Anti-War Groups Appeal to public to Join Global Protests Tomorrow

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report Friday March 18, 2005 16:09 by Pat - iawm

TOMORROW) IN GLOBAL PROTEST TO MARK SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF US LED INVASION

Anti-war organisations today appealed to the Irish public to take to the
streets of Dublin tomorrow (March 19th) as part of a global day of protest
to mark the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. The protest
will take place in over 100 cities across the world including almost all
major US cities and five continents.

IRISH ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT



ANTI-WAR GROUPS CALL ON IRISH PUBLIC TO JOIN OVER 100 CITIES WORLDWIDE
(
OF IRAQ.

PROTEST CALLS FOR: ENDING THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ - NO WAR ON IRAN OR
SYRIA - US MILITARY OUT OF SHANNON



The global protest will call for an end to the US occupation of Iraq and
Palestine. In light of recent US threats, the protest will also have
opposition to a possible military assault on Syria or Iran as a central
theme. Here in Ireland, the protest will renew pressure on the Irish
government to halt the use of Shannon airport by the US military.

The protest in Dublin will assemble at Parnell Square at 2pm. After a short
opening rally the demonstration will march through the city centre to Dail
Eireann for a closing rally with speeches and music.

Speakers at the protest will include: Dr Quaseem Quaseem (Irish-Palestinian
Community), John Gormley TD (Green Party), Joe Higgins TD (Socialist Party),
Cllr Aodhan O Riordan (Labour Party), Fahad Ansari (President, Federation of
Student Islamic Societies), Roger Cole, (Peace & Neutrality Alliance),
Brendan Butler (NGO Peace Alliance), Sinn Fein speaker, Iraqi speaker (names
to be confirmed) & more
Richard Boyd Barrett (Irish Anti-war Movement) will chair the protest and
speakers.

Music: Omar Simon will perform the song "Prisoner" about the torture and
maltreatment of US held prisoners. Omar will be accompanied by a number of
people wearing prisoner uniforms to visually symbolise the torture victims.

Muslim Prayer: Just before the protest begins at 1.30pm members of Dublin's
Muslim community will participate in a collective prayer, distributing
leaflets for the protest and wearing "End the Occupation" T-shirts at the
centre island on O' Connell St, opposite the GPO.

The March 19th protest in Dublin is supported by: The Irish Anti-War
Movement, the NGO Peace Alliance, the Peace & Neutrality Alliance, SIPTU,
ATGWU, Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Union of Students in Ireland, the
Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Fein, Socialist Party, Socialist Workers
Party, Islamic Cultural Centre, Federation of Islamic Student Societies,
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Galway Alliance Against War, Sen
David Norris, Finian Mc Grath TD, Fintan O Toole, Denis Halliday & many
more.

March 19 protests will take place simultaneously in over 100 cities
worldwide including 46 Cities in Europe, 48 in North America, 8 in Australia
and New Zealand, Philipines, South Korea, Pakistan, India, 6 other cities in
Asia, Egypt and South Africa.


Richard Boyd Barrett, chairperson, Irish Anti-War Movement and protest
organiser said:
"Everyone who wants to see and end to the terrible bloodshed in Iraq and who
oppose further US aggression in the Middle East should come out on this
important protest. It is also very important to put pressure, once again, on
the Irish government to stop facilitating the US war machine and the torture
of prisoners at Shannon.

Two years after the US led invasion of Iraq every justification for the war
has been exposed as a lie. There were no weapons of mass destruction. The
promised surgical war has turned into a blood bath with as many as 100,000
Iraqi's dead. The violence in Iraq has increased steadily since the US
occupation began. The shooting on innocent protesters, the torture of
prisoners, the massacres in Fallujah, the continued bombings and shootings
of innocent civilians and the destruction of Iraq's civilian infrastructure
have plunged Iraq into chaos.

The recent elections have done nothing to stop this. One section of the
population boycotted the poll and those that voted did so mostly in the
belief that it would end the US occupation.

The majority of Iraqi's clearly want the US to get out but they are refusing
to go. The new government is almost exactly the same as the old US installed
interim government with only the ministerial positions likely to change. It
is clear that as long as the US stays the violence will continue and will
escalate.

The US invasion has de-stabilised the entire region. Interference in Lebanon
is threatening civil war. US calls for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon are
pure hypocrisy. They want 14,000 Syrians to leave Lebanon but refuse to
remove 140,000 US troops from Iraq. The real agenda behind US interference
in Lebanon is to install a pro-Israeli government and lay the ground for a
possible military assault on Syria.

The global day of protest this weekend is a vital opportunity to mobilise
world opinion again to halt another murderous US assault on an Arab country.
It is also a vital opportunity to show our solidarity with the Iraqi and
Palestinian people who are struggling against the military occupation of
their countries.

The protest in ireland will demand our government halt its criminal and
undemocratic collusion with the US war machine at Shannon. Despite the lies
about WMD being exposed our government has actually allowed the number of US
troops going through Shannon to increase. We are now the major logistical
supporter of the US war machine in Europe. Even more shamefully, it appears
our government is turning a blind eye to the US bringing illegally held
prisoners through Shannon on route to be tortured in repressive states in
the Middle East and in Guantanamo Bay. It is outrageous that our government
can give lectures about criminality and thuggery while they facilitate
murder and torture on a huge scale in Shannon."