Date:

Location:

March from the UW-Madison Library Mall to the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Full Description:

Real Change Means No More War at Home or Abroad * Not one more death, not one more dollar!

Invited Speakers:

Rep. Spencer Black, Sen. John Erpenbach, Benson Scotch, Ben Manski, Will Williams, Jennifer Loewenstein, Sandra Rybachek, Diane Farsetta, others TBA.

We demand:

1. An end to U.S. intervention, war and occupation in the Middle East and South Asia.

 

2.The Wisconsin National Guard be brought home now, that no more Guard units sent, and that all U.S. troops be brought home now.

 

3. An end to US aid and support for military aggression and violation of human rights globally.

 

4. An end to US support for the illegal occupation and war against Palestine including cessation of military support and divestment from Israel.

 

5. Respect for civil liberties, protection and guarantees for ALL under the law.

 

6. The redirection of military spending to domestic needs — money for education, universal health care, social needs, renewable energy and infrastructure.

 
 

Peace groups and organizations across the country and abroad have called for demonstrations on April 4, the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's famed 1967 Riverside Church address that openly declared his opposition to the Vietnam War. That day also is the 60th anniversary of the founding of NATO, the supposed defensive military alliance now currently waging the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

 

Now is the time to increase demands from below for real change! While the Obama administration has vowed  to end the war in Iraq, it now promises to keep upwards of 50,000 U.S. troops and untold numbers of private mercenaries in the country after the “withdrawal.” With 30,000 US troops already on the ground in Afghanistan, the new administration has also begun to dispatch an additional 17,000 to that country as part of a U.S. “redeployment” in the Middle East and South Asia.

 

In the meantime, the Israeli-Palestine conflict continues to fester as President Obama, unwilling to make any real change in long-term U.S. policy for the region, continues to offer unending economic and military support for Israel’s war of attrition against the Palestinian people.

 

At the same time, the economic crisis at home  continues to deepen as billions of dollars sorely needed for jobs, education, social services and infrastructure are siphoned off to support U.S. aggression and imperial ambitions around the globe. More than 100 Wisconsin soldiers have died and thousands more have been wounded while our own National Guard, sworn to protect and aid the people of the state in times of emergency, has been shipped abroad to fight on several fronts in an undeclared war with no real end in sight.

 

The need to stand up is NOW! Words from the Rev. King’s Riverside Church address ring as true today as they did in 1967 when he spoke out against Vietnam:

 

Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest…A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

 

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.

Additional Information:

This event is organized and sponsored by the Madison Area Peace Coalition.

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