United National Antiwar Committee Calls on All Supporters to Turn
Out for Rallies in Solidarity with the People of Egypt and Other Arab Countries
Today, This Weekend, and in Coming Days
No More U.S. Support to the
Mubarak Dictatorship! Hands off Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen!
The Egyptian people, inspired by
the victory in Tunisia and building on their own heroic rallies and strikes in
recent years, have now taken the lead in the regional revolt against U.S.-backed
dictatorships. Today, Friday, January 28th, masses have poured into
the streets for the third straight day of protest, and are once again fighting
valiantly against cops and troops armed with U.S. made and paid for weapons.
It is the U.S. government which
has created and still supports the Mubarak regime to the tune of $1.5
billion a year as part of its regional military apparatus, and it is U.S. banks
and corporations that have imposed the neoliberal austerity regime of
unemployment, poverty and malnutrition against which Egyptian workers have been
rebelling for decades.
The U.S. Department of Defense
is meeting this very week with Egyptian military officials to discuss how to
maintain this oppression. A DoD
press briefing reports: “With regards to Egypt: we actually this week are
hosting senior Egyptian military leaders at the Pentagon for our annual bilateral
defense talks. So that’s just an example of how engaged we are with the
Egyptians, even as these developments have taken place on the streets in Cairo
and elsewhere.”
And it is the U.S. State
Department which has already begun maneuvers throughout the region to ensure
that any governments that fall are replaced with equally compliant regimes —
maneuvers such as the visit by the head of “Near East Affairs” in the State
Department this week to Tunisia, and by their “National Democratic Institute”
to Yemen, to “advise” on “clean elections” — i.e. to plot how to subvert the
goals of the masses in the streets.
It is therefore our responsibility
as U.S. antiwar activists to mobilize all our supporters to demand: Hands Off Egypt! End U.S. aid to murdering, exploitative and
corrupt governments!
The other regimes against which
the Arab masses are now in revolt — Tunisia, Yemen and
Jordan — are all likewise subservient to Washington’s
dictates in matters of war and economics, including especially in their
toadying to Washington’s main watchdog, Israel.
Similarly inspired by the
regional upsurge, Palestinian activists have stepped up action against the
corrupt, U.S.-financed and armed Palestine Authority. A sit-in at the
Palestinian embassy in London by Palestinian students was launched this week,
and a worldwide petition demanding the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas and the
democratization of Palestinian governing and movement structures has been
launched: see http://palestineconference.org/wp/2011/01/27/uspcn-palestine-papers-petition/
Every revolt —
in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria — has
featured prominently demands for jobs for the huge numbers of unemployed youth
who are at the core of the revolt. UNAC has made clear the link between the
fight against war and for jobs, and by standing with the Arab masses at this
time we are also saying we hope that workers in the U.S. will fight with every
bit as much determination for jobs for all, and for
solidarity with workers fighting the same fight in every country.
We encourage all supporters
organizing for the national antiwar marches on April 9th in New York
City and San Francisco to work closely with Arab activists in the U.S. to make
sure our marches feature prominently their members and demands.
A victory for the Arab masses is
a victory for the cause of peace throughout the world!
Details on demonstrations can be
found here:
or
Call the White House and State
Department and demand, No More Support to the Mubarak Dictatorship! Hands off
Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen!
Email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Tel: Switchboard: 202-456-1414; Fax: 202-456-2461
U.S. Department of State: Main Switchboard: 202-647-4000
Your Senators and congressperson: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
The main Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121, and the
Congressional switchboard: 800-828-0498
All out in solidarity with the people of Egypt!
Support the fight for democracy and against exploitation and oppression
throughout the Arab world!
For more information:
www.unacpeace.org, unac-nyc@juno.com