UNAC conference draws hundreds for mass actions against genocide in Gaza, hybrid war against China with a focus on building unity in action

Over 400 antiwar/anti-imperialist and Palestine solidarity activists convened in St. Paul, MN, April 5, 6, and 7, in the first major conference of the US antiwar movement since before the Pandemic of 2020 and 2021. Geographical representation ranged from Maine and New York to California and the Pacific Northwest, and from Minnesota to New Orleans and Florida, as well as Canada. There were international representatives from a number of countries.

                                                  

More than 50 national and local groups participated – most notably the Black Alliance for Peace, the US Palestinian Community Network, American Muslims for Palestine, Veterans For Peace, CodePink, US Peace Council, Green Party Action Committee, BAYAN USA and International League for People’s Struggle, Bolivarian Circle, Just Peace Advocates from Canada, Sanctions Kill Campaign, Task Force on the Americas, China-US Solidarity Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Workers World Party, Alliance for Global Justice, Socialist Action, Party of Communists-USA, Struggle La Lucha, Coalition for Civil Freedoms and Movement Against War and Occupation (MAWO).  

Conference hosts included Minneapolis-based Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), local Antiwar Committees, Twin Cities Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine. There were community based groups from around the country including the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Bronx Antiwar Coalition, Virginia Defenders, New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) Antiwar Committees from Dallas and Denver, and others.

Ajamu Baraka of Black Alliance for Peace and UNAC’s national coordinator Joe Lombardo opened the conference, and the Twin City Free Palestine Coalition provided the Opening Panel recapping lessons from months of struggle. At sundown Friday the Twin Cities Free Palestine Coalition hosted a fast-breaking for Ramadan, followed by a Palestinian drum performance.

United for Palestine

The Palestinian issue and delegations inspired a high level of spirited unity against the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. At its founding 15 years ago, UNAC came together as an antiwar coalition determined to include support for Palestine and united on the demand to “End All US Aid to Israel.” 

                       Panel on Palestinian                                   Panel of leaders of the Twin CitiesPalestine Coalition

The Palestinian Resistance struggle was a key focus throughout the conference, generating shared determination and strong unity. Other major issues included “No to NATO,” opposition to the US hybrid war against China, and resistance to racist US government attacks on migrants and people of color.

Greetings and receptions from the UN ambassadors of Sandinista Nicaragua and the Polisario Front of Western Sahara – Ambassador Lautaro Sandino and Dr. Sidi M. Omar, Ambassador of the Polisario Front of Western Sahara – were a highlight of the conference. Ambassador Sandino told participants the Nicaraguan government has
filed a charge against Germany in the International Court of Justice for providing weapons to Israel.

   Nicaraguan Ambassador Lautaro Sandino    Ambassador Dr. Sidi Omar of Western Sahara

Mnar Adley, founding editor of MintPress News, gave an extremely moving account of her family’s experience living in Jerusalem/Al Quds during the Israeli crackdown against the Second Intifada, of the 1990s. Conference participants also heard a greeting from Olga Sanabria Davila, representing the struggle to decolonize Puerto Rico, while William Camacaro of the Alliance for Global Justice raised accelerating US interventions in Latin America and the significance of the return of Diplomat Alex Saab to Venezuela after torturous imprisonment by the US.

Mnar Adley

 
Stop the US war against China

The impending US war against China, and how to oppose it was the focus of a major conference plenary, as well as a follow-up workshop where buzzing discussion provided participants with details of the bristling US armada that now threatens China. Bruce Gagnon described the scale of U.S. space weapons blanketing the skies. Mike Wong, former national vice president of Veterans For Peace, gave a closeup view of the true stories in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, while Lee Siu Hin raised the importance of eye witness delegations and video images to counter official US propaganda’s false pictures of “genocide” and repression – hiding the true role of the CIA in both places. KJ Noh, noted Korean researcher and analyst, provided valuable details of ongoing US war plans against China and the ominous threats by US generals of war with China by  2025.  Dee Knight, an author and war resister during the Vietnam era, raised a proposal to build large-scale support for the right of active duty US soldiers and sailors to say no to being sitting ducks and cannon fodder in extremely dangerous US war moves against China. Sara Flounders of Workers World Party posed the set-backs and defeats confronting US imperialism – Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and the global turning point of resistance in Gaza driving U.S. imperialism toward war with China – a desperate attempt to reassert its fading global economic position by military means.

A video message from the Union of Political Emigrants and Refugees from Ukraine talked about popular resistance to US-backed fascism and was played along with Jeff Mackler and Tom Baker from Socialist Action and Socialist Action Canada addressed the danger of expanding NATO war in Ukraine. 

Defending our movement, Confronting Repression

A key part of the conference program was fighting repression across the US. Mick Kelly opened the session by recounting the unity built by the Antiwar 23 against FBI frame-up charges. The panel also focused on the “Uhuru 3” leaders of the African People’s Socialist Party, who are being prosecuted for opposing the US proxy war against Russia; and Efia Nwangaza on the campaigns to Stop Kop Cities. Roger Harris described the international campaign to gain the return of Diplomat Alex Saab to Venezuela. Colleen Rowley focused on the mobilization for Julian Assange, while Tom Burke described the continuing campaign to free Colombian Simon Trinidad. Mel Underbakke described the two decades focused on the hundreds of FBI frame ups of Muslims to justify the so-called US War on Terror.

A well attended youth meeting was also held at the conference that was organized by Code Pink National Co-Director Danaka Katovich, Cody Urban of the Resist US Wars movement and Wyatt Miller of the Minneapolis Antiwar Committee and the UNAC Administrative committee. 

The conference took months in planning, with over 60 sponsoring organizations, all of whom experienced a major surge in street actions in the past six months, since the Palestinian Resistance forces broke out of military encirclement in Gaza last Oct. 7.
 

Action Plans

A major action plans was approved at the conference included: 

Support for May 1/May Day actions as Workers Day to Defend Palestinian Resistance, 

Major national protests at NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit July 6-7 in Washington, DC, 

Mobilization against the Republican National Convention July 15-18 in Milwaukee, and the Democratic National Convention Aug 19-22 in Chicago. 

A call to oppose the “RIMPAC” naval war games in the Pacific in August, sponsored by ILPS and BAYAN.

The conference called for ending all U.S. aid to Israel, opposing all U.S. wars, abolition of the trillion-dollar US war budget, shutting down the 800-plus US military bases around the world, and elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide starting with the US arsenal.

The conference action plan can be found here

There were 16 workshops during the conference, providing ample time for participants to discuss and make proposals. Focus topics included Palestine organizing across the US, the ominous US Pivot to Asia, tactics in bringing anti-imperialist issues into community, workplace and school settings, tactics in movement building, building Zones of Peace in the Americas, challenging US sanctions and hybrid warfare, imperialism out of Africa, connecting climate change and climate justice to war and a skills workshop.

                  Workshop on Africa                                                Workshop of Pivot to Asia

In the final plenary the action plan was developed that reflected the cohesion and level of unity at the conference.

Margaret Kimberley, senior editor of Black Agenda Report, gave the concluding talk to a resounding ovation. Her talk is here.

Margaret Kimberley

The conference was livestreamed and recorded by Wilton Vought of Essential Dissent.  The raw videos are below.  These will be edited and put on the UNAC web site at UNACpeace.org.

Livestream Session 1

Livestream Session 2

Livestream Session 3

Livestream Session 4 - 1
Livestream Session 4 - 2
Livestream Session 4 - 3

Livestream Session 5