FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Protest Demands "Shut It Down; Stop the War Machine!"  in Memorial Day Weekend Rally for Peace at the Gates of MacDill AFB, U.S. Central Command

What: Peace Rally and Non-Violent Civil Disobedience
When: Saturday, May 26th, 12:00pm
Where: MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida
Media Contacts: Katy Robinson (954) 723-0877 or Sandy Thompson (727) 698-3092 or email media-AT-macdillpeacerally.org

On Saturday, May 26th, 2002, the Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice will hold a Peace Rally beginning at 12pm at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. MacDill is the Central Command Headquarters for U.S. military operations throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. The protest will include non-violent civil disobedience designed to disrupt the war effort.

Rally organizers are calling for an immediate end to U.S. military aggression throughout the wor
ld. They denounce attacks on civil liberties, charging that recent anti-democratic legislative actions are designed to prevent dissent and political opposition to U.S. foreign and domestic policies.

The MacDill AFB action takes place in conjunction with others throughout the world that will denounce American war fervor on Memorial Day Weekend. Protesters in California will go to the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday, May 25th (see www.takeittothebridge.org ), while American citizens living in Paris, France will hold an anti-war rally on Sunday, May 26th.

The Memorial Day Weekend Peace Rally follows on the Florida Alliance's first MacDill protest in January, which included the participation of over 500 people from throughout the state, according to local news reports. Organizers expect hundreds more at May's rally. The Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice is distinguished in its
 composition for its inclusion of a diverse representation of black community leaders, Native American activists, religious and peace activists, students and seniors. Speakers at the Tampa rally will include Pam Africa of the international campaign to free Mumia Abu Jamal, Vernon Bellecourt of the American Indian Movement, Dorothy Lewis of the National Organization of Blacks for Reparations in America and Omali Yeshitela of the Uhuru Movement.

"The current U.S. war is an aggression that violates every principle of international law and mutual respect among countries and peoples", says Helen Hooley, Quaker and peace activist. "We are calling on all freedom and peace loving people from throughout the U.S. to join us in demanding peace and social justice for all."

According to Phil Champon of the Broward County Anti-War Coalition, "Bush's recent threat to use nuclear weapons against the people of the Middle East and Asia imposes nuclear terr
or on the world. We demand that Bush adhere to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and honor his promise to drastically reduce existing nuclear warheads."

"The Patriot Act threatens the very foundation of American democracy", warns Attorney Mark Kamleiter, member of the ACLU and the Green Party. "We must stand up now against this attack on our civil liberties and constitutional protections that are being dismantled under the guise of fighting terrorism."

"The African community in the U.S. and around the world adamantly opposes George W. Bush's war on the struggling and oppressed peoples of the world," declared Omali Yeshitela, leader of the Uhuru Movement. "He took the presidency by denying African people our right to vote and does not represent us. We stand with the people of Palestine, the Philippines, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the indigenous peoples of North America in our resistance to
 U.S. terror, oppression and exploitation."

Endorsers and participants in the May 26th Peace Rally at MacDill AFB include Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Umbrella for Justice (Palm Beach County), Reality News Network, Broward Anti-War Coalition, Student/Farmworkers Alliance, Alaska Action Center, American Indian Movement (Florida), Campus Greens at USF, Citizens United for Shared Prosperity (St. Petersburg, FL), Collier Anti-War Coalition, Community Coalition Against War and Terrorism (Gainesville), Food Not Bombs (Tampa, FL), Green Party of Pinellas County, Green Party of Dallas County, International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, Pax Christi (Naples, FL), Peace 1st of North Carolina, Peace Action Group, Queers for Racial & Economic Justice, Sarasota County Green Party, Students for International Peace and Justice, Inc., The Florida Left List, Transitions Church & Support Group, Tampa Bay Area Coalition for Peace and Social Justice
, Why War?, and members of the Quakers, Women in Black, Soulforce and the National Coalition Building Institute.

Participants will convene at Gadsden Park in Tampa and march to the gates of MacDill AFB on Dale Mabry Ave. For more information, call (727) 826-6960, email info-AT-macdillpeacerally.org or visit www.macdillpeacerally.org



All People's Coalition to Stop US Terror and Occupation
(510) 569-9620 or (408) 885-9785 www.takeittothebridge.org

INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR MOBILIZATIONS ON
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!
SF Organizers Uphold First Amendment; Challenge Park and Golden Gate Bridge Authorities Rules and Regulations with Anti-War Protest

What: Anti-War Mobilizations in San Francisco, CA, Tampa, FL, and Paris, France
When: Saturday, May 25, 2002: Gather at Crissy Field at 11am. March on Golden Gate Bridge at Noon
Media Contact: (415) 348-7797 or (408) 885-9785 or email allpeepsmedia-AT-yahoo.com

Organizers, expecting hundreds if not thousands to participate in an anti-war demonstration this Saturday, May 25, 2002, claim the rules and regulations of "expressive" and "special" events Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge Authorities violate the First Amendment. This protest, entitled "Take it to the Bridge," is part of an international Memorial Day Weekend Anti War Mobilization. Protests will also occur this weekend at MacDill Airforce Base in Tampa, Florida and in Paris, France. On the West Coast, protesters will gather at Crissy Field Airfield with a march on the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
States Bakari Olatunji, All People's Coalition Chair, "The U.S. government has used the extraordinary events of September 11th to justify an all-out war on the peoples of the world. As oppressed peoples and freedom-loving peoples here inside the United States, we stand with the people of Palestine, the Philippines, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the indigenous peoples of North America in our resistance to U.S. terror, oppression, and exploitation. We consider the attempts to stifle free speech as part of the assault on civil liberties since 9-11. We call on everyone to come out on Saturday to defend your right to dissent."
In organizing this demonstration, the All People's Coalition is facing a struggle with the Golden Gate Bridge District and the National Park Service over its ability to even have a constitutionally protected demonstration on the bridge and rally in the park.
March organizer Wendy Snyder states, "Right now we are engaged in a fierce battle with the Golden Gate Bridge District and National Park Service's attempts to stifle our right ''to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances' as guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States of America. We have been told that the Golden Gate Bridge is for Marines with assault rifles and U.S. flag wavers only and our message of peace won't be welcome. We have also learned that our right to carry a banner or use a sound system at Crissy field, a nearby public park, to broadcast our message of anti-war will cost $15,000. We are clear: we will not pay $15,000 to exercise our right to oppose war. Free speech is not the property of Crissy Field or Golden Gate Bridge Authorities. It is the peoples' right; not something that can be granted or denied by anyone."
Continues Snyder, "The Bridge District and the National Park Service` are giving us 'permission' to have a walk across the bridge without a political message. They are even preventing us from addressing the crowds at the rally in a way that would ensure the safety of the people. This creates the potential for conflict and the possibility that people will get arrested for having signs."
The coalition is going forward with plans to march and rally stating that free speech is not the property of Crissy Field or Golden Gate Bridge Authorities. It is the peoples' right; not something that can be granted or denied by anyone. In this era where civil liberties are in being taken away every day by the U.S. government, they say, these attacks on our rights, now more than ever, must be challenged. Call (415) 348-7797 or (408) 885-9785 for more information.

Other Memorial Day Actions:
On Saturday, May 26th, 2002, the Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice will hold a Peace Rally at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. MacDill is the Central Command Headquarters for U.S. military operations throughout Central Asia, the Middle East and much of Africa. www.macdillpeacerally.org
A collective of social activist groups in Paris, France is also organizing a march on May 26th to
coincide with George W. Bush's visit to France to try and win support for his anti-terrorism measures and
his war on Iraq. www.may26.org