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Five years of violence in Iraq = Enough!
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[ Download Poster (kleur, .pdf) ] [ Download Poster (z/w, .pdf) ] [ Download Flyer (kleur, .pdf) ] [ Read platform text, signatories ] |
STOP war and occupation
International Anti-War Day
1,000 walkers for Peace (9h30 Leuven – 17h Brussels)
Peace Meeting (16h – 18h)
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On 20 March 2008, it will be five years since the British-American coalition launched a disastrous war against Iraq and have occupied it. Today, the country is submerged in a maelstrom of violence and is far from durable peace and stability.
Worldwide, millions of people took to the streets to oppose this war and the subsequent occupation. The Peace Movement warned against the destabilizing consequences for the region. Nevertheless, in spite of the chaos it has generated, the war coalition continues to follow this disastrous course. The occupation of Iraq continues without a specific schedule for withdrawal, and plans for a new war against Iran are already complete. In the Palestinian areas, international (humanitarian) law is scorned, while the region is armed to the teeth.
The Anti-War Platform continues to insist that the policy of military threats and use of violence must be abandoned for Iraq and the entire Middle East.
Problems and conflicts can only be resolved by an unremitting readiness of all the parties to dialog and by intensive diplomatic consultation within the framework created by Humanitarian Law and the Charter of the United Nations.
On Sunday, the 16th of March, we want to proclaim this message in two ways:
- We are counting on 1.000 walkers for a march from Leuven to Brussels (27 km). We will be marching together “around the world” with a clear voice against war and occupation.
- In the Jubelpark/Cinquantinaire, there will be a peace meeting with stands, music, and speeches, reaching a finale with joint closing action
JOIN IN!!!
Platform text and more information: http://www.geenoorlog.be
Peace in the Middle East: NOW!
Five years of war and occupation in Iraq show clearly the limits and dangers of “preventive war” and “imposed democratization”. This country is farther than ever from permanent peace and stability. The “war against terrorism” must not be an excuse for eviscerating universal human rights.
1) We recall the illegality of the war of 2003 and the subsequent occupation. Its political and humanitarian consequences are obviously catastrophic. The occupying military powers have certainly not succeeded in providing the stability and calm to which the people of Iraq and the surrounding region are entitled.
2) The American and British troops have to withdraw from Iraq. This has to be linked to a more active role for the United Nations in the creation of a peace agreement that is supported by all of the parties. The international community must promote the rapid reconstruction of Iraq and the protection of the security of the people of Iraq.
3) The oil contracts that have been concluded since the American-British occupation of Iraq have to be renegotiated if they are disadvantageous for the people of Iraq.
4) The war in Iraq has revealed secret agreements between Belgium and the USA that, according to the government, made it necessary to permit the use of the Belgian infrastructure – against the will of the people – in support of the American war activities in Iraq. These agreements must be terminated.
5) The tense relations with Iran also require a diplomatic and negotiated solution. A full-fledged international non-proliferation policy in the region is a necessary component of a durable solution. We call for the urgent establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone throughout the Middle East, including the dismantling of the Israeli nuclear arsenal.
6) In the Palestinian areas, the civilian population is suffering the most from the Israeli military occupation and the international economic sanctions. The colonization and annexation of Palestinian areas by Israel must be ended and rolled back immediately.
For Iraq and the entire Middle East, policies based on military threats or the use of violence must be discarded.
Problems and conflicts can only be resolved by constant dialogue between all of the parties and by constant diplomatic pressure within the framework created by Humanitarian Law and the Charter of the United Nations.
Signatories
Signatures of the platform text for 16 March 2008
11.11.11 - Koepel van de Vlaamse Noord-Zuidbeweging
Aardewerk
ABVV/FGTB
ACW
ACLI
Amitiés et Fraternité Belgique Irak
Artsen voor Vrede
Association Culturelle Joseph Jacquemotte
Attac Vlaanderen
Broederlijk Delen
BRussells Tribunal
CNCD
Collectif 68mai08
Collectif Generation Palestine
Comac
Comité de surveillance OTAN
Composantes des Communautés Arabes en Belgique
Coordination Nationale d’Action pour la Paix et la Démocratie
Coordination Luxembourgeoise pour la Paix
Conseil de la Jeunesse d’Expression Française
De Wereldschool
Ecolo
Etopia
Friends of the Earth
Forum Nord Sud
FOS - Socialistische Solidariteit
Front pour les droits et les libertés (HÖC)-Turquie
GRAPPE
Greenpeace
Groen!
