An open letter from George Galloway MP and John Rees, vice-president, International Campaign Against US Aggression on Iraq. W e are writing to ask for your
support for an launched from an extremely important conference that took place in Cairo on 18th-19th December 2002.
The conference launched
Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq and was attended by over 400 delegates from the Arab world and the international peace movement. Its proceedings were given extensive coverage by the press and TV in the Middle East.
The conference issued the Declaration against globalisation and war (a copy is We would like you to add your name to this declaration.
A co-ordinating committee has been established headed by former President of Algeria Ahmed Ben Bella and two vice presidents, John Rees of the Stop the War Coalition in Britain and Elias Rashmawi from the US peace movement ANSWER.
The Egyptian government attempted to ban the conference but political pressure
forced it to allow the meeting to go ahead. This in itself is a considerable political triumph since the conference did not have the support of any government in the region. The conference was followed by a 1,000 strong demonstration in cenSTEVE tral Cairo, again widely reported in
the Arab press. The International Campaign is now attempting to organise solidarthe ity actions with the anti-war US demonstrations in the US on 18th
January 2003. It is also mobilising for solidarity actions European demonstrations planned for 15 February as agreed at the European Social Forum in Florence Cairo last November. These now involve
the peace movements of Il European countries. This is an important initiative, the first to link a representative voice from the Arab world with the wider antiwar and anti-globalisation movement. Please add your name to the Cairo Declaration by emailing mailto:[email protected] giving your name, position and contact details. Please ask friends and colleagues to
THOMANS BLOOD with the D add their names. moving swiftly towards a war on iraq. We lend us your support.
Develop mony movement
George Bush and Tony Blair are now too must move with all possible speed to create a global anti-war movement. Please Allegre
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It DO Camden Centre in Central demonstration Britain has ever on Iraq, with or without UN support, would be a disaster for the people of the Middle East and beyond. across the world. That is why this war cannot be fought in our name. This is also why we believe it is vital to build the broadest possible anti war alliances everywhere around the demand No War on Iraq. tries represented have called action on the 15 February. national protests the following Saturday and to organise coordinated mass national demonstrations in capital cities on February 15. European wide anti war website, and to have a common banner on each of our demonstrations demanding No War on Iraq. We are committed to spreading anti war coordination both inside and beyond Europe, and to holding another enlarged meeting after the February 15 demo. We will continue to campaign until this war is stopped. tives. February 15. Together we can stop the war.
• February 2003 s agreed at the assembly of the social movements in Florence in November, A activiss from i1 European countries, the USe and the Prip insist are
together in Copenhagen to coordinate European wide action against war on We endorse the anti war call launched at the assembly in Florence. We believe that a war It is clear there is majority opposition to war in almost every country in Europe and Our meeting showed that the movement against the war is gaining strength. All the coun We reinforce the decision to protest in every country immediately war starts, to hold To this end we have decided to continue our coordination at a European level, to set up a We urge the moverents in countries not represented at our meeting to join in our initiaWe urge every organisation that opposes this war to work for a massive mobilisation on
Copenhagen, December 15th 2002.
Described as the "Arab Fidel D Castro", Ahmed Ben Bella first
rose to international prominence as the leader of the Algerian liberation movement and became Algeria's first post-independence president in 1962, before being deposed in a military coup.
A close personal friend of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Fidel Castro - Ben Bella was at Castro's side throughout the Cuban missile crisis - and Che Guevara, Ben Bella became a key figure in the post-war non-aligned movement and in post-colonial Arab nationalism.
More recently Ben Bella has played a central role in peace talks in Algeria, has been a tireless campaigner for lifting sanctions against Iraq and was made president of the International Campaign Against US Aggression on Iraq, founded at the historic
• college lecturers' union NATFHÉ money for education. time to get off the fence."
Cairo peace conference in December. Now 85 years of age, Ben Bella gave the conference a unique perspective on the current situation in the middle east, drawing on over 40 years experience at the centre of progressive Arab politics. Ben Bella is also currently making a documentary for Arabic TV news channel Al Jazeera on colonialism. "I spent 24 years in prison, but I liberated my country. 400 multinationals control the majority of wealth; they control world politics and economics. "They are attacking Iraq to ensure oil supplies. The income of General Motors is $132 billion; Egypt with 70 million inhabitants has only $33 billion. Exxon has four times the wealth of Nigeria. "These multinationals control half of the world's wealth. Every year, 35 million die of "People need to be prepared to take action if war goes ahead. I was involved in the Vietnam movement. This is bigger and the potential is greater too. But we also want to war on poverty and AIDS. "The firefighters were told there's no money, but if they've got money for war, they can find "It's historically unparalleled for so many unions to be involved. We need to say to the others, it's hunger across the world. There is terrorism in the world; it is the terrorism of Bush." Tony Benn "All people throughout the history of the world have fought for the things we believe in. "We are seeking to unite the people of the world through peace, human rights, democracy and internationalism. "This is not between black and white or Arabs or Jews; it is between the people of the world and the rulers of the world "The British Prime Minister has the power to stop Bush going to war. American opinion won't allow Bush to go to war alone."
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