Chicago, IL – Joe Iosbaker, a leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and one of the main organizers of the massive march on the NATO summit, gave an important speech June 30, summing up the some of the lessons of the anti-NATO protest.

Click to hear an MP3 of the speech.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #JoeIosbaker #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #NATOG8Summit2012 #ChicagoNATOSummit

Chicago, IL – One month after the historic protests against NATO, activists from across Chicago and even Milwaukee gathered in the shadow of the McCormick Place, site of the NATO summit, on June 30, for a discussion on the lessons of the NATO protests. The event was held at Trinity Episcopal Church and sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

In the months leading to the May 20 NATO summit, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the corporate media mounted a campaign to vilify protesters. In this growing climate of fear, Trinity Church took the opposite stand, allowing protesters to serve food, to camp and to hold meetings there.

At the June 30 forum, Trinity Church welcomed those in attendance. Senior Warden of the Vestry of Trinity, John Marshall, greeted the 40 some people and said that he saw the anti-NATO protesters doing the same work as the church. In his words, “If we hadn’t supported you, when we get in front of Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates, we’d have some explaining.”

Alex Han, an activist with Stand Up, Chicago also spoke. Han was a speaker at the founding conference of CANG8 (the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda), the group that organized the mass march. A year ago, on June 22 when the NATO and at the time, G8 summits were announced in Chicago, many doubted that organized labor would endorse the protests. Han explained that Stand Up, Chicago had that same week in June launched a campaign of challenging the bankers and the CEOs. “3000 workers marched against a conference of financial officers of major financial corporations,” he said. Labor’s involvement was cemented because of the role of Occupy Chicago.

Vince Emanuelle of the Iraq Veterans Against the War spoke about the dramatic high point of the May 20 protest, when 40 veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq threw their medals back to the NATO high command in front of 15,000 protesters at the CANG8 march. Emanuelle said that the veterans are struggling to understand what they went through and concluded, “We have to oppose imperialism and all forms of oppression.”

The most important social movement to emerge this year was the Occupy movement, and Rachael Perrotta, a frequent spokesperson for the Occupy Chicago media committee, was the next to address the forum. She spoke about the level of involvement of the Occupy movement, the 10 days of protest and action, including teach ins, that Occupy helped organize against NATO. “Our press committee was at the convergence center at Multi Kulti [a grassroots activism center], where we had huge screens of feeds from all our indy media video. We were able to communicate with 20 Occupy spokespersons in the protests to respond to requests for interviews from mainstream media.” The mood of protest created by Occupy laid the basis for the success of the NATO protests.

Joe Iosbaker of FRSO was the last speaker and commented on the historic victory that was scored against NATO and the ruling class.

The forum then broke into small groups, where everyone grappled with the debates over tactics that had faced CANG8 and the anti NATO protesters throughout the year.

At the close of the event, Iosbaker reminded the group of the importance of their gathering and debates. “Within every fight we take up, there are actually two fights: the struggle on the streets between us and our enemy; and the struggle for summation. Of the two, the second is the most important, because we can win in the streets and lose the battle for summation.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #CANG8 #NATOG8Summit2012 #ChicagoNATOSummit

Stop NATO, abolish NATO

On the occasion of the NATO summit of Chicago, we declare our principled opposition to this imperialist alliance, whose continued existence is a threat to world peace and to the rights and the well-being of the workers and the peoples of the world.

Over the past years, the US and NATO have waged wars of aggression against Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Today, they are threatening and planning more militarization, interventions, aggressions and outright wars on all continents, in a context of ever-deepening crisis of the world capitalist system, in an effort to further advance and impose the dominance of monopoly capital.

We, Communist and Workers’ Parties present at International Communist Seminar in Brussels, will continue our opposition and mobilization against any and all imperialist interventions and wars. We express our solidarity with all forces that resist imperialist occupation and aggression and defend the sovereignty and independence of their countries. We will continue our struggle to oppose and abolish NATO. By struggling to bring an end to this imperialist alliance, we are contributing to the cause of world peace.

Signers:

1. Algeria, Parti Algérien pour la Démocratie et le socialisme (PADS) 2. Azerbaidjan, Communist Party of Azerbaidjan 3. Belarus, Belarussian Communist Workers' Party 4. Belgium, Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB) 5. Benin, Communist Party of Benin 6. Brazil, Partido Comunista do Brasil (PCdoB) 7. Brazil, Partido Comunista Brasileiro 8. Brazil, Partido Patriá Libre 9. Bulgaria, Party of Bulgarian Communists 10. Chad, Action tchadienne pour l'unité et le socialisme (ACTUS/prpe) 11. Colombia, Colombian Communist Party 12. Congo, Democratic Republic of, Congolese Communist Party 13. Cyprus, Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL) 14. El Salvador, Communist Party of El Salvador (PCS) 15. France, PRCF – Pôle de Renaissance communiste en France 16. France, URCF – Union des Révolutionnaires-Communistes de France 17. Germany, German Communist Party (DKP) 18. Honduras, Communist Party of Honduras 19. Hungary, Hungarian Communist Workers' Party 20. Iran, Tudeh Party of Iran 21. Ireland, Communist Party of Ireland 22. Ireland, Workers' Party of Ireland 23. Italy, Party of the Italian Communists 24. Latvia, Socialist Party of Latvia 25. Lebanon, Lebanese Communist Party 26. Luxembourg, Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) 27. Malta, Communist Party of Malta 28. Martinique, Parti communiste martiniquais 29. Mexico, Popular Socialist Party of Mexico 30. Morocco, Voie démocratique 31. Netherlands, New Communist Party Netherlands (NCPN) 32. Pakistan, Communist Party of Pakistan 33. Palestine, Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) 34. Philippines, Communist Party of the Philippines 35. Poland, Communist Party of Poland 36. Portugal, Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) 37. Russia, Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) 38. Russia, Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists 39. Serbia, New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ) 40. South Africa, South African Communist Party 41. Spain, Communist Party of Spain 42. Sri Lanka, People's Liberation Front (JVP) – Sri Lanka 43. Sweden, Communist Party (KP) 44. Switzerland, Parti Suisse du Travail 45. Turkey, Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) 46. Turkey, Labour Party (EMEP) 47. Ukraine, Union of Communists 48. United Kingdom, Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) 49. USA, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) 50. Venezuela, Communist Party of Venezuela

#BrusselsBelgium #BRU #AntiwarMovement #InternationalCommunistSeminar #antiimperialism #NATOG8Summit2012 #ChicagoNATOSummit

Fight Back News service is circulating the following call to action from the Committee Stop FBI Repression. Joe Iosbaker is one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted by the FBI and was one of the organizers of the 15,000 person anti-NATO protest in Chicago.

