Grand Rapids, MI – On Thursday, October 20, activists held signs under at Monument Park in Grand Rapids to oppose U.S. wars and aggression. The event aligned with the call to action by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) for a week of anti-war protests. Over 60 cities in the U.S. held an event to inform the public about the “endless wars,” no matter which party is in the White House.

The call to action encouraged organizers to get “back to the streets” to oppose U.S. and NATO-imposed wars and sanctions. Near the busiest intersection in downtown Grand Rapids, the group held signs with statements, “Stop endless wars” and “Money for human needs.”

On the bullhorn, Olivia Lashley led a call and response chant: “Money for education: not for war! Money for healthcare: not for war! Money for buses: not for war! Money for housing: not for war!”

Protesters also chanted, “Hands off Haiti!” “No war on Russia! No war on China!” “Free, free Palestine!” and “Free Alex Saab!” Saab is a Venezuelan diplomat the U.S. government illegally seized in 2020 and is now jailed in Miami, Florida.

The public’s response to the group’s signs was positive, with many passersby expressing their support and drivers honking with a fist raised.

According to several recent polls, including ones by POLITICO-Harvard, Pew Research Center and Monmouth University, foreign policy is not a top concern for U.S. voters leading into the November midterm election. Yet, U.S. intervention is escalating in countries like Haiti, Iran, Syria, Yemen and others.

Reading from the UNAC call to action, an attendee said, “While the U.S. pours more weapons into the proxy war in Ukraine – holding open the possibility of direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia – the war fanatics in Washington seem determined to start even more fires around the world.”

Organizers in Grand Rapids hope that a united protest opposing U.S. war and sanctions will build a stronger anti-war movement locally.

“The U.S. is spending billions of dollars on a proxy war in Ukraine when funding for schools, healthcare and housing is needed at home,” said Sam Tunningley with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We must speak out more aggressively against U.S. wars, sanctions and provocations.”

#GrandRapidsMI #AntiwarMovement #Peace #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalitionUNAC

For years, the criminal government of the United States has attempted to remove the democratically elected president of Venezuela and discredit the peoples’ movement in that country that has been so successful in lifting millions of Venezuelans out of extreme poverty. Under the corrupt Trump administration alone, the United States has conducted multiple illegal attacks against President Nicolas Maduro and the people of Venezuela, including: failed assassination attempts by drone, poorly orchestrated military coups, the random declaration of political-nobody Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, and the continuous use of deadly, multilateral sanctions (even in the midst of a global pandemic).

On Thursday March 26th, in yet another desperate move, the Trump administration announced charges of narco-terrorism against the two-time democratically elected Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and a host of other top Venezuelan officials. US Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of Defense Mike Pompeo declared a $15 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Maduro. With zero evidence to support their bold claims, the US is alleging that Maduro and other government officials oversaw the use of Venezuelan territory and resources to help the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to move cocaine to the US.

This sensational charge from the DOJ nothing more than the latest transparent attempt by the Trump regime to oust President Maduro, by any means necessary. It is a clear violation of Venezuelan sovereignty aimed at provoking the elite-led opposition in Venezuela into toppling the legitimate government in Venezuela. The opposition, coordinated with the Trump administration, has routinely failed to mount any popularly supported attempt to bring down Maduro in the last three years.

These charges come as Venezuela accuses the governments of Colombia and the United States of plotting to use Colombian paramilitaries to selectively murder Venezuelans and sow chaos through terrorism. This accusation by the Venezuelan government came after a man was detained on March 24th at the Colombian border in a vehicle carrying dozens of weapons and other tactical materials to known terrorist groups training in the region.

Furthermore, it is a gross irony for the US to accuse another government of collaborating with narcotraffickers, given the role the CIA played during the Central American Dirty Wars in the 1980s. During that time, the CIA worked to bring cocaine into the U.S. in order to fuel arms sales to the right-wing Contras in Nicaragua. Meanwhile, those drugs ravaged African-American and Latino communities in the U.S. and Reagan’s War on Drugs created a police state in cities throughout the country.

The Venezuelan government represents an anti-imperialist movement that has refused to bow to the whims of the U.S. empire. And with so many precious minerals, so much oil, and myriad other resources within Venezuelan borders, it is no surprise that the U.S is willing to go to such lengths to install a puppet government in that country instead.

We denounce these bogus charges against the rightful president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and condemn the Trump administration’s continuous illegal attempts to remove President Maduro from office.

We support the government and people of Venezuela, as they attempt to battle the Covid-19 outbreak, even under crippling U.S. sanctions.

We stand in solidarity with the people’s revolution in Venezuela, which has increasingly taken political and economic power away from neoliberal and corporate interests (foreign and domestic) and given it to the poor and working class.

