from the Anti-Intervention Network
The following summary of protests held in Washington DC, San Francisco and Aviano Air Base in Italy was submitted by one of the members of the AIN--Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist. It is based on a number of reports sent to the AIN and VVAW AI from around the country. Thanks to all those who contributed, and a warm welcome to all new Network members.
Intro
The US/NATO predators' war in the Balkans has met with resistance around the world. People have poured into the streets in China denouncing the US cruise missile attack on the Chinese embassy. Youth chanted"Down with US imperialism" and stoned the US embassy. Many more have marched, rallied, surrounded military bases, and protested in other ways in Europe, the US, Canada, and many other countries. In dozens of US cities, weekly protests and vigils have continued from the start of the war. Warmongers Clinton, Secretary of State Albright and Secretary of Defense Cohen have been confronted by protest in a number of cities. In the Philippines, people fighting the Visiting Forces Agreement, VFA, which allows US military access to Filipino ports, linked their struggle to fighting against the imperialist war in the Balkans.
In the U.S., Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti- Imperialist (VVAW AI) and the Anti-Intervention Network (AIN) among others, have fought to make the links between US aggression against Iraq, Yugoslavia and other countries, and the need to oppose all US intervention. And youth activated to defend Mumia's life and fight police brutality have connected these crucial battles to opposing what the US is doing to other peoples. Many more people are making these links. The bloody nature of US imperialism has been more exposed for millions to see.
The US/NATO lie of war for "humanitarian concern for the Kosovar Albanians" has held back opposition, though with some distrust, among fairly large sections in the imperialist countries. At the same time anti-imperialist and anti-war people have contested this with exposure of the brutal nature of the targeting of civilians with anti-personnel cluster bombs and destruction of the civilian infrastructure in Yugoslavia. The Albanian people themselves have been hit in these attacks. They have been cut out of all the imperialist peace deal -making, and now will find themselves occupied by imperialist armies, with no real independence in a devastated country. The phony predators peace will mean imperialist domination, increasing attacks on the Albanians themselves, and more strangulation of the people in Serbia. It's crucial that the anti-imperialist and anti-intervention movement continue to expose and oppose this US "peace" imposed by weapons of mass destruction.
June 5-6th. Protests were held internationally opposing US/NATO's criminal war in the Balkans in response to a call >from the International Action Center (IAC) and endorsed by hundreds of organizations and individuals. In Washington DC, as many as 10,000 people rallied at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and marched to the Pentagon. 4-6,000 protested in the Bay Area. Tens of thousands more turned out in Australia, London, Italy, Amsterdam, Mexico, Belgium and other countries. In Prague, Czechoslovakia, thousands of demonstrators hurled rocks and other objects at the US embassy and cops who were protecting it. Youth chanted slogans against NATO and capitalism in what organizers called a "global street party". In Sydney Australia, there was a demonstration of 3,000. NATO flags were burnt. At the Aviano Air Base in Italy, one of NATO's main launching pads for bombing Yugoslavia, 20,000 people demonstrated. Reportedly, NATO had to stop launching bombers on that day.
Washington DC
Large numbers of anti-NATO demonstrators massed at the Vietnam memorial. There were Korean American drummers, Chinese people, large numbers of Serbs and other nationalities from Eastern Europe, many peace and anti-war activists, labor activists, religious people, anti-war vets, revolutionaries, and many, many youth. Among the marchers were both Kosovar Albanians and Serbs who support a multi-cultural Yugoslavian. People traveled to DC for the protest from all up and down the East coast and even the Midwest. People carried signs reading, "Indict Clinton and Albright as War Criminals", "NATO= Nazi-American Terrorist Organization", and "150 schools, 18 hospitals bombed by NATO". Many marchers wore t-shirts and buttons with a target, which has become the international sign of standing with people under attack by US/NATO bombs.
Arlington Virginia police had denied a permit to march on the highway to the Pentagon, but had to back down after mass opposition. People closed down the Memorial Bridge and Washington Boulevard, supposedly for the first time in history. The marchers received strong support >from passersby, who honked horns, shouted encouragement, and gave the peace sign along with clenched fist support.
A member of VVAW AI described the day, "The demo was very good in two ways. First, it was definitely not a 'beg-in'. The overall sense I got >from the speakers I heard and people's response was real determination to oppose this war. The US and NATO were roundly denounced without apology, and many speakers and literature linked this up with related issues including the sanctions against Iraq... The US role in the suppression of the Kurds in Turkey was denounced as well as police brutality here in the US. Several speakers spoke of the murder of Amadou Diallo in New York. Many expressed a sense that there is something really wrong with the way the US is run and with its overall basic policies.. We had a die-in which I was able to participate."
