[van-announce] One year after September 11: Women strengthen resistance to war

[Grassroots Women]

 For immediate release
Grassroots Women News Release
September 11, 2002
One year after September 11: Women strengthen resistance to war

 (Vancouver, Canada) – Women around the world are gearing up to attend a
crucial international conference that will examine the stories and struggles
of women from war torn regions in the aftermath of September 11. Decrying
the deaths of thousands in the attacks on the World Trade Centre, women
internationally will use the conference as a venue to question the use of a
borderless war on terrorism in the weeks after September 11, 2001, in
response to their deaths.

 “The world really did change on September 11,” states Rachel Rosen, member
of Grassroots Women and one of the conference organizers. “We are now
dealing with an explosion of aggression. The US and its partners – including
Canada – are using the climate of fighting terrorism to justify any
intervention or attack, particularly against those who threaten its
hegemony. Marginalized women are increasingly feeling the desperate crunch
of a system in crisis.”

 A participant from a Bangladeshi delegation to the conference – Towards our
Liberation -states: “There is a crying need for the conference at this time.
In Bangladesh, we are paying very dearly after the 11th September. We are
paying a war surcharge on every import and export. Our air and sea space are
being used by the aggressors.”

 Since September 11, the US and its allies have killed over 5,000 innocent
civilians in Afghanistan; sent over 4,000 troops to the Philippines and
offered over $50 million in military aid in an attempt to squash the people’
s movement for national liberation; and, launched an invasive campaign to
interrogate and attack genuine people’s movements for national and social
liberation in a climate eerily similar to the Cold War.

 “The people of Iraq are also paying the price for the US’s unending
attempts to ensure global supremacy and access to the region’s oil,”
continues Rosen. “We must value the lives of the thousands Iraqis who have
died because of economic sanctions and US aggression just as much as we
value the lives of the 3,000 people who died on September 11.”

 “Our challenge at this conference is to contribute to a women’s movement
for just and genuine peace – attainable only by strengthening our resolve in
the struggle against imperialism as the root cause of war and aggression,”
concludes Rosen.

 Towards our Liberation – convened by GABRIELA-Philippines and Grassroots
Women (Vancouver) – will be held in Vancouver, Canada, from November 1-4,
2002. The conference will bring together women from around the world to
discuss the themes of wars of aggression, imperialist globalization,
fundamentalism and role of women in the struggle for national and social
liberation.

 To register now for Towards our Liberation contact Grassroots Women at
grassrootswomen at telus.net or 604.215.1905. Registration information is also
available on the website at http://grassrootswomen.tripod.com.

-30-

Media contact: Rachel Rosen, Grassroots Women, 604.215.1905


______________________________________________

"Reclaim the struggle for a renewed
and militant women's movement!"
Grassroots Women
Phone: 604.215.1905
http://grassrootswomen.tripod.com








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