Allow New Yorkers the Right to Say NO to War!

On February 15, 2003 hundreds of thousands of people will converge on New York City to stand with millions around the globe against Bush's plan for war on Iraq. While a location has not yet been established for this march and rally, one thing is certain: It is happening.

Confirmed speakers and performers include:
* Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu
* Patti Smith
* Angela Y. Davis
* Martin Luther King, III
* Rosie Perez
* Julian Bond
* Pete Seeger
* Def Poetry Jam poets
* Holly Near
* Tony Kushner
* Danny Glover

The organizers, United for Peace and Justice, are currently facing a major battle over the basic democratic right for New Yorkers to publicly protest. At a February 4 meeting with lawyers for New York City and the NYPD, the request for a march permit was again refused. The organizers requested permission to assemble near the United Nations, march directly past the U.N., and then continue through Manhattan to a rally at Central Park. At the present time, the organizers are continuing the fight and will announce the next step late on Wednesday, February 5.

With only 10 days remaining before February 15, the continued stonewalling by the police can only be seen as an active effort to prevent New Yorkers from voicing our opposition to this war. We will not be silenced -- the streets of New York will be filled with a cry for peace.

We urge Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and NYPD Chief of Department Joseph Esposito to follow the actions of President Bush and his aides, and welcome the demonstrations as a healthy manifestation of American democracy at work. These protests are the tip of a far broader sense of concern and lack of confidence in the path to war that seems to lie ahead. Please allow us our right to assemble and voice these concerns as Americans.

United for Peace and Justice (formerly United for Peace) is a broad based campaign including more than 200 national and local organizations joined together to prevent an invasion of Iraq. Through the coordination of local and national efforts, UFPJ is strengthening the growing movement for peaceful solutions to the conflict. For more details go to www.unitedforpeace.org