us today.

With rising unemployment, evictions, foreclosures, and slashing of welfare and healthcare benefits at home, people in the U.S. need billions to create jobs, improve our schools, and provide quality health care. Instead the Bush administration is spending billions on military aggression resulting in enormous numbers of civilian deaths.