Anti-NATO protesters held on terrorism charges, extreme bail. Call States Attorney Anita Alvarez at 773-674-6209 – Demand all charges be dropped against anti-NATO protesters! “Release them all now!”

Nine people continue to be held in jail in Chicago, arrested before or during the protests against the NATO summit, according to information provided by the National Lawyers Guild. They face felony charges and even terrorism charges, while the NATO generals responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands have left town to return to their occupation of Afghanistan and plotting for their next war.

Of those still being held, five of them have been charged under a State of Illinois law passed after 9/11 that has never been used. The NATO 5 were all targeted by undercover police officers exposed by the National Lawyers Guild. The agents went by the nicknames “ Mo” and “ Gloves.”

The NATO 5 were arrested without any evidence of their involvement in violence, other than the statements of undercover provocateurs. The first arrests took place in an unlawful police raid of a home on Wednesday night, May 16th, in which the police kicked in doors without presenting a warrant, beat up people, shackled protesters hand and foot, and then “disappeared” 11 people for up to 40 hours. The National Lawyers Guild and Occupy Chicago activists faced repeated denials by the CPD in their attempts to locate those arrested.

The remaining two were arrested several days later. Again, no evidence has been presented other than the statements of the undercover police. Both men were held longer than the 48 hours required by law before being given access to use of a telephone or to speak with an attorney.

The other four still being held were involved in a protest action at the point which the police turned violent, causing over 70 injuries from baton blows, including many serious head injuries. Over 24 had to be treated at area hospitals for broken bones, knocked out teeth, concussions, and wounds requiring stitches or staples.

On top of the arrests and charges, the protesters are being held with outrageous bails: $1.5 million for the first three facing terrorism charges; $750,000 and $500,000 for the second two charged under the same state terrorism law; and as high as $250,000 for the remaining men. Bail for one Chicago youth, Raziel Azuara is set at $150,000.

It is the Chicago Police Department that is responsible for the violence; and the CPD and the States Attorney are violating the law and the Constitution.

Charges of terrorism, pre-emptive raids and prosecution, charges based on entrapment, and violence against protesters are all standard procedure when the US government declares a National Special Security Event as they did with the NATO summit. These tactics were employed at the Republican National Convention in 2008, resulting in the cases of the RNC 8; the 23 anti-war activists raided by the FBI and subpoenaed to a grand jury for investigation of support for foreign terrorists; and the current trial of Carlos Montes in Los Angeles. Now in Chicago they’ve added the element of excessive bail, as if the protesters were part of the 1%, rather than the 99%.

We must speak out against this repression. We know the charges against the anti-NATO protesters are false. All these prisoners should be free.

Call States Attorney Anita Alvarez at 773-674-6209. Demand all charges be dropped against anti-NATO protesters! Release them all now!

In struggle, Joe Iosbaker Committee to Stop FBI Repression

#ChicagoIL #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliceRaid #ChicagoNATOSummit #NATO5

Chicago, IL – Over 230 Filipinos from across the U.S. and the Philippines joined over 15,000 demonstrators here, May 20, to march in protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit taking place just blocks away in McCormick Place. It was the largest outdoor anti-war demonstration in the U.S. in years.

The Filipino contingent was led by BAYAN USA, a U.S.-wide alliance of 18 Filipino social justice organizations and a founding member of the Coalition Against the NATO & G8 War and Poverty Agenda (CANG8), the main organizer of the May 20 demonstration against NATO. Founded in 2005, BAYAN USA is the oldest and largest overseas chapter of BAYAN Philippines.

BAYAN USA joined the ranks of the 500-plus contingent of the U.S. chapter of the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS-US), which included Palestinians and Puerto Ricans projecting the role of national liberation struggles as key in the fight against the U.S.-NATO agenda.

“Filipinos are here today because the U.S.-NATO agenda seeks to intensify militarization in the Asia-Pacific region,” stated Bernadette Ellorin of BAYAN USA at the opening rally in Grant Park. “As I speak, the U.S. is sending drones, nuclear warships, nuclear submarines and more U.S. troops to engage in military exercises in the South China Sea. They say this is to contain the threat of China, but that is a distortion.”

Ellorin spoke of the worsening global economic crisis driving U.S.-NATO powers to secure critical economic investments in the Asia-Pacific region, where the U.S. export position accounts for approximately $1 trillion of the U.S. economy. Therefore, the U.S.-NATO military pivot to Asia is to enforce a new free trade agreement – the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) – that would ensure U.S. economic dominance in the region.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #BAYAN #InternationalLeagueOfPeoplesStruggle #ChicagoNATOSummit

Late Wednesday night, May 16th, Chicago police broke down the door of an apartment and arrested nine activists who have been held without charges. Other NATO protesters have also been harassed and/or arrested by the Chicago police in the days leading up to the NATO summit in Chicago.

Despite the opposition of the majority of the American people to the U.S.-NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan, Congress has just voted by a two to one margin to continue the war. More and more the government is resorting to using the FBI, police, Grand Juries, and the courts to repress a growing protest movement against the war and growing economic inequality that serves the 1%, not the 99%.

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) condemns these raids that are designed to disrupt organizing for the protests and to discourage people from participating by portraying organizers as violent. We urge all people who are opposed to the U.S.-NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan to attend the permitted march on Sunday, May 20th.

We also want to extend our solidarity to those who have been arrested. In the days leading up the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2008, police infiltrated the anti-war coalitions that were planning protests at the RNC. Right before the convention and protests were to begin, police arrested eight activists with the RNC Welcoming Committee. In 2010, the FBI raided and served Grand Jury subpoenas to 14 activists (later expanded to 23) who helped to organize the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. These raids and subpoenas led to the formation of the CSFR and a nationwide fight back against FBI repression of antiwar and international solidarity activists. Then in 2011, the FBI and Los Angeles sheriffs broke down the door and arrested long-time Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who also protested the RNC.

No to NATO and War!

No to FBI and Police Repression!