We call for an end to the deadly, crippling sanctions that the Trump administration continues to impose on the people of Venezuela.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #US #Americas #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #Socialism #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalitionUNAC #DonaldTrump #COVID19

New York, NY – On February 22, a Wisconsin delegation invited a conference of nearly 60 organizations to join a major protest at the Democratic National Convention taking place in Milwaukee in July.

The members of the Coalition to March on the DNC made their announcement on the second day of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) national conference. The UNAC conference is a major gathering of international solidarity and anti-oppression activists from across North America, taking place at the People’s Forum in New York City.

The coalition is calling on all progressive, left, democratic and socialist organizations to join the March on the DNC. Points of unity include an end to all U.S. wars and interventions; community control of the police; legalization for all; taxation of the rich; Medicare for all; immediate action on climate change; expansion of workers and union rights; a war on poverty instead of on poor people; and peace, justice and equality for all.

Coalition to March on the DNC spokesperson Adelana Akindes, of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, told the hundreds in the audience, “So be it the DNC or the RNC, we need to show up each time and demonstrate that the people’s movement is where our energies need to go, and that the people’s needs are the true priority.”

The group’s appearance in New York came as new questions were raised about the Democratic Party’s process for nominating a presidential candidate. Widespread skepticism about the Iowa caucus results were compounded by last week’s televised debate, in which all Democratic candidates, with the exception of Bernie Sanders, endorsed the party’s complex system of superdelegates who can override popular vote results at the summer convention.

Repression in Milwaukee

“Mayor Tom Barrett is currently attempting to stifle our march. The coalition applied for a permit to march as early as last April, and yet Barrett and the city of Milwaukee are refusing to grant us our permit,” said Akindes. “It’s a disgusting disregard for our First Amendment rights.”

“Despite all the attempts the city is making, whether it be sabotaging our efforts, denying us permits, or widening security parameters, let’s be very clear: we will still be marching on the DNC,” she continued.

Akindes highlighted how the same city leaders denying the coalition protest permits have failed to improve conditions for residents of the DNC host city. “The city of Milwaukee has extreme problems,” she explained. “Most Black people living in the state of Wisconsin live in Milwaukee. Milwaukee currently holds the record as the most segregated city, not in Wisconsin but the entire United States. Gentrification is on the rise, pushing Black and brown people from their historic neighborhoods. Police brutality and police funding are on the rise. Milwaukee has some of the highest incarceration rates of Black people in the country. The homeless population is being cracked down upon. And in many areas, the rates of lead poisoning from lead water pipes is even worse than Flint, Michigan.”

“We invite you to mobilize with us in Milwaukee on the morning of July 13 and march together on the DNC,” concluded Akindes. “We want to show all who are watching the DNC that the people have the power. We are excited to see you all there!”

Early endorsing organizations include UNAC, Milwaukee and Minnesota Anti-War Committees, Sunrise Movement chapters from Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago, the recently refounded National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, the International League for People’s Struggle, CODEPINK, and dozens of others. More information can be found at MarchOnDNC.org.

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Elections #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalitionUNAC #CoalitionToMarchOnTheDNC

New York, NY – Organizers with the Milwaukee-based Coalition to March on the DNC are attending the national conference of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), to build support for a major protest at the Democratic National Convention in July.

The Coalition to March on the DNC is a broad coalition of left and progressive forces who plan to bring popular demands to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, slated to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The march will be held on the opening morning of the convention, Monday, July 13.

“All eyes will be on Milwaukee when the people’s movements protest outside the DNC as it takes place at the Fiserv Forum, July 13 through July 16, 2020. The Coalition calls on all progressive, left, democratic and socialist organizations to join us in unity,” said Omar Flores, spokesperson for the Coalition.

UNAC is celebrating its 10th anniversary as the leading U.S. anti-war coalition, with its fifth national conference taking place February 21-23. Representatives from nearly 60 organizations from across the country attended Friday’s opening panel, titled “Opposing Imperialist Wars,” which featured Bahman Azad of the U.S. Peace Council, Bernadette Ellorin of Filipina-American organization BAYAN-USA, and Camilo Mejia, a Nicaraguan-American who became a prisoner of conscience for refusing U.S. military deployment during the Iraq War. The panel was moderated by longtime anti-war and labor activist Joe Lombardo.

The Coalition to March on the DNC has already received dozens of endorsements from groups across the country, many of which are planning to travel to Milwaukee for the protest.

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #DemocraticNationalConventionDNC #Elections #UnitedNationalAntiwarCoalitionUNAC #CoalitionToMarchOnTheDNC