March 15, Ides of March: "Et tu, Congress?" Protest in Rome

[stephinrome]

http://www.peaceandjustice.it/march-15-2008.php

5th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
Ides of March Protest: "Et tu, Congress?"
Largo Argentina, Rome, Italy
Saturday, March 15, 4:30-6:30pm

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq in mid March, the U.S. anti-war movement is gearing up for 10 days of mass civil disobedience in Washington DC (http://www.resistinmarch.org/). With the intention of interrupting “business as usual,” the institutions, government agencies, and private corporations that keep this war going will all be targeted. Beyond the beltway, over 400 actions in 49 states have been organized (http://www.5yearstoomany.org/), and global outrage will be expressed at protests planned in cities around the world (http://theworldagainstwar.org/).

In Rome on Saturday, March 15, from 4:30 to 6:30pm at Largo Argentina, U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice will hold an “eventful” protest that will include street theatre, recording of video messages, a faxblast, video footage from Washington and more, all aimed at not only reminding tourists and passersby of the tragedy still taking place in Iraq, with over 1,000,000 victims, but also to directly involve them by giving them an opportunity to voice their opposition in a number of ways.

Ides of March Street Theatre
On the 15th, the Ides of March, we are reminded of a great betrayal and ask, “Et tu, Congress?” Over a year has passed since the Democratic majority was seated in Congress after being voted in on a clear mandate to end the war. Yet Congress continues to approve billions more to fund this war. And so we ask, “Et tu, Congress?”

Filibuster Faxblast
Two of the candidates for the White House, Obama and Clinton, have said they intend to withdraw troops once elected. Why wait? Let's flood their offices with faxes demanding that they use their role as Senators to lead a filibuster NOW (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/26/7299/) to prevent funding requests to continue the war and occupation from coming to debate or vote(http://filibusterforpeace.org/).

“Dear American Voter”
For the citizens of the world who can't vote in the U.S. elections but live under the effects of US policies, we'll be recording video messages from tourists and passersby for the LinkTV “Dear American Voter” campaign (http://www.linktv.org/dearamericanvoter) in which they can send a message to voters in the U.S.

Winter Soldier Iraq Afghanistan
Video of the Winter Soldier Investigation (http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier) organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, and taking place simultaneously in Washington, will be shown on the square. Soldiers and civilian eyewitnesses will testify on the true nature of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Italian Law on Military Bases
We all know that the aggressive policies of the Bush administration would not be possible without the logistical support of countries around the world, including Italy with 120 U.S. military installations. In support of the Italian campaign for a law of citizen initiative on military bases, we will collect signatures. (http://tinyurl.com/2gakp8)

For more information on the demonstrations in the U.S. and the world, see:

» http://resistinmarch.org
» http://5yearstoomany.org
» http://theworldagainstwar.org

Get out there and protest!