#ChicagoIL #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #2008RepublicanNationalConventionRNC #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

Fight Back! interviews Joe Iosbaker, the Chicago spokesperson for the United National Antiwar Coalition and a leader in the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda, on the massive May 20 protest at the NATO Summit. Fight Back!: Please talk some about what happened at the march on the NATO Summit and who was there. Joe Iosbaker: 15,000 people rallied and marched against the war makers’ summit on a scorching hot day here in Chicago. It was a very broad gathering, involving the Iraq Veterans Against the War, National Nurses United and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We had music by Tom Morello, Rebel Diaz, David Rovics and Outer National. Carlos Montes came from Los Angeles, straight from the political persecution trial he is facing. Students came from Utah, Florida and all over the Midwest.

There were over 40 speakers. We had leaders of the anti-war movement in the U.S., Germany and Mexico. Representatives spoke from the movements of various oppressed nationalities: Filipinos, Palestinians, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans, including a taped message from Mumia Abu Jamal. They came from the immigrant rights movement; from the Muslim community and from among faith based activists, environmentalists, and LGBTQ activists. We had Afghans and Pakistanis. We had trade unionists, and of course, the Occupy movement.

After we rallied in the park, we then marched almost three miles to the location of the summit, McCormick Place. There 40 veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars mounted a stage and one by one, returned the medals they had been given for their service in the U.S. military. The young men and women all swore they wouldn’t fight again in wars for profit under NATO or U.S. flags. The bitterness expressed by the vets was the most moving part of the day.

Fight Back!: What was the political message of the protest? Iosbaker: The message had two parts to it: against war and against the attacks by the rich on the rest of us.

This was expressed in several ways. We raised several slogans, “Jobs, Housing, Healthcare, Education, Our Pensions, the Environment, Not War!” “No to NATO War makers! No to War and Austerity!” These slogans showed first, that we were marching against the wars by NATO and the U.S. against the people of Afghanistan, Libya and Pakistan, and threatening against Syria. And second, we know that the trillions that are spent on war could go toward meeting the needs of poor and working people at home.

But we also raised one other idea. Last summer, the United National Antiwar Coalition called for this protest and organized a meeting to form a broader group. We called the new formation the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda because initially NATO and the Group of Eight – a meeting of the wealthiest countries – were to both meet here. The G8 conference includes the central bankers from those rich nations, who are responsible above all for the economic crisis that struck in 2008. When they were in trouble, they were bailed out with trillions from taxpayers in each of those countries. But the workers who are losing homes can’t get a bailout. When we lose jobs because factories close, we can’t get a bailout. We got sold out, and we made that part of our message as well.

Fight Back!: Could you say a few words about the Chicago Principles? Iosbaker: There are many forces that oppose NATO, including some that are willing to march, others who want to link arms and be arrested and others who want to challenge the authorities, including the police, more directly. For example, there were hundreds of people who refused to leave the intersection after the end of our permitted rally and march.

We adopted the same principles that have been used at many major protests in the U.S. since the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They are an agreement that all those forces respect the other groups, despite tactical differences; that we won’t criticize each other to the corporate media; and that if one group is attacked, as the mostly youth crowd was when the Chicago and Illinois cops beat 60 of them bloody after our march ended, that we’ll put the blame where it belongs: on the police, the city of Chicago and on NATO for bringing this violence here.

Fight Back!: A large contingent marched against repression. Tell us about that. Iosbaker: The most visible face at the protest was Carlos Montes. His image was on over 100 shirts, and 100 more posters. A contingent organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression had hundreds marching with it, including Filipinos, Palestinians and Puerto Ricans, all chanting, “Free Carlos Montes, drop the charges now!”

Montes is on trial in Los Angeles, facing up to 12 years in prison for his lifelong political activism. Carlos was raided by the FBI and L.A. sheriff SWAT last May. The FBI and the district attorney there are accusing Carlos of being a criminal. Their pretext is a 43-year old charge against him from a protest for Chicano studies at a college in East Los Angeles. As one of the Brown Berets, a youth group that he helped to start, in this protest Carlos was singled out for a felony charge for throwing an empty soda can at a cop. This was eventually settled as a misdemeanor. Now the FBI has dug this up, claim he was convicted of a felony, and since Carlos owns a shot gun and a hand gun, they want to imprison him for violation of California firearms code.

However, a L.A. Deputy Sheriff admitted that the FBI instigated the case in an investigation of Carlos’s anti-war activism. In fact, the attack on him stems from the case of the 23 anti-war activists, including my wife, Stephanie Weiner and myself. We were raided by the FBI in September 2010, and are still being pursued by the U.S. Attorney in Chicago for our anti-war activism. All of us are being targeted because we took the side of the people of Palestine and Colombia against the brutal, U.S.-backed governments of Colombia and Israel.

Fight Back!: What is the story on arrests ahead of the summit? Iosbaker: On Wednesday night, May 17, cops broke down the doors of the apartment of two of the leaders of Occupy Chicago, Zoe Sigman and Bill Vassilakis, without even a search warrant. After beating up the Occupy folks from around the country who were staying there, they shackled them, and then held them in secret for 40 hours, despite the efforts of the National Lawyers Guild to locate them.

The authorities later charged three of the young people with terrorism charges, claiming they were conspiring to make Molotov cocktails. Even FOX news recognizes this as a clumsy effort of entrapment. FOX interviewed a retired judge who said these charges will be thrown out of court.

Of course, the purpose of these raids, and other raids and police violence that occurred in the days leading up to Sunday, was to frighten people away from the protest. If not for these, we are confident the march would have been even larger.

The most important lesson is that the people are more powerful than the cops, the mayor, or NATO. With little resources and under heavy repression, we brought together the forces, especially the Occupy Movement and the anti-war movement, to build this demonstration. In doing so, we dealt blows to NATO. Their image has been severely tarnished, and that will make it harder for them to continue the blood bath in Afghanistan and other wars they are planning. We educated millions about NATO and the G8, of which most people in this country knew nothing before we started. This experience has made the Occupy movement one that now takes a stand against imperialist war. And we rekindled the anti-war movement. This was the largest national protest since the 2008 march on the RNC and a good sign that resistance to empire and cut backs will continue to grow.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #CoalitionAgainstNATOG8War #ChicagoNATOSummit #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalition

Stop NATO, abolish NATO

On the occasion of the NATO summit of Chicago, we declare our principled opposition to this imperialist alliance, whose continued existence is a threat to world peace and to the rights and the well-being of the workers and the peoples of the world.

