Sat. March 18 -- National March on Washington

On the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq

Thousands marched in Washington, DC and in 15 other cities around the United States

No War in Ukraine! No to NATO! No Weapons, No Money for the Ukraine War

Peace in Ukraine - No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War
Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions!
Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
No war with China!
End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
Fight racism & bigotry at home, not other peoples!
U.S. hands off Haiti!
End AFRICOM!

End the Sanctions on Syria!

More than 2,500 people participated in the rally, march and teach-in on March 18 on the 20th anniversary of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.  The Washington, DC demonstration called for an end to the US/NATO proxy war in Ukraine, which is the center of world politics today, and is ushering in a new era where the United States, the main imperialist power in the world, is seeing its economic, political and military hegemony being eroded as other alliances are taking shape to challenge the US.  This, however, is creating a dangerous situation where major nuclear powers are facing off against each other as the US and its NATO allies continually pump more weapons, money and mercenaries into Ukraine.

Click here for more pictures and videos of the March 18 demonstration.

The main rally was held near the White House where a number of people spoke before the demonstrators took to the streets.  We marched past the Washington Post, where we spoke about propaganda that the corporate media is spreading to help build the case for more weapons, money and war in Ukraine.  On this 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, we all recall the lies about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction that fueled that war and we see the same kind of lies and propaganda from the corporate media today.

From the Washington Post, we marched to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church where a teach-in was held.  At the rally and the teach-in, a number of UNAC members spoke along with others including Ann Wright from Code Pink and Veterans For Peace, Medea Benjamin from Code Pink, and John Shipton, the brother of Julian Assange. Noam Chomsky also addressed us by video link.

In addition to the march and rally in Washington, DC, about 15 other local actions took place in areas that were too far away for people to travel to Washington.  One of the biggest took place in San Francisco where 300 people rallied, other important actions took place in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Maine and in other areas.

What next?  It is important that we keep up the momentum following this successful demonstration in Washington, DC.  UNAC will be discussing with others who organized March 18 doing local and regional action in the spring. Lets get ready.

The corporate media has not told us, but twice as many Ukrainians fleeing the fighting have gone to Russia than to any other country.  In Russia some Ukrainians have formed an organization called the Union of Political Emigrants and Political Prisoners of Ukraine.  This organization sent a message of support to the March 18 protest in Washington, DC.  Part of that message was read at the demonstration.  The entire text can be found here.