Hand in Hand Gent
HVV (Humanistisch-Vrijzinnige Vereniging)
Indymedia
Intal
Jeunes CSC
Jeunesses Syndicales
KP
Lecoto
Ligue Communiste des Travailleurs
Links Ecologisch Forum
Mediadoc
MIR-IRG
MOC
Mouvement Chrétien pour la Paix
Mouvement Citoyen Palestine
Oxfam - Magasins du Monde
Oxfam solidariteit-Solidarité
Oxfam Wereldwinkels
Pax Christi Vlaanderen
Pax Christi Wallonie-Bruxelles
PVDA/PTB
Radio Campus
SCI
SOLSOC
StopUsa
T Uilekot
Une Autre Gauche
Vrak (Actie Vredesbelasting)
Vrede vzw
Vredesactie
Vrouwen Overleg Komitee
22 March: NATO GAME OVER
Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, we will march, together with peace activists from all of Europe, to the headquarters of NATO in Brussels. We want to close down NATO in order to prevent war crimes.
Why NATO?
The Bomspotting campaign against nuclear weapons has been going on for ten years now. We want to eliminate nuclear weapons from the world, beginning with the NATO nuclear weapons in Belgium. Our actions have yielded some fruit. A majority of the people wants to get rid of them, and the Belgian parliament was the first parliament in the NATO countries to pass a resolution to get rid of the nuclear weapons.
But the NATO nuclear weapons are still here. Even more, the USA has plans to make NATO a world-wide military alliance armed with a tactical nuclear arsenal that is practical and can be used.
Via NATO, Europe is involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. European countries train soldiers for the rapid response force of NATO and, thanks to NATO, the USA still has military bases in Europe that it uses for worldwide military interventions.
NATO creates more problems than it solves. We want no military alliance that threatens the rest of the world. The world is not improved or made safer with them.
What are we going to do?
NATO GAME OVER is not a demonstration or a game but an action of civil disobedience. Because NATO refuses to scrap its nuclear-weapon strategy and thereby violates international law, because NATO permits itself to intervene militarily wherever its interests are threatened, we, as citizens, accept our responsibility to try to stop these crimes. We will try to enter the NATO premises and to seal the doors and windows. Thus, we will violate the law in order to stop a great crime. In this, we are supported by international law.
We know that we will not be welcomed with open arms. Action generates resistance, so we are organizing ourselves to keep our action non-violent.
International
Whoever wants to make a fundamental change in our security policy cannot possibly achieve it only from Belgium. European cooperation is necessary. Therefore, NATO GAME OVER is an international campaign. Peace activists from Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, and other countries will participate in NATO GAME OVER. They are coming from very different organizations that are work on an alternative security policy in their own countries.
One day of international action, of course, is not enough to make a difference. So we are working on more international cooperation in order to have an impact on the military intervention policies.
Therefore, after the action day of 22 March 08, an international seminar is planned in Brussels on military globalization and non-violent opposition in Europe.
Regional
In addition to the participation of activists from all of Europe, the NATO GAME OVER campaign supports the activities of regional groups. Local Bomspotting groups give the campaign a face. They prepare the action in their region, conduct local campaigns, and organize collective transportation. For those who want to be thoroughly prepared for the action, the local groups organize NATO GAME OVER training sessions. There we practice techniques and skills that are important for the success of the action and prepare ourselves to deal non-violently with confrontation situations.
Join in!
Do you want to participate in this non-violent direct action? Contact a regional group near you. All the information is available on www.vredesactie.be, or via bomspotting@vredesactie.be, 03 281 68 39.
NATO GAME OVER is a campaign of Vredesactie vzw.
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The Belgian platform against war on Iraq |