Over the past years, the US and NATO have waged wars of aggression against Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Today, they are threatening and planning more militarization, interventions, aggressions and outright wars on all continents, in a context of ever-deepening crisis of the world capitalist system, in an effort to further advance and impose the dominance of monopoly capital.

We, Communist and Workers’ Parties present at International Communist Seminar in Brussels, will continue our opposition and mobilization against any and all imperialist interventions and wars. We express our solidarity with all forces that resist imperialist occupation and aggression and defend the sovereignty and independence of their countries. We will continue our struggle to oppose and abolish NATO. By struggling to bring an end to this imperialist alliance, we are contributing to the cause of world peace.

Signers:

1. Azerbaidjan, Communist Party of Azerbaidjan

2. Belarus, Belarussian Communist Workers' Party

3. Belgium, Workers' Party of Belgium

4. Benin, Communist Party of Benin

5. Brazil, Partido Comunista do Brasil (PCdoB)

6. Bulgaria, Party of Bulgarian Communists

7. Colombia, Colombian Communist Party

8. Congo, Democratic Republic of, Congolese Communist Party

9. Cyprus, Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL)

10. El Salvador, Communist Party of El Salvador (PCS)

11. France, PRCF – Pôle de Renaissance communiste en France

12. France, URCF – Union des Révolutionnaires-Communistes de France

13. Germany, German Communist Party (DKP)

14. Hungary, Hungarian Communist Workers' Party

15. Iran, Tudeh Party of Iran

16. Ireland, Workers' Party of Ireland

17. Italy, Party of the Italian Communists

18. Latvia, Socialist Party of Latvia

19. Luxembourg, Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL)

20. Malta, Communist Party of Malta

21. Martinique, Parti communiste martiniquais

22. Mexico, Popular Socialist Party of Mexico

23. Morocco, Voie démocratique

24. Pakistan, Communist Party of Pakistan

25. Palestine, Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

26. Poland, Communist Party of Poland

27. Portugal, Portuguese Communist Party

28. Russia, Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)

29. Russia, Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists

30. Spain, Communist Party of Spain

31. Sweden, Communist Party (KP)

32. Switzerland, Parti Suisse du Travail

33. Turkey, Communist Party of Turkey (TKP)

34. Turkey, Labour Party (EMEP)

35. Ukraine, Union of Communists

36. United Kingdom, Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist)

37. USA, Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#BrusselsBelgium #BRU #AntiwarMovement #InternationalCommunistSeminar #antiimperialism #ChicagoNATOSummit

Chicago, IL – In the largest anti-war protest ever held in Chicago, 15,000 people took to the streets marching against the NATO military summit. Inside McCormick Convention Center, politicians, generals and bankers discussed the faltering U.S./NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan. They also forged agreements that set the stage for destabilizing and overthrowing independent governments in places like Syria and Iran.

Outside, in the streets of Chicago’s South Loop however, waves of protesters marched in contingents with a message against NATO and G8, opposing war and poverty. Protesters were chanting and singing, surrounded by police on all sides. They were in high spirits and feeling their power, knowing their message of opposing war and poverty was reaching across the world to people suffering from NATO wars and occupations.

The day began with music and poetry at Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park, a park famous for 1960s protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam. Rebel Diaz, Tom Morello, David Rovics and hip-hop poets performed, with an appearance by the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). As the crowd began to grow, many taking shelter in the shade of nearby trees, protesters listened to speakers from scores of groups and movements that built for the protest against NATO.

The audience listened closely when Chicano leader and anti-war activist Carlos Montes took the stage. Members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a big banner reading “Justice for Carlos Montes” behind him. Montes said, “I am here in solidarity with you today, despite being on trial in Los Angeles as part of an FBI frame up. I am being persecuted because of my anti-war, immigrant rights and labor activism. I organized protests against the U.S. War in Vietnam in the ‘60s and I organize against NATO and the U.S. war in Afghanistan today. We were in solidarity with and inspired by the people of Vietnam in their struggle against U.S. imperialism and we act in solidarity with the struggles of the people of Colombia, the Philippines and Mexico today. I call for the U.S. out of Afghanistan and to no U.S. or NATO intervention in Syria and Iran.”

Hatem Abudayyeh, a Palestinian-American, who is one of 23 Midwest anti-war activists subpoenaed to a grand jury investigation and had his home raided by the FBI because of his solidarity work, also spoke: “We are organizing toward the day when Palestine will be a free and sovereign nation, with the right to return for refugees. We call for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and for people here to join us in demanding Palestinian liberation!” A big roar went up from the entire crowd.

Meredith Aby from the Minneapolis Anti-War Committee spoke about the need to get NATO out of Afghanistan and prevent future U.S. wars for oil and Empire. Aby is also one of the 23 who the FBI raided and she asserted, “Being anti-war is not a crime!’

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, from Chicago’s Operation PUSH and a former presidential candidate, called for an end to spending billions on war. He demanded the money be used to fund social services and end poverty. Jackson educated the crowd about poverty in this country, often portrayed in the media as only affecting African-Americans and other oppressed peoples. Reverend Jackson said, “The largest single category of poor people is white women who are single parents with children.” Reverend Jackson used the African-American call and response tradition in his speech, much to the amazement of Occupy Wall Street activists who use a similar technique.

All in all there were more than 40 speakers from students, labor, immigrant rights, war veteran, environmental, housing and healthcare groups. Speakers included Leah Bolger, the President of Vets for Peace, Larry Holmes of the International Action Center and Lisa Grab with Students for a Democratic Society. Many were interested to hear from the Afghan women for peace, and the International League of People’s Struggle representing many international movements for freedom.

There were dozens of international guests who came to the protest, particularly anti-NATO organizations from European NATO countries. The importance of this is not to be underestimated, as NATO is fragile and some countries have already pulled troops out of Afghanistan.

The afternoon march began with a group of Afghan women for peace joined by a large contingent of Iraq and Afghan war veterans marching together. The Coalition Against NATO and G8 (CANG8), the organizers of the march, held the lead banner, with the United National Antiwar Coalition F(UNAC) as a part of that.

A river of protesters stretched across four lanes of traffic and for nearly a mile on Michigan Avenue. Onlookers and whole families came out on apartment balconies and onto sidewalks to film and take photos.

