[Peace] Fwd:[ANSWER]: Report from Anti-War Conference: 600 attend,an

[jencart]

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600 ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS ATTEND JUNE 1 EMERGENCY NATIONAL  ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK CITY

Report on the June 1 conference:
- Plans announced for mass June 29 demonstration at FBI?s  Washington D.C. headquarters to tell Ashcroft "Hell No, We  Don?t Want Your Cointelpro"
- This summer, Commission of Inquiry hearings on 
U.S.-backed Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian 
people will take place around the country
- Great press coverage of the conference
- List of speakers and topics of the conference.

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PRESS RELEASE
on June 1 Emergency National Anti-War Conference

(June 2, 2002 - NYC) Over 600 activists with International  A.N.S.W.E.R. met yesterday in New York City and announced  plans for a mass June 29 demonstration at the FBI's 
Washington D.C. headquarters to protest John Ashcroft?s  domestic espionage program that targets political 
organizations, mosques and community groups.

A.N.S.W.E.R. ? which stands for Act Now to Stop War & End  Racism ? was one of the central forces behind the 
100,000-strong March for Palestine April 20th in 
Washington, D.C.  The activists who planned this 
demonstration came from around the country Saturday for an  all-day, anti-war conference opposing Bush's war policies  that threaten Iraq, Colombia, and the Philippines, back 
genocide against Palestinians, and take money from 
people's needs and funnel it to the Pentagon.

A special section on the conference?s Opening Plenary 
entitled ?Emergency action plan to fight back against the  FBI and Ashcroft? featured Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and  Carl Messineo, attorneys and co-founders of the 
Partnership for Civil Justice.  ?Today we have launched a  national fightback movement to stop John Ashcroft and the  FBI from bringing back the very worst features from J.  Edgar Hoover?s reign over domestic intelligence,? stated  Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, also a member of the A.N.S.W.E.R.  Coalition steering committee.

?Ashcroft?s changes have been presented as an innocuous  update of FBI procedures,?  said Verheyden-Hilliard. ?This  has become the preferred method of presentation by 
Ashcroft as the Justice Department shreds the First 
Amendment and the Bill of Rights.

?These changes, however, are much more insidious than  simply allowing the FBI to surf the web,? 
Verheyden-Hilliard continued.  ?They are a full-scale 
revival of Cointelpro, the notorious government 
infiltration program which reached its peak in the 60s and  was aimed at Martin Luther King and the civil rights 
movement.?

?Ashcroft is facing a growing and powerful anti-war, 
anti-racist movement that won?t be easily intimidated,?  said Larry Holmes, co-director of the International Action  Center, also with A.N.S.W.E.R. ?We?re not going to let 
Ashcroft, the FBI, Bush and his right-wing gang ? with the  complicity of the Democratic Party and Congress ? tear up  the constitution, open up a war on political dissent, and 
stop the very necessary movement against his 
war-mongering, pro-rich madness.?

Later in the day -- after a reportback from A.N.S.W.E.R.?s  medical and legal delegation that just returned from the  West Bank and Gaza -- conveners announced plans this 
summer for mass public inquiries entitled Commission of  Inquiry hearings on U.S.-backed Israeli war crimes against  the people of Palestine.
  
Details of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Action Plan will be released 
in the coming days.

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The June 1 Emergency National Anti-War Conference was one  of the top stories on NY1.  That story follows:

TOP STORY:
Anti-War Activists Hold Conference On War Against 
Terrorism
June 1, 2002

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