5 years on and still Iraqis die
Thursday 20 March 2008 – in 3 shifts – morning, midday, afternoon
Mark the 5th anniversary of the war on Iraq
Australian combat troops are finally coming home, but as this awful anniversary approaches, little has changed for the Iraqi people who have continued to suffer since 20 March 2003. Some estimates are that over a million Iraqi people have died as a direct result of this illegal war that is continued by the US led invaders. Joseph E. Stiglitz, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank and his colleague Linda Bilmes have estimated that the cost to the US alone of the war on Iraq will be 3 trillion dollars. US Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently said it would “be fine with me” if US troops remained in Iraq for 100 years. In spite of all this, the Bush Administration, US military industrial interests and the US media are building a case for an assault on Iran.
Send the message that we want this war to end!
Register for a “shift” in the moving protest!
The moving protest
We will walk continuously across the pedestrian lights when they turn green at the North Terrace-King William Street intersection in Adelaide, while holding relatively small, light weight placards (see photo above) and peace flags.
We hope to do this in three different time slots or “shifts” on the day (depending on numbers registered).
This would require about 1 and half hours of your time (1 hour walking, plus assembly time and dispersal time).
This kind of protest has proved very successful in the past and it protects protesters because they are pedestrians moving lawfully across the road at the correct time. They just keep crossing the same intersection. This is also effective because many motorists and other pedestrians “get the message” and many of them have supported us in our previous moving protests by tooting their car horns or joining in as pedestrians.
We have taken legal advice about this kind of protest and it appears that there is little possibility of there being any problems.
These are the time slots: 7:30am-8:30am; 12-1pm; 5pm-6pm.
NoWar has sufficient placards and flags. The slogans contain messages relating to the loss of life and the chaos that 5 years of war have brought to the Iraqi people as well as messages about the possible war on Iran.
NoWar will coordinate everything, all you need to do is turn up at a designated point, take a placard and walk across the four points of the intersection for an hour. Then you can leave the area. NoWar will collect the placards at the end of the hour.
We need as many people as possible to do the three time slots. If you are able to attend any of the above sessions, please let us know by emailing nowar@ihug.com.au by the end of the day on March 16.
Once we have the names and details of those of you who will be attending and have worked out the “shifts” we will email you with the arrangements.
Its great to know that so much organizing is going on against the war in Iraq. I want to let you know as well that this year Blackwater, one of the corporations most responsible for this disastrous occupation, has been nominated for Corporate Accountability International’s annual Corporate Hall of Shame. 8 corporations have been nominated (others include Countrywide, Mattel, Wal-Mart, and Toyota). You can place your vote at http://www.StopCorporateAbuse.org starting this Thursday, March 20th. Each person has three votes, either for the corporate nominees or for a write-in candidate. Comments are welcome! The ballot box will be open through July. Check out the website to find out why, for example, Wendy’s is one Corporate Accountability International’s targets this year.
Peace!
re-read this latest entry. i think it’s seriously time to throw in the towell.
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