When the march came to within a few blocks of McCormick Place, it was time for the war veterans to take command. In one of the most moving moments of any anti-war protest in a generation, U.S. military veterans made declarations against U.S. and NATO wars and occupations, throwing their medals off the stage and into the street. One war veteran describing his combat experience began choking back tears and saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” to which thousands in the streets began chanting, “It’s not your fault! It’s not your fault!”

Other veterans gave impassioned speeches against wars for oil and U.S. imperialism, denouncing the 1% and the U.S. government, while throwing their combat service awards and other medals as far as possible down the street towards the NATO summit. Jacob Flom of IVAW dedicated his medals to Carlos Montes and the Anti-War 23.

The Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) ended the day with an announcement for people to exit to the west, taking note that there was a tremendous build-up of police in riot gear and military-type uniforms. The official show of force was intimidating to people and clearly planned and funded months ahead of time.

The crowds of protesters were so large, however, that it appeared impossible for everyone to exit in time for the end of the permitted Veterans rally. It soon became a scene of police encircling and pushing and shoving a much smaller crowd of people, some who responded in kind and were beaten and arrested. Others were simply singled out for arrest or beaten at random, including a few journalists. The big business media took up this story and these images to attempt to quickly bury the largest and most successful anti-war protest ever held in the city of Chicago.

While the greatest purveyors of violence in the world were meeting inside the NATO summit, the anti-war protesters outside sent a message heard round the world: “Say no to NATO! Troops out now!”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #CarlosMontes #CoalitionAgainstNATOG8War #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

The rally in the park then marched on the home of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, the host to the NATO summit of war-makers, politicians and bankers. In the lead up to the NATO war summit, Mayor Emmanuel shuttered six mental health clinics. More than two dozen leaders and members of the Mental Health Movement and Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) Chicago were arrested in previous weeks occupying mental health facilities targeted for closing. One protest outside the mayor’s office in City Hall ended with six members of STOP Chicago cited for trespassing and one arrest on April 30. Emmanuel’s consolidation plan will privatize healthcare and force patients to take long trips on public transportation to obtain health care services.

Upon marching to and sitting in outside the mayor’s home, people chanted, “Healthcare, not warfare!” and “Money for human need, not for corporate greed.” Protesters marched for the 99% along with the patients and organizers who were arrested.

#ChicagoIL #Healthcare #antiwar #ChicagoNATOSummit #MentalHealthMovement #SouthsideTogetherOrganizingForPower

Protesters responded immediately to the police repression by mobilizing a large crowd in less than 24 hours. According to the National Lawyers Guild, police “disappeared” nine people for nearly a day – first in the Organized Crime Building and later a Chicago police station. Friends and family had no idea what was happening and Chicago police denied any knowledge. After two days, three people remained in jail facing serious terrorism charges, with bail set at $1.5 million.

Upon arriving at Daley Plaza, Zoe Sigman of Occupy Chicago thanked the crowd and then asked everyone to sit down in silence for ten minutes in solidarity with the nine people taken away by the police and the three charged with terrorism. When the solidarity silence ended, Zoe rose to speak from on top of a flower box and denounced the police raid. She described the busting down of the door of the apartment and the abuse of those living there. Sigman spoke about the need to stand against police repression and to continue to protest the war-makers of NATO in Chicago. She also called for people to not be fearful, but to mobilize even more people to come to Grant Park for the big anti-NATO protest against war and poverty on Sunday, May 20.

Stephanie Weiner with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression spoke next and denounced the 2010 FBI raids on 23 Midwest activists’ homes and the home of Carlos Montes a few months later. She said that solidarity with Zoe and the other activists abused and arrested can beat back this outrageous attack. Weiner said, “We are powerful, we can build a powerful movement to stop NATO and its wars, and we can beat back police and FBI repression if we stick together!”

Then a student from Utah and the Revolutionary Students Union spoke. Gregory Lucero was visited by the FBI at his home and they wanted to know about organizing a trip to protest NATO and war. Lucero said, “What do you say when the FBI or police come to your door?” The crowd shouted, “Nothing!” Then Lucero ended by saying it is important to speak out against FBI repression and war.

Finally, a speaker from Cleveland spoke about the recent arrest of three young homeless men who are part of the Occupy movement and how they were set up by the FBI. He asked for solidarity as they face serious charges in this latest FBI frame-up.

The march proceeded from Daley Plaza and eventually onto Michigan Avenue, with tourists and workers taking photographs and smiling as they went by. The streets of Chicago are alive with the sounds of protest, opposing repression at home and war abroad.

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #CarlosMontes #PoliceRaid #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #ChicagoNATOSummit #AntiWar23

Chicago, IL – In the first large demonstration of the NATO summit, 4000 nurses gathered in Daley Plaza at noon on May 18. National Nurses Union members and supporters demanded an end to the bailing out of Wall Street and for a tax on its profits.

Karen Higgins, co-president of National Nurses United said, “As nurses, we are caretakers and we step forward and help the nation recover from this economic crisis.” She also said, “We are watching patients suffer because they can't care for their families and their health at the same time. As nurses this inequality is our problem. We know the solution. It's time for Wall Street to pay what they owe.”

#ChicagoIL #Healthcare #NationalNursesUnited #ChicagoNATOSummit

Chicago, IL – NATO opponents debated NATO apologists at the Pritzker Military Library in the Chicago Loop on May 17. The debate was sponsored by the National Strategy Forum. Reflecting an attempt to respond to anti-war protests and mass democratic movements like the Arab Spring, the debate was titled, “Social Responsibility and National Security: Towards a New NATO.”

Rick Rozoff of Stop NATO and Iris Feliciano of Iraq Veterans Against the War debated J.D. Bindenagel, a former U.S. ambassador involved in NATO security policy and membership, and John Allen Williams, a professor of political science at Loyola University Chicago, who served with the NATO Inter-Allied Confederation of Reserve Officers. The debate is on the Pritzker website.

The room was packed with media and a sizeable contingent from Iraq Veterans against the War. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, who will speak at the Sunday, May 20 CANG8-sponsored protest in Grant Park, attended.

Stop NATO expert Rick Rozoff stated, “I am not in favor of a new NATO, a kinder and gentler NATO. I am in favor of the abolition of NATO. In my opinion NATO is the greatest threat to world peace.” He continued, “NATO is the largest military block in world history, with 28 member countries on all continents.”

