[Peace-discuss] Fwd:[ANSWER]: 850 organizers attend Next Step Anti- (1 of 2

[jencart]

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INITIAL REPORT
on MAY 17-18 NATIONAL A.N.S.W.E.R. CONFERENCE

Plus:
ACTION PLAN

More than 850 activists and organizers who have helped  forge the U.S. arm of the global peace movement came 
together from across the U.S. and several other countries  to participate in the National Conference Against War, 
Colonial Occupation & Imperialism sponsored by the 
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition on May 17-18 in New York City. 
Those who attended the conference came in buses, vans and  car caravans from communities throughout the East Coast,  South and Midwest, and nearly 100 people attended from the  West Coast. The worldwide anti-war movement sent messages  and delegations from many countries.

The conference included major plenary sessions entitled  "What is the Bush administration planning?" and "Where is  the movement going?", plus 16 different workshops where  panels. Organizers and leaders in different struggles 
analyzed the imperialist objectives of the Bush 
administration's foreign policy and the racist and 
anti-worker assault on civil rights and civil liberties at 
home, and then discussed effective organized resistance.  Reports and discussions took place on a wide range of 
issues, including the occupation of Iraq; the Bush 
administration's threats and attacks against Cuba, Korea,  the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and  other countries; civil rights, civil liberties, immigrant 
rights, union and workers' rights; and much more. 
Particular attention was paid to the rise over the past 
year of the global movement and which presents the 
greatest hope and potential political power to stop the 
U.S. war machine.

Participants also reflected on their experiences of 
organizing over the last year, and discussed building on 
the momentum of the peace movement and strategies and  plans for mobilizing against the administration's drive 
for empire and war at home. On Sunday, the conference  attendees formed into several discussion breakout groups  where organizers and activists from around the country -  who have assumed responsibility for mobilizing both local  and national actions during the past year and a half - met  with each other for information sharing and free flowing  discussions. During these discussions organizers proposed  next steps, discussed a national action plan, and began 
charting coordinated local organizing initiatives. In the 
final plenary, volunteers gave reportbacks from the 
multiple discussion groups to the full conference. 
Notetakers are currently preparing more detailed reports  from these discussion sessions.

The National Action Plan, detailed below, includes a 
demonstration on July 4 in Philadelphia where Bush will be  speaking; a September 27 International Day of Protest 
Against War and Occupation from Iraq and Palestine, to  Korea and the Philippines; and a summer public education  campaign to spread the word about the need to fight war  and militarism and in defense of social and economic 
rights. The Action Plan also included May 19-20 
coordinated local actions opposing Bush's new attacks on  Cuba. On these days, rallies, press conferences and street  meetings took place in Tucson, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San  Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY;  Providence, RI; Houston, TX; Washington DC; Winnipeg, 
Canada; and more.

For those who were not able to attend the conference, the  A.N.S.W.E.R. website will soon contain a section with 
talks from the conference and additional information about  the discussions that took place there. The full conference  program ­ including plenary speakers, and topics and 
descriptions of the 16 workshops ­ is available