20,000 in Johannesbur Anti-War March : IMC-SA

Media Release: 20,000 in Johannesburg Anti-War March

Issued by the Anti-War Coalition

Under the banner of the Anti-War Coalition, 20,000 people took to the streets of Johannesburg this morning singing, toyi-toying and chanting with a single message: 'No to War Against Iraq!' Protestors gathered at the Library Gardens (Beyers Naude Square) at 11am and were addressed by a number of speakers including Trevor Ngwane of the Anti-Privatisation Forum.

Marchers then proceeded to 35 Pritchard street where the office of the US Consulate-General Public Affairs Division is located. There were a number of speakers that addressed the marchers here, including representatives of the Azanian Peoples Organisation, Socialist Party of Azania, Black Consciousness Forum, Na'eem Jeenah of the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Gwende Mantashe of Cosatu.

The 20,000-strong crowd then toyi-toyied their way to the Mary Fitzgerald Square where more speakers emphasised the anti-war message, including Salim Vally. Vally stressed that while the US government was determined to go to war, the people of the world were determined to not be part of such a massacre of civilians. He and other speakers noted that millions of people - London's The Mirror predicted 30 million - would be taking to the streets over this weekend articulating the same message: 'No blood for oil' and 'No to war against Iraq'.

Speaker after speaker repeated that the Coalition was opposed to any war against Iraq - whether sanctioned by the US or not. Speakers also repeatedly emphasised that the question of Palestine and Palestinian liberation was integrally linked to the anti-war protest. As Jeenah said, if a war against Iraq did take place, the Israeli government would - under the fog of the war - ethnically cleanse Palestinian areas and perpetrate a genocide.

With one exception, all the speakers belonged to organisations which were members of the Anti-War Coalition. The exception was Mantashe who spoke as part of a cooperation agreement with the Stop The War Campaign, an ANC-led coalition.

ANC and Cosatu members were also in attendance at the march. It is to the credit of the Anti-War Coalition that thousands of its members and marshals were disciplined and would not allow any provocation against the ANC members, even though the ANC government was criticised on many occasions from the platform. Speakers attacked the government for allowing US and UK warships on their way to Iraq to dock in Durban harbour; for parastatal Denel supplying the US and UK armies with laser-guided sights and shell casings and for maintaining diplomatic links with the Apartheid state of Israel. The Coalition's spokespersons were adamant that the issue of the war demanded maximum unity and, while organisations would continue criticising South Africa government policies, they were willing to work with the ANC on such actions.

For more information or interviews, call:
Salim - 082 802 5936
Na'eem 084 574 2674
Andy - 073 130 4966