Rozoff continued, “Just a couple of reasons to terminate NATO, is that they are appropriating the exclusive prerogative of using military force from the United Nations and trying to substitute for it. NATO collectively spent $1 trillion on arms expenditures last year as we are in a worldwide economic recession.”

IVAW’s Feliciano, a Marine Corp veteran who served in Afghanistan, said, “Veterans are living by a thread, we are all living by a thread. There are no jobs for veterans here in Chicago. In the face of that, these military expenditures are unconscionable.”

Loyola University Professor Williams acknowledged that NATO is primarily a military tool of the U.S. when he said, “Complaints about NATO are really unfair. NATO is not really an organization by itself. Complaints about NATO are really complaints about the policies of component governments. I think a lot of the objections we are talking about are really to U.S. policy.”

The audience nearly lost its composure when the moderator claimed that NATO is an anti-violence organization. Rozoff countered, “In every instance we have seen of NATO military intervention – Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya – NATO entered the fray on behalf of one group of armed belligerents against another group of armed belligerents. They did not bring peace, they won the war for their clients.”

The pro-NATO debaters tried to avoid the issue of Afghanistan policy and tried to focus on those wars that they claim are humanitarian missions.

Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel claimed NATO has the “right of intervention” under the responsibility to protect people from genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. Bindenagel further claimed that NATO intervention is done with UN sanction and authority. He cited Kosovo and Bosnia to bolster his claim.

Rozoff countered, “The war against Yugoslavia in 1999 did not have UN sanction.” He continued, “Subsequent to that, almost immediately after NATO marched into the former Serbian province of Kosovo with its so called Kosovo Liberation Army allies arm in arm. Within a couple of years almost a quarter of a million ethnic minorities were purged from Kosovo, ethnic Serbs, ethnic Roma, ethnic Gorans were purged, never to return. I don't hear any of the ‘humanitarian’ advocates here saying anything about those people.” He finished by saying, “When NATO wages a war it does so for geopolitical objectives, siding with one side against another in a conflict, that has been its track record for the past 17 years.”

Feliciano said, “Iraq Veterans Against the War will be marching for reconciliation and justice on Sunday. We are here to talk about our grievances and we want the NATO generals to come meet us on Sunday – to acknowledge us. We will be returning our ‘global war on terror’ service medals and expeditionary medals. We have decided as an organization that we do not want to keep these symbols of failed politics.”

She ended, “We withdraw our consent for this war. Withdraw from Afghanistan now!”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #ChicagoNATOSummit #StopNATO

Fight Back News is circulating this statement from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, on the occasion of the May 20 anti-NATO protests in Chicago.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) welcomes all protesters to this major national and international demonstration against NATO, against war and poverty, in Chicago on May 20, 2012. We oppose U.S. imperialism and its military alliance NATO. The FRSO wants to see NATO defeated and dismantled. We want peace with the rest of the world, not war. We demand an end to the continuing U.S. war and occupation of Afghanistan and support the right to self-determination for the Afghan people. Afghanistan has suffered too much and we say bring the troops home now!

Freedom Road is one of the major groups leading the mass protest against NATO and the G8. We ask you to join us in marching and rallying so the world hears our message. The generals, politicians and bankers can hide behind all their security and spout platitudes about being ‘humanitarian,’ but we will expose their violent, oppressive and exploitative ways. We oppose U.S/NATO orchestrated violence and mass bombing of sovereign countries and the overthrow of their governments, and the killing of thousands of people, like in Yugoslavia in the 1990s or Libya last year. Now Syria and Iran are the targets. The U.S. sets up puppet governments, seizes oil fields and other natural resources and exploits the farm and factory labor of those countries, for the U.S. capitalist class to profit. Half of all U.S. corporate profits come from exploitation overseas. There is no ‘good’ U.S. imperialist intervention in developing, independent or socialist countries.

In opposition to U.S. aggression, Freedom Road sends a message of solidarity to the Arab Spring Uprisings, freedom for peoples suffering U.S. occupation in Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea, support for the national liberation movements in Palestine, Colombia and the Philippines. We stand with independent and socialist countries against imperialism and march together with workers around the globe who just celebrated May Day. Our vision is for peace, justice and socialism. We say, “Take away the money from U.S. militarism and war and spend it on good jobs, affordable housing, health care for all, education and student loan relief, Social Security, sports and cultural development.”

There has been a fair amount of controversy around the anti-NATO protest. The White House, U.S. intelligence agencies and the Mayor of Chicago are doing all they can to scare the public about our protest. We are here in Chicago, most of us from Chicago, to protest U.S. war and violence. As Martin Luther King Jr. said in 1967 during the U.S. war in Vietnam, “The United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” It still rings true today.

We know and trust the people marching with us – our friends, neighbors, co-workers and union members, people of faith, enthusiastic students and Occupy protesters. Unfortunately for the rich and powerful, it is hard to intimidate us and scare us away. Members and supporters of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization know this all too well.

Many of you know that the FBI is targeting 23 anti-war activists and Carlos Montes for repression. After we helped lead the mass protests outside the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, MN, in 2008, the FBI raided seven homes in Chicago and Minneapolis and subpoenaed all of us to a Grand Jury in Chicago. You can read about it at www.StopFBI.net. Now an important anti-war and immigrant rights leader Carlos Montes is on trial in Los Angeles, being framed by the FBI. His next court date is June 20, 2012. Carlos Montes urgently needs your solidarity to win!

We know this system we live under cannot deliver what we want. We live in strange times where one has to declare, “War is not peace, occupation is not liberation and corporations are not human beings.” We know the politicians of both parties are bought and paid for by the rich. We are in Chicago to protest this system based on empire that dominates people of other countries, while exploiting and oppressing people here at home. The FRSO aims to end capitalism – a system based on inequality, exploitation and oppression. We will replace it with socialism – a system of peace, justice and equality.

Now is the time to rally and march in Chicago, the home of the Haymarket Martyrs and the eight-hour day struggle, of the great unemployed marches of the 1930s and the urban uprisings after Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, where anti-war protesters defended themselves outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention from police under orders to beat and arrest them, and where the mega-marches of the immigrant rights movement came to life in 2006. The masses make history and we will be marching in their footsteps to oppose war and poverty, to bring down NATO and the G8. One more step on the road to end the rule by a small class of billionaires and millionaires. Let’s unite! We have a world to win!

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #antiimperialism #CoalitionAgainstNATOG8War #ChicagoNATOSummit

National Lawyers Guild Condemns Preemptive Police Raids & Unlawful Searches on the Streets.

