|
download the flyer
Where do we go from here?
An Anti-War Strategy Session
Sunday, June 4th, 2006
encuentro 5
It is an exciting, crucial time
for activists. Massive mobilizations by the immigrant
community and anti-war movements have impacted on the
consciousness of millions and are influencing the debate
unfolding in the mainstream media. The strength of the
immigrant rights movement was demonstrated on May 1st in the
"A Day Without Immigrants" as over 1.5 million participated
nationwide in the strike, business closings, and the
shopping boycott. Hundreds of thousands gathered in NYC on
April 29th to demand an end to the war on Iraq and to
campaign for peace, justice, and democracy. There is energy
and hope to be gained from the new coalitions that have been
formed, dissatisfaction with the Bush administration, and
the growing opposition to the Iraq war. Yet this criminal
war against the Iraqi people continues with no end in sight.
The military reported that 70 U.S. troops were killed in
April 2006, the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq this
year. Given the continuing occupation of Iraq and the plans
being made by the U.S. government to attack Iran, the
Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition is calling for an
urgent discussion among activists and organizations seeking
an End to the Occupation of Iraq and to Bring the Troops
Home Now.
The Stop the Wars Coalition is
calling on antiwar activists in the Boston area and beyond
to gather for a Strategy Session on June 4, 2006 from Noon
to 6:00 P.M. It will be held at encuentro 5, 33 Harrison
Avenue, 5th floor, in Boston. This Session has two primary
objectives:
-
To assess the current state
of the anti-war movement and develop a plan of action
for the STWC in the summer and fall of 2006
-
To reconnect and involve as
many of the original participants in the STWC as
possible including the endorsers of the October 29th,
2005 demonstration and to increase the involvement of,
and coordination with, our allies in the antiwar
movement along with other groups that are outside of the
antiwar movement.
The central themes we plan to
discuss include:
-
The war in Iraq, other
occupations, and US threats internationally
-
The current state of the
anti-war movement
-
The war at home
-
Perspectives for the
antiwar movement- An Action Plan for the Summer and Fall
United for Justice with Peace
organized an action of 50,000 at the Boston Common in March
of 2003. The antiwar movement receded in 2003-2004 with the
national election campaign. On December 4, 2004, students
from several Boston campuses marched in downtown Boston.
This was followed by the Iraq War Veterans Tour and the
March 20, 2005 rally that had wide support and a spirit of
citywide antiwar unity. The March 20 Coalition called a
conference at Roxbury Community College in April 2005 which
launched the Committee for a Fall Action that subsequently
lead to a call for the October 29, 2005 demonstration. On
March 18, 2006 the Rosa Parks Human Rights Day Committee
initiated a rally and march from Roxbury to Boston Common.
On April 29th, 2006 Boston
groups participated in a huge antiwar rally in New York City
initiated by a national coalition including United for Peace
and Justice, National Organization for Women, Operation
PUSH, Friends of Earth, and U.S. Labor Against the War.
Among the many May 1st immigrant rights mobilizations, a
rally of thousands was held on Boston Common with activists
in the Stop The Wars Coalition at the center of initiating
and building this rally. The Greater Boston Stop the Wars
Coalition continues to call for an end to this criminal war
on the Iraqi people and to Bring All the Troops Home Now. We
call for the redirection of resources to further justice,
equality, and human needs here at home, not death and
misery. You are invited to participate with us in this fight
and to join us on June 4th!
|