Speakers at the protest included Ramsey Clark of the IAC, David Dellinger- who was one of the Chicago Eight defendants in the 60s, and Lucius Walker from Pastors for Peace. According to a participant from Vermont who wrote the AIN, Walker "connected the vicious bombing of Yugoslavia and the 38 year blockade of Cuba and the 9 year old blockade of food and medicine to Iraq that has taken the lives of 1.7 million Iraqis, a third of them children. Other speakers noted the illegal use of force by the US-led NATO alliance, the environmental catastrophe of using depleted uranium ammunition and the immorality of bombing of civilians, even if apologies are made after each massacre." Gordon Clark, executive director of Peace Action said, "We are here to remind America that destroying a civilian infrastructure which people need to survive-- which is exactly what we are doing every day in Yugoslavia-- that taking away their electricity, their jobs, their water, is a direct and flagrant violation of the Geneva convention, a war crime, and a moral abomination."
Pam Africa also spoke and linked up the increasing police violence in the US against the people here to the terrorizing and killing of Yugoslavian civilians. According to the VVAW AI participant, "Mumia was in the house. Pam Africa called for people to go to Philadelphia July 4 (for Mumia rally).She spoke of Mumia's current situation. His hands and feet are swelling up and discolored with could mean a heart problem, diabetes or some other serious condition. There is now a battle to get him proper medical treatment for this and not let the system try to kill him this way. Other speakers spoke of Mumia also and the people expressed support for him whenever he was mentioned."
The protest was the first national demonstration against the war and was a success. Secondarily, the peace agreement confused some people and may have cut down on the turnout. One Chinese man who went to the demo from New York city said there would have been a much larger contingent if the agreement hadn't been signed. There was desire on the part of many to continue to protest US/NATO occupation and crimes in the Balkans. The sense of many is that things aren't resolved for the people and capitalism will cause more contradictions to boil over. There is also a desire to further break through the "humanitarian" cover, and unite many more people behind a program that can not only oppose US war crimes, but also support freedom from oppression of all peoples in the Balkan region and beyond.
San Francisco, CA
VVAW AI received the following report on the SF demo from an activist with the Los Angeles Peace Center and we excerpt from it:
"Here is my eyewitness account of the Enormously successful SF march and rally. Those of us who made the trek to SF from LA (and other points of departure) came with various viewpoints and levels of 'movement experience, but we were ALL energized and inspired by the large turnout of some 6,000 demonstrators. I met people who were demonstrating for the first time in their lives, and people who came >from all over California for the march.
Thousands gathered in UN plaza not far from the financial district of the city. Located right on the main avenue of Market St., the starting point of the demonstration garnered lots of attention even before the march began! A flatbed truck provided a makeshift stage for militant speeches, announcements, and the blaring of an air raid siren. It seems as though EVERYONE was wearing a target sign of some kind.
Thousands of printed placards were provided to the crowd but many came with their own signs and banners. The artistic community in SF contributed much energy in creating hundreds of arresting graphics, protest signs and banners... The giant puppets, costumed street performers, and 'People's Marching Band' also helped to build excitement in the crowd. One large puppet was painted blue and silver, it was a ghostly apparition that I interpreted as the spirit of Yugoslavia. It's eyes were closed and it's fragile arms spread out as if to embrace us all. Another puppet-like construction had Clinton riding in a black jet of death, dropping bombs and dollars... All around the base of the large construction hauled by several people, were dismembered body parts smeared with blood.
Our march filled an entire two lanes of the broad Market St. Avenue for several blocks.. and all the way we were tightly reined in by motorcycle policemen from the SFPD, who were keeping the two other lanes of Market St. open to traffic. Still, at times our numbers shut down the streets.. the support from onlookers, while not exactly overwhelming.. was solid, generous, and wide spread!
Our march had now become swelled with many who had joined from out of the shops, coffee houses, and off the streets, the cops stopped corralling us and allowed us to take the streets curb to curb. A plane flew overhead dragging a banner that read, "No occupation of Yugoslavia!" The crowd seemed truly massive at this point, and the sound of drums, whistles, and chants, reverberated in the urban canyons.
Everyone imaginable was there..every political persuasion.. every community from the Asian, Latino, gay and senior, to the right and left wing political groups. ..let's just say it was one of the widest coalitions I have ever seen.
