The General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement convened on January 19 at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, India.
Meeting for the whole day, the Assembly began with an assessment of the current political situation, followed by reports from various activists involved in various anti-war movements around the world. Reports were also made by many anti-war campaigns such as the World Tribunal on Iraq, the “Close the US bases” campaign, the Campaign for Disarmament, the Occupation Watch Center, the Caravans to Iraq and the Civil Missions to Palestine. It ended with a session dedicated to strategizing on ways forward and common campaigns to be supported.
Envisioned to be the biggest and most representative meeting of the anti-war movement since the invasion, the Assembly was a collective effort by anti-war coalitions spanning all continents of the globe.
The Assembly had more than 100 endorsers from the largest anti-war coalitions around the world including the European Coalitions which organised the massive marches on February 15th last year, Stop the War Coalition in the UK, United For Peace and Justice and ANSWER in the US, the Anti-War Coalition in South Africa and the Asian Peace Alliance, as well as various social movements, trade unions and farmer and peasant groups such as the CUT in Brasil, the Social Movements Network and Via Campesina.
Competing with the lively drumming of nearby cultural performers, the dust and noise from the constant flow of passing demonstrations and the general chaos of the WSF, the Assembly discussed, debated and strategized on the ways forward to globalising the resistance and ending the occupation of Iraq.
The Assembly ended with the call for an International Day of Action on March 20, the anniversary of the attack on Iraq. It calls for all movements in all continents to organize mass protests on that day to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq. Different countries will organise protests of different scales and forms; the important point is to mark the anniversary across the world.
Resistance in Iraq and around the world is growing daily and March 20 will be the day when the global resistance tells not only Bush but all the occupation troops and warmongers that the movement will not rest until the occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the “war against terror” is ended.
For more information, please contact: [email protected]
* All organizations and movements around the globe are requested to send in their plans for March 20 to [email protected] *
The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement was endorsed by:
All Together – Korea
Anti-War Coalition – South Africa
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
Asia Pacific Movement on Debt Development
Asian Peace Alliance
Asian Peace Alliance – Japan
Asian Women’s Human Rights
ATTAC – Ag Globalisierung und Krieg, Germany
ATTAC – Japan
Bangladesh Krishok Federation
Bastaguerra, Italy
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
Campa๑a por la Desmilitarizaci๓n de las Am้ricas (CADA)
Campus Antiwar Network, US
Center for Economic Research and Social Change
Central Unica de los Trabajadores (CUT) (Brazil)
Centre for Development Studies, CIEDS Collective, India
Centro de Estudios Internacionales, Managua, Nicaragua
Chagos Refugees Group
Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (India)
Code PINK: Women for Peace
Common Action for Peace and against the War
Condi – Iraqi National Democratic Coalition
Continental Campaign Against FTAA
Corp Watch (USA)
Documentation for Action Groups in Asia
Echec a la guerre-Montreal
El Foro Social de Madrid
El Taller International
Focus on the Global South
Forum Against the War (Italy)
Freedom from Debt Coalition
Gathering for Peace – Philippines
GENSUIKIN (Japan Congress Against A & H Bombs)
GENSUIKYO (Japan Council Against A & H Bombs)
German Peace Council
Global Exchange
Global Peace and Justice Coalition of Turkey
Globalize from Below – Korea
Grassroots Peace Network (National Network to End the War Against Iraq)
Greek Social Forum
Hemispheric Social Alliance
Iniciativa Mexicana Contra la Guerra. No en Nuestro Nombre
Institute for Popular Democracy
International Association of Peace Messenger Cities
International Civilian Campaign for the Protection of the Palestinian People (CCIPPP)
International South Asia Forum (INSAF)
Iraq International Occupation Watch Center
Italian Movements of the European Social Forum
JANANEETHI
Jubilee South
KALAYAAN! (Katipunan para sa Pagpapalaya ng
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)
Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights
Korean People’s Action Against FTA & WTO (KoPA)
LALIT, Mauritius
Le Mouvement de la Paix
Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT), Mauritius
Movement for Democratic Socialism (Japan)
Movimiento por la Paz, Spain (MPDL)
MST
National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (USA)
NGO Federation of Nepal
Not in Our Name Project, USA
Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition
Peace Boat (Japan)
Peace Constitution League
Peace Initiative of Turkey
People’s Plan Study Group (Japan)
People’s Task Force for Bases Clean Up – Philippines
Polaris Institute
Promoting Enduring Peace
Red Mexicana de Accion frente al Libre Comercio
Social Movements Network
Solidarity (USA)
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)
Stop the War Coalition – Greece
Stop the War Coalition – UK
Stop the War Initiative, Poland
Sumpay Mindanao
Tavolla della Pace
The All India Peace & Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO)
The ASR Resource Centre
The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) UK
The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
The No War on Iraq Coordination – Turkey
The People’s Peace Alliance (Pakistan)
The South Asian Women for Peace
The Swedish Peace Council
UN PONTE PER (Bridge to Baghdad) NGO – Italy
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) – US
US Peace Council Vimochana, Forum For Women Rights, India
Via Campesina
Workers Democracy, Thailand
World Peace Council
World Peace Now, Japan
Xarxa de Mobilitzacio Global (Barcelona)
Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) (India)
ZENKO (National Assembly for Peace and Democracy)
