by A.N.S.W.E.R.
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 at 10:28 AM ANSWER@afgj.org 212-633-6646 39 W. 14 St #206 NY NY 10011
PERMITTED DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN FRONT OF WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL (50th St. and Park Ave., NYC)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2: 9 am: "Meet 'em and Greet 'em" (let the exploiters hear your voice) AND 11 am: Mass Rally
errorP E R M I T T E D D E M O N S T R A T I O N A G A I N S T T H E W O R L D E C O N O M I C F O R U M
IN FRONT OF WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL (50th St. and Park Ave., NYC)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 9 am: "Meet 'em and Greet 'em" (let the exploiters hear your voice) 11 am: Mass Rally
** U P D A T E **
In response to permit applications placed by organizers at International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), the New York Police Department have told us they *WILL NOT* be creating a Quebec-type exclusion zone surrounding the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the site of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). To repeat, protests at the Waldorf will not be banned.
A.N.S.W.E.R. is calling for a permitted mass demonstration at 50th St. and Park Ave. On Saturday, February 2, "Meet 'em and greet 'em" at 9 am and mass rally at 11 am.
CALL ISSUED BY THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) coalition. Steering committee: Nicaragua Network; Mexico Solidarity Network; IFCO/Pastors for Peace; International Action Center; Partnership for Civil Justice; Kensington Welfare Rights Union; Middle East Children’s Alliance; Elias Rashmawi; Korea Truth Commission. ENDORSERS INCLUDE: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general; Black Voices for Peace; Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational Church; American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice; Bishop Thomas Gumbelton, Auxilliary Bishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit; San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO); Rev. Curtis Gatewood, Durham, NC; Students for International Peace and Justice; Edward Asner; NYU Peace Coalition; Comite for a New Colombia; Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines; Filipino Workers Center, NY; Green Party USA; Muslim Student Association, U of Toledo; Bay Area Iranians for Peace and Social Justice; Ben Dupuy, former Ambassador-at-Large, Haiti; School of the Americas Watch; Ray LaForest, District Council 1707 AFSCME; Queers For Racial & Economic Justice; NYU Peace Coalition; U.S.A./Cuba InfoMed; I.L.W.U. Loc. 400, Vancouver B.C.; Western Mass. Mobilization for Mumia; & many more!
** C A L L - T O - A C T I O N **
THE PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE -VS- THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM Mobilize - Demonstrate - Educate - Build Alternatives
THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION - ACT NOW TO STOP WAR & END RACISM - CALLS FOR MOBILIZATIONS ON FEBRUARY 1 AND 2 IN NEW YORK CITY OUTSIDE OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
*Declare war on unemployment, poverty, racism and mass layoffs—not the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere! *Defend civil liberties! *Money for jobs, education and healthcare - not war!
From January 31 to February 4, corporate bosses from the world's largest transnationals and political leaders will meet in New York City for their annual World Economic Forum. In past years they met in Davos, Switzerland, but massive demonstrations forced a change in venue.
This year they'll be meeting at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in mid-town Manhattan. The World Economic Forum will celebrate war in Afghanistan and the Middle East, attacks on civil liberties, and corporate tax cuts.
The International ANSWER Coalition calls for alternatives - jobs, health care, education, civil rights, and peace with justice - that reflect the needs of the vast majority of people. The corporate agenda wasn't welcome in Davos, and it's not welcome in New York City.
JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. COALITION ON FEBRUARY 1 AND 2 TO SAY: *NO to war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere! *NO to corporate-centered globalization! *YES to jobs, education, health care, and civil liberties!
** A C T I O N - P L A N **
FEBRUARY 1 Teach-in at Community Church, 35th between Park and Madison Avenues starting at 9:00am Featuring workshops on: -War in the Middle East -Civil liberties -Immigrant rights -Corporate-centered globalization -Domestic economic policies -Alternative visions from the progressive community
FEBRUARY 2 *Mass rally at the World Economic Forum* 9 am: "Meet 'em and greet 'em" (let the exploiters hear your voice) 11 am: mass rally At the Waldorf Astoria: Park Ave. and 50th St. Bring signs, puppets, street theater, noise-makers, and your creativity
Since September 11, hundreds of thousands of workers from the travel industry, hotels, restaurants, and others have lost their jobs. Unemployment and mass layoffs are sweeping through all sectors of the world economy. Politicians, working for the interests of corporate elites, are providing billions of dollars in bailouts for investors and transnational corporations, but not a penny for increased unemployment insurance. The Congressional "economic stimulus" plan offers huge corporate tax cuts, but only pennies for working people. The lowest paid workers, especially immigrants and service sector workers, are suffering the repercussions of 9-11, while the rich get richer.
Immigrants and those who are struggling against the corporate agenda are in for a double whammy, as Attorney General Ashcroft curtails basic civil liberties and constitutional rights. Today the attacks are against immigrants - incarceration without charges and racial profiling. Tomorrow the target will be U.S. citizens as Ashcroft pushes to legalize surveillance of religious and political groups.
Internationally, the Bush administration wages war in Afghanistan and encourages expanded war in Palestinian territories. Now Bush is preparing the public for prolonged war in Iraq and perhaps other nations. The deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, both from direct military action and the resulting refugee crisis, is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism. This is not the way to find justice for 3,000 civilians who died on September 11. And this is not the way to build a more secure and stable world.
We must respond to increasing attacks on our well-being by corporate-dominated politicians that bring us war, layoffs and increased poverty. At the same time as the A.N.S.W.E.R. events in New York City, the World Social Forum will gather tens of thousands of representatives from every corner of the world in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to discuss alternative visions.
The events in New York and Porto Alegre will mark a new plateau in the people's capacity to organize, to reject old classist models, and to build a better world.
Join the International ANSWER Coalition on February 1 and 2 so say: NO to war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Philippines, Colombia or elsewhere! NO to corporate-centered globalization! YES to jobs, education, health care, and civil liberties!
**TO ENDORSE THESE EVENTS** fill out our easy-to-use form at http://www.internationalanswer.org/antiwef-endorse.html#endo
**TO BECOME AN ORGANIZING CENTER** fill out our easy-to-use form at http://www.internationalanswer.org/contacts.html#Center
**FOR MORE INFORMATION** Email ANSWER@afgj.org, call: New York 212-633-6646, Washington 202-543-2777, San Francisco 415-821-6545, Chicago 773-583-7728, or check out our web page at www.InternationalANSWER.org