[antiwar-van] March For Peace - No War Against the Iraqi People - Nov. 17th Peace Coalition

[Ken]

From: "Jef Keighley" <keighley at caw.ca> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 23:19:22 -0700
Subject: March For Peace - No War Against the Iraqi People - Nov. 17th Peace
Coalitioin

Dear Friends;

March For Peace - No War Against the Iraqi People - Sunday, November 17th

We held a well attended and successful Nov. 17th Peace Coalition Steering
Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 16th at the Maritime Labour Center.
Already we have close to 40 endorsers and the list is growing daily.

We will hold the next Organizational Meeting of the  Nov. 17th Peace
Coalition on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 7:00 pm, at the Maritime Labour
Centre, 111 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, (on Victoria, 3 blocks north of
Hastings).  Everyone is encouraged to attend and bring your organization's
endorsation.

We are working on good quality poster for printing. We will have 'nexgen'
interim posters available for distribution at the meeting and will ask as
many participating organzations to reprint that material to help us magnify
our impact.

We refined our approach to include two Assembly points at 12:00 noon, one
from Peace Flame Park at the south end of the Burrard St. Bridge, the other
from the Skytrain/Seabus terminal at the foot of Richards at Cordova.  There

may be organizations who themselves organize rallying points to meet up with

the main March.  The specific route has yet to be planned, but it will
involve the Burrard Street contingent coming far enough into the downtown
core to converge with the Skytrain/Seabus continigent and then March to
Sunset Beach.

We agreed to have our primary focus for the poster as March for Peace - No
War Against the Iraqi People, but ensure that Rally Speakers specifically
address the broader issues of Iraq, Palestine the Middle East and the role
of the U.S. in the current conflict.  We will working towards a Rally
program of about 1 hour, in anticipation of potentially inclement weather.

Below is a 'backgrounder' which you may or may not wish to use.  Edit as you

see fit.

CESAPI - Campaign to End Sanctions Against the People of Iraq and EAR - End
the Arms Race have agreed to act as our information and coordinating
centers.  CESAPI can be contacted at (604) 737-1299 - phone and fax.  EAR
can be contacted at phone: (604) 687-3223, fax: (604) 687-3277, email:
ear at peacewire.org

In Solidarity, Jef Keighley, National Representative, CAW Canada


March For Peace: No War Against the Iraqi People

March - Speakers - Music

Sunday, November 17th, 2002

Assemble 12:00 noon - 2 locations Peace Flame Park - south end of Burrard
Bridge Skytrain/Seabus Terminal - foot of Richards at Cordova

March to the Peace Rally at Sunset Beach Organized by the November 17th
Peace Coalition

For the past few months George Bush Jr. has been beating the drums of war
and advocating a military 'regime change' to depose Saddam Hussien in Iraq.
The world is being pushed dangerously close to a major war, the consequences

of which are incalculable.

Bush Jr. is fanning the flames of fear kindled by the tragic events of
September 11, 2001 to pursue a campaign against Iraq, started but not
finished by his father, George Bush Sr. during the 1991 Gulf War.  There is
no evidence at all linking Iraq to the events of 9/11. Informed critics
believe, with good cause, that Bush Jr.'s warmongering rhetoric has more to
do with U.S. lust after Iraq's vast oil reserves and distracting Americans'
attention from a stagnating U.S. economy which is mired in unprecedented
corporate scandal and massive fraud than with any real threat to the
American people posed by the Iraqi regime.

Despite having successfully pushed the Iraqi military out of Kuwait in the
1991 Gulf War - which was their specific mandate - the U.S. and Britain have
maintained the now infamous 'No Fly Zones' over Iraq.  The U.S. has  imposed

punishing economic sanctions against Iraq which are estimated to have cost
the lives of over 600,000 Iraqi children to date.  American deployment of
Depleted Uranium weaponry during the Gulf War has produced record birth
defects in Iraqi newborns in the tens of thousands.  Medical aid and
medicines have all been denied under the  economic sanctions.

The sanctions have remained in place and the current escalation to full
scale military conflagration is being justified on flimsy allegations that
Iraq continues to possess 'weapons of mass destruction' and consequently
poses an clear and immediate danger to U.S. interests. This despite clear
evidence to the contrary provided by UN Weapons Inspectors, including
unimpeachable U.S. officials serving in that capacity, that by the mid-1990s

Iraq had been effectively disarmed from possessing 'weapons of mass
destruction'.

The majority of the world's people and the majority of Canadians strongly
favour a peaceful, UN brokered political solution to the U.S.-Iraqi
conflict, including the return of UN Weapons Inspectors to prove or disprove

U.S. allegations with respect to Iraq's possession of 'weapons of mass
destruction' and the destruction of the same if indeed such capacity is
proven.  This course of action is clearly in the best interests of all
people's especially the Iraqi people.

Our federal government is showing signs of being bullied into a pro-war
position by the Bush Jr. forces despite the logic of and desire of Canadians

for a peaceful resolution.  In British Columbia a broad based movement is
building under the banner November 17th Peace Coalition  a major March For
Peace - No War Against the Iraqi People - for Sunday, November 17th, the day

following the upcoming municipal elections around B.C. We are planning to
gather 10s of thousands of people to show our politicians that Canadians
want peace not war.

Please consider joining the November 17th Peace Coalition.  Please also
consider contributing financially to the work of the Coalition.  Circulate
information and posters promoting the March For Peace - No War Against the
Iraqi People.  For more information please contact CESAPI - Campaign to End
Sanctions Against the People of Iraq at (604) 737-1299 phone & fax or EAR -
End the Arms Race at (604) 687-3223 (t), (604) 687-3277 (f), email
ear at peacewire.org.

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