The crowd finally made its way into Dolores Park. Those giving speeches were both prominent and unknown activists... but all were effective in expressing outrage and indignation over this ugly war. A constantly occurring theme in these speeches was that the war was NOT over! One could not even say there was a sense of 'guarded optimism' about the 'conflict' being over. Those in attendance fully expected more trouble and shenanigans from the Clinton regime and it's NATO allies... The subject of 'ethnic cleansing' was also mentioned several times, with speakers pointing to the genocide of Native Americans and the current rising police murders of Afro Americans as being prime examples!
The scene in the park was amazing. Vendors sold ice cream (one vendor had a target sign on his wagon!), fruit juice and water, as well as other types of food. Individuals distributed thousands of flyers, and the group Food Not Bombs handed out hundreds of free apples. There were middle class housewives and lesbians, hippies, punks, rastafarians, Buddhists, Christians, Republicans, Communists, anarchists, all sitting together in the park. Aside from sharing our total rejection of this miserable war, we shared something else.. all of us were sunburned!"
20,000 March Against the Aviano Air Base
Aviano Air Base, Italy
excerpted from submission by Peter Gunn
FighT bAck - The Revolutionary Voice of G.I.s
Underground and Around Since The Vietnam War
Founded: 1972 by G.I.s and Anti-War Activists
....jets are now taking off from the NATO air base in the third war on this continent in this century (Oh, I forgot, this is not a war, it is just "air strikes"). Aviano Air Base is located at the base of the Italian Alps. There is only one road in and one road out, and there are few signs that direct your way towards this massive NATO fortress. Hundreds of thousands square yards are surrounded by chain-linked and barb wired fences. Guard towers mark the perimeter of the base with serious looking sentries manning machine guns.
Anyone trying to get in this base without permission would be shot on sight.
20,000 bold anti-war protesters dared to do almost just that on Sunday afternoon, June 6th. Had it not been for rows upon rows of "carabinieri e poliziotti" who protected the base, many would have gone over or through the fence and onto the airfield. A broad coalition of forces, from the various "communist" "socialist" parties in Italy, the "Women in Black", Pax Christi supporters and other pacifists, members of the Green Party, Italy and a large block of "autonomi", as well as numerous other initiatives throughout Italy had organized this national demonstration under the main slogan, "Contro la guerra, a un passo dalla pace" (Against the War, Give Peace a Chance). This was the third largest demonstration against the war in Yugoslavia, after the 100,000 strong demonstrations in Rome on April 3rd and 10th, and the 200,000 demonstration in Assisi by Perugia on May 20th.
A "peace caravan" that had started in Southern Italy and arrived the night before, catching the few guards in front of the main gate off guard, almost drove right into the military fortress. There were reports of a small confrontation right there and then. The spirit at the march was loud and clear, "Clinto, D'Alema....assassini, assassini" (Clinton, D'Alema .....murderers, murderers), "Americani tornate a casa" (Americans go home!) and "Stop alle bombe" (Stop the bombings!) could be heard over and over again. Here and there rocks were thrown at the police when they tried to provoke the demonstrators, which quickly forced these "state provocateurs" back into their rows.
A speaker from the Socialist Party announced the demonstration a "victory" since NATO stopped all bomber takeoffs during the day because of the protest. He mentioned also that NATO clearly showed its contempt for the G8 peace plan since they refused to stop the bombings while negotiations around Yugoslavian troop withdrawal were in process. He denounced NATO for purposely bombing hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and old people's homes. Another speaker mentioned that despite these peace agreements, NATO's arrogance and Big Power politics are laying the groundwork for a very difficult "peace" in Kosovo. Luca Casarini, from the Autonomes of the Northeast, Italy received a big hand when he took the stage. Luca is famous for cutting the fence and entering an Italian military base in Istrana. He was arrested but the government had to back down from pressing charges against him because of the large national protests against the war. He mentioned that his action was a message to the politicians in Rome that the war had to stop. He denounced Italy's leaders for hiding and beating around the bush. They should be here, he mentioned, with the people who are against NATO and against the war. People let up a loud cheer when it was mentioned that 30,000 demonstrators had marched to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. the day before.
It was a grand show of resistance and international protest that the NATO leaders could not ignore even if their Cental Networks of Notpress, (CNN) suppressed all international reports about it. They have been doing the same thing throughout the war as was seen the day before when there was a virtual press blackout about demonstration in Washington, D.C. But the two massive demonstrations here and in D.C. made it very clear that the anti-war movement is alive and strong and will be around hounding NATO in the future.
For more info or to get involved, contact:
Anti-Intervention Network (AIN): AIN c/o VVAW AI-HQ,
PO Box 21604 Seattle, WA. 98111-3604.
Phone/Fax 206-374-2215.
Email ain@oz.net
Web site- http://www.oz.net/~vvawai/ain-home.html
[posted Mon, Jun 14, 1999]
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