General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement

General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement
World Social Forum, Mumbai, India
16-21 January 2004

Background

February 15, 2003 will from henceforth be remembered as the day of the biggest global mobilization in history. Around eight to ffteen million people poured out into the streets in hundreds of cities around the world to protest against the war on Iraq. It is a war that has brought to fore the links between corporate-led globalization and militarization: the same forces and motives driving neo-liberal globalization are the same forces driving war and with the same effects of destruction and misery on the
powerless. As a result, it is war that has forced the convergence between the peace movement and the anti-corporate led globalization movement where they have been previously separate. In many cases, it was the former that provided the organizational base, the networks, and the analyses to the anti-war cause. Both movements have been broadened and reinvigorated as a result. A global peace and justice movement is born.

This emerging movement was the product of extensive organizing at the grassroots level and coordination at the international level. Before and after the war on Iraq, various signifcant anti-war
strategy meetings and conferences were held in Florence, Cairo, Chiapas, London, Jakarta, Geneva, and Genoa. But for geographical and fnancial constraints, most of these gatherings were small relative to the movements’ very broad constituency and not very representative relative to the movement’s diversity. In these dangerous times, there is an urgent need to bring together the largest and most representative assembly of anti-war and anti-corporate globalization activists to date. The war on Iraq has seen the emergence and strengthening of a global peace and justice movement; it is now time to discuss and decide
on how this movement should move forward.

The coming World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai affords us this opportunity. The WSF expects to draw around 100,000 delegates from India and up to 10,000 delegates from around the world - most of them deeply committed and actively involved in both the anti-war and anti-neoliberal globalization struggle. The WSF offers the most practical possibility for advocates to gather in one space, imagine themselves as part of something bigger, and think together and debate on the movement’s next steps. As such, being a once-a-year event, all efforts must be taken and no stones should be left unturned to ensure that this event becomes the biggest and most representative meeting of anti-war movements to date.

The WSF Anti-War General Assembly should be an occasion for analyzing and debating the current global conjuncture as it relates to militarization and globalization and for assessing the nature and experience of the antiwar movement in the run-up to the war. More importantly, the Assembly could be a venue for discussing the movements’ priorities and strategies and come out with a detailed and concrete plan of action for its campaigns and projects for the coming year. Given that some of these campaigns have since been conceived, the Assembly could also be an occasion for launching anti-war projects such as the International People’s Tribunal on Iraq and the international campaign against US bases.

Holding the event in the WSF should serve to further underscore the fusion between the so-called traditional peace movement and the anti-neoliberal movements that made up the mass of the anti-war movement in many countries. As one of the possible major events of the WSF, the assembly should also address what some observers have pointed out as the WSF’s preoccupation with corporations and neoliberalism without much heed to the militarization that accompanies these forces. Hence, by ensuring that previously "traditional" peace movements are invited and welcomed to the event, the Assembly could serve to broaden and strengthen the movement further. By articulating the links between militarization and corporate-led globalization, the Assembly could also serve to sharpen the movement’s focus and analyses.

It is clear, that this peace movement is up against the strongest and most militarist regimes in history. The so-called "war against terror" promises to be an unrelenting offensive. World defense expenditures are also on an increase, as is nuclear proliferation and new missile systems. In this context, it is necessary to sustain the movement, link it with other social and progressive movements, broaden the base, and move forward. For this, a meeting of activists and peace movement organizers – the
largest and most representative possible – is of critical and of urgent importance.

The Assembly Working Group

Work on the Assembly began last September. At frst there were just a number of groups but with a concerted effort at reaching out to others, the working group became highly representative of the anti-war movement. It has organizations from almost all continents, many of the largest anti-war coalitions, the social movements and also many key and strategic groups working against corporate
globalization.

The working group coordinated and planned different components of the Assembly, including drafting the program for the strategy session, assisting the WSF Organizers identify speakers for the main plenary on Militarization and Peace and mobilizing people. It produced an invitation or a general call to join the Assembly, which was translated to several languages, and received more than 100 endorsements from various coalitions, movements and organizations.

Publicity and outreach moved at full speed with many of the members of the working group tasked with personally following up various organizations and coalitions to ensure the that the Assembly was as representative as possible.

Members of the Assembly Working Group

• Anti-War Coalition, South Africa (Salim Vally)
• Asian Peace Alliance (Nighat Said Khan)
• Asian Peace Alliance - Japan (Toshi Ogura)
• ATTAC Japan (Yoko Akimoto)
• Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace - India (Kamal Chenoy/Achin Vanaik/Anuradha Chenoy)
• Focus on the Global South (Mary Lou Malig/ Herbert Docena/Nicola Bullard/ Varsha Berry)
• Global Exchange/United for Peace and Justice US (Paul Le Blanc)
• Hemispheric Social Alliance (Gonzalo Berrón)
• Protection of the Palestinian People - CCIPPP (Nahla Chahal)
• Italian Movements of the European Social
• Forum (Paola Manduca/ Luciano Muhlbauer)
• Peace Boat, Japan (Nami Yamamoto)
• Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC)/ Serapaz (Miguel Alvarez Gandara/ Héctor de
  la Cueva)
• Social Movements Network (Diego Azzi/ Gustavo Codas)
• Stop the War Coalition – UK (Chris Nineham)
• Stop the War Coalition - Greece (Petros Constantinou)

Components of the Assembly

The Assembly was a self-organized event registered with the World Social Forum. It had the following component events:

Conference on US Occupation of Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan: A major conference at the WSF it helped set a more informed political context for the all-day strategy meeting the next day.

The Strategy Session: There was a whole day Strategy Session where there were open discussions and debates on the movements’ strategies, plans, and priorities.

Activists’ Assembly: open meetings among anti-war activists, social movements, NGOs, etc. in attempt to deepen the links among them and coordinate their actions

Closing Conference: The Anti-War Assembly held jointly with the Social Movements a fnal conference of the Activists Assembly. It announced and affrmed the movements’ decisions on its plans and priorities and produced a common declaration.

Solidarity March: Led by the Asian anti-war movement, several anti-war coalitions marched together during the closing march of the WSF.