Early morning house raid in Bridgeport and harassment of activists indicates intolerance of free speech rights.

Chicago, IL – The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns a preemptive police raid that took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.

According to witnesses in Bridgeport, police broke down a door to access a 6-unit apartment building near 32nd & Morgan Streets without a search warrant. Police entered an apartment with guns drawn and tackled one of the tenants to the floor in his kitchen. Two tenants were handcuffed for more than 2 hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring unit, repeatedly calling one of the tenants a “Commie faggot.” A search warrant produced 4 hours after police broke into the apartment was missing a judge's signature, according to witnesses. Among items seized by police in the Bridgeport raid were beer-making supplies and at least one cell phone.

“Preemptive raids like this are a hallmark of National Special Security Events,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People's Law Office. “The Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies should be aware that this behavior will not be tolerated and will result in real consequences for the city.”

In another incident, 3 plainclothes police officers unlawfully stopped, handcuffed, and searched a NATO protester on Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive at approximately 2pm today. According to the protester, he did not consent to a search and there was no probable cause to detain him. The police also photographed and questioned him about where he was from, how he got to Chicago, how long it took, what he was doing here, where he was staying, who he was with, and how long he was planning to say in Chicago. The protester refused to answer any questions and was eventually released.

The NLG has received reports that at least 20 people have been arrested so far this week, and two people are still in custody, not including the Bridgeport residents who are still unaccounted for. One of the protesters currently being detained, Danny Johnson of Los Angeles, has been accused of assaulting a police officer during an immigrant rights rally on Tuesday afternoon. However, multiple witnesses on the scene, including an NLG Legal Observer, recorded a version of events that contradict the accusations of police.

During the week of NATO demonstrations, the NLG is staffing a legal office and answering calls from activists on the streets and in jail. The NLG will also be dispatching scores of Legal Observers to record police misconduct and representing arrestees in the event the city pursues criminal prosecutions.

Contact: NLG Legal Worker Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or NLG Attorney Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246

#ChicagoIL #NationalLawyersGuild #PoliceRaid #ChicagoNATOSummit

Chicago, IL – Dozens of U.S. military veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan plan to return their medals to the commanders they served under on Sunday, May 20. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will lead thousands of anti-war protesters from Grant Park to the site of the NATO summit in downtown Chicago. Outside McCormick Place, the veterans and service members will return their medals to NATO commanders. Veterans of the U.S.-led NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan will march side by side with the group Afghans for Peace at the head of the march organized by the Coalition Against NATO/G8.

“By returning my medals I can begin the healing process,” said Iraq veteran Zach Laporte, a member of the Milwaukee IVAW chapter. “The NATO commanders may not acknowledge us as we return our medals,” said Laporte, “but by making our presence felt in the media and on the ground people will know our story. They will know the real story that the NATO commanders do not want the public to know.”

Through their action on May 20, IVAW hopes to bring attention to the human cost of the NATO occupation in Afghanistan, as well as the continuing effects of the Iraq war. But for the veterans returning their medals, this is also a personal process of healing the wound caused by NATO and U.S. occupations. Speaking to Democracy Now!, Chicago IVAW member Aaron Hughes said NATO is, “perpetuating a failed policy and unfortunately we have to live with that failed policy on a daily basis, and we don't want to be a part of that failed policy anymore.”

Returning service medals as an act of protest was popularized at the 1971 action Operation Dewey Canyon III, organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War. At that event, over 800 combat veterans threw their medals toward the U.S. Capitol building in protest of the Vietnam War.

Sunday's rally and march against the NATO summit will start at the Petrillo Bandshell on the corner of Jackson and Columbus in Chicago. Entertainment and speakers begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the mass march to McCormick Place at 2:00 p.m.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #ChicagoNATOSummit #AfghansForPeace

Chicago, IL – People from around the world are coming to Chicago to protest NATO and the G8 on May 20. On May 17, international spokespeople gathered at the 8th Day Center for Justice in the Chicago Loop for a press conference in support of the protest against war makers and bankers.

Joe Lombardo of the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) opened the press conference. He said, “There will be a large permitted rally and march on Sunday, starting at the Petrillo band shell in Grant Park. In addition, there will be solidarity actions with our protest from Stockholm to London to Tehran.”

Inga Hoeger, a member of the German parliament and member of a group called No to NATO, No to War said, “NATO is an organization of militarism. The NATO generals will say that they are talking about troop withdrawals from the war in Afghanistan while they are at their summit. The truth is that they intend to maintain at least 50,000 troops there for a long period.” She added that NATO’s plan for a missile shield in Europe is a plan to increase the arms race. She raised the demand for Germany to withdraw from NATO and for NATO to be disbanded.

Her colleague, Tobi Pflüger of No to NATO, No to War and a former member of the European Union Parliament said, “While the big banks in Europe are pushing to impose austerity, as well as cuts to social programs, on to average people, they continue to spend a trillion dollars on the NATO military machine.”

June Kelly of the People Against War Network of Ireland reinforced the high costs of military bases, like the one developing at Shannon Airport in Ireland.

Kazem Azin of Solidarity with Iran said that Iranian students fear a destructive U.S. or NATO-led attack on Iran. These students will march in Tehran on May 18 under the slogan “From Tehran to Chicago, No to the Wars of NATO”

Emmi de Jesus spoke as a congressperson from the Philippines and representative of GABRIELA, an organization of Filipina women. She actively opposes U.S. bases and was asked whether it was important for the U.S. to have military allies. She replied, “The Philippines has no external aggressors. It is the U.S. that gains from the bases and not the Philippines.” She added, “in fact the social costs of bases are high, in terms of ecological damage and the rape and abuse of women and children.”

Reinart Braun of Germany closed the press conference saying, “We are here protesting on Sunday with all of you because we can no longer afford to feed this cold war dinosaur.”

The rally against U.S. war and the NATO military alliance will begin on Sunday, May 20 at 12:00 noon, at the Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park, Chicago. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Chicano leader Carlos Montes, Students for a Democratic Society and Iraq Veterans Against War will all speak. Then there will be a march down to McCormick Place to confront the NATO war makers and politicians. War veterans are planning to return their medals from Iraq and Afghanistan to protest the continuing occupations and to protest future NATO wars.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #Iran #UnitedNationalAntiWarCoalition #CoalitionAgainstNATOG8War #ChicagoNATOSummit #NoToNatoNoToWar

Chicago, IL – While the eyes of the world are on Chicago and the upcoming NATO summit, 40 protesters spoke out May 16 against the FBI frame-up of Carlos Montes, demanding the charges against him be dropped. Montes is a prominent Los Angeles Chicano civil rights and immigrant rights activist and a leader in the anti-war movement.

Supporters say the charges against Montes are politically motivated. “Stop the frame-ups, stop the lies; Carlos Montes committed no crimes!” echoed off the walls of the Dirksen Federal Building. The Chicago Coalition Against Political Repression protests there because that is where a Chicago grand jury is investigating 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists. The case against Montes stems from this same investigation. The group held signs and chanted, “Hands off Carlos Montes, drop the charges now!” and “Opposing war is not a crime!”

Jess Sundin, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) said, “The attack on Carlos is an attack on the anti-war movement and is linked to the FBI repression of myself and other anti-war activists who organized the mass protests outside the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.” Sundin invited the crowd to join the massive rally and march against NATO planned for Sunday, May 20 at the Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park. Montes will speak at the rally and will join a large contingent near the front of the march, with the CSFR as well as allies from the Palestinian, Filipino, Puerto Rican and other communities.

Muhammad Sankari, of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network said, “We are here at the door step of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Assistant Barry Jonas, men who have been making their careers by attacking and repressing the Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. These are men who lock up our community leaders for providing backpacks and shoes to Palestinian orphans.” In his remarks, he praised the contributions of Carlos Montes, alongside those of Palestinian hunger strikers, Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar Lopez and many others.

Magda Canstañeda of CAPR lead chants early in the rally and then addressed the crowd in Spanish and English. She warned that if activists fail to defend Montes and the other targeted activists, then everyone is at risk for repression.

When Sara Flounders spoke for the International Action Center, she praised Carlos Montes and the 23 grand jury resisters for their strength in the face of political repression.

One of the 23 activists targeted by the FBI and grand jury investigation of anti-war and international solidarity activists, Hatem Abudayyeh, closed the rally by asking everyone present to take out their phones and call Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley at 213-974-3512. Several callers got busy signals, but pledged to keep calling. A few got through and demanded District Attorney Steve Cooley “Drop the charges against Carlos Montes!”

#ChicagoIL #CarlosMontes #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #CommitteeAgainstPoliticalRepression #ChicagoNATOSummit #PoliticalRepression

There is significant discussion in the international community and in the anti-war movement about whether ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Syria is justified. Speakers Mary Beaudoin, Margaret Safehjooy, and Dave Bicking gave analysis of the media’s role in drumming the beat for war, the role of the U.S. and NATO in ‘humanitarian interventions,’ and the reasons for not wanting to intervene in the conflict in Syria. This forum gave members of the peace movement an opportunity to discuss their concerns with military intervention in Syria.

Mary Beaudoin, editor of the WAMM newsletter and member of its Middle East committee, referred to the example of US/NATO intervention in Yugoslavia as a lesson for how humanitarian intervention can kill the very civilians they claim to protect. “The attacks by U.S.-led NATO countries on Yugoslavia were the test for humanitarian intervention that began this trend. The sovereign nation of Yugoslavia was broken into pieces, the proverbial village bombed to save it and humanitarian intervention in this form began to be established.”

Margaret Sarfehjooy, also member of the WAMM Middle East committee, explained her concerns for U.S. intervention in Syria. “What we do know is what the U.S. military is built and designed to do, and what it is capable of doing. The military wasn’t designed for humanitarian intervention. It is a force of destruction. The military is trained to kill people and destroy. People who believe that war should be a last resort tend to think that there’s an exception to humanitarian intervention because something is being done for the good. Humanitarian intervention is really a subset of war, not an exception to war. All of the caution for war should also be a caution for humanitarian intervention.”

Speakers encouraged attendees to ride the buses, organized by the Anti-War Committee and WAMM, to Chicago May 20 to protest the potential of U.S./NATO involvement in Syria.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #Syria #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #ChicagoNATOSummit

The NATO summit is set for May 20-21 in Chicago.

The Chicago anti-war protest will greet the NATO summit meeting with a call to end the U.S./NATO war in Afghanistan and to call for funds for human needs, not war.

A main topic of the meetings of the NATO summit will be the war in Afghanistan.

A statement issued by organizers of the Minnesotan delegation to the Chicago protest says in part, “While the NATO leaders look for ways to continue the war and occupation of Afghanistan, thousands of people will be in the streets of Chicago to say ‘get out of Afghanistan now.’”

The buses from Minneapolis will leave at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 19 from the parking lot of Saint Joan of Arc Church, 4537 3rd Avenue S in Minneapolis. The buses will drive through the night to arrive in Chicago in time for the protest.

Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee said, “Going on the buses from Minneapolis will be a cross section of Minnesotans, students, working people, low-income families, long time activists and people attending their first major anti-war protest.”

In addition to the people riding the buses, organizers understand that many Minnesotans are planning their own transportation to the Chicago event. “The people on the bus are only a portion of the people from Minnesota who intend on bringing an anti-war message to the door of the NATO summit. People need jobs, education, housing and health care, not billions for war and occupation,” said Steph Taylor of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota.

The recent agreement signed by President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, “Is not about ending the war, the agreement actually lays the basis for thousands of U.S. and other foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan until 2024. Despite what the politicians are telling us, U.S. troops are not leaving Afghanistan any time soon unless people demand an end to the war,” said Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness.

Martin continued, “Many of the people going to Chicago have been part of the Occupy movement. We understand that NATO is really the armed force of the 1%. NATO conducts wars and interventions, not in the interests of the 99%, but in support of corporate economic and political interests.”

In order to have the march and rally at the NATO summit, anti-war organizers in Chicago and around the country carried out an ongoing campaign of letters, statements and other public pressure to defend the right to protest, including a months-long effort to secure a permit for the May 20 march and rally.

“The Sunday protest is an opportunity for all people to come together and exercise our civil liberties and call for an end to the war and occupation,” said Aby.

In addition to opposing the war in Afghanistan, the protest will speak out against the threat of a new war against Iran.

A wide range of organizations from across the U.S. have endorsed the May 20 anti-war event in Chicago, including peace, anti-war, student, labor as well as many groups started as part of the Occupy movement.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee #ChicagoNATOSummit