CODEPINK to lead women's delegation Saturday in national mass march on Wall Street April 1st, 2009 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 1, 2009 CONTACT CODEPINK to lead women's delegation Saturday in national mass march on Wall Street Will call for end to war spending, Wall Street bail-outs WHAT: CODEPINK women to lead women's delegation of UFPJ's national march on Wall Street WHEN: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 4 WHERE: Gather at Franklin & Lafayette Streets, march to Wall Street, New York City NEW YORK CITY -- CODEPINK Women for Peace will join thousands of Americans in the mass mobilization planned for this Saturday here on Wall Street, "Beyond War: A New Economy Is Possible." In vibrant, creative pink, CODEPINK will lead hundreds of women from Long Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts and D.C. in the women's delegation of the march, organized by the largest anti-war coalition group, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ). They will call for a new direction of American policy -- one that rejects war spending and bailouts for the wealthy and instead invests in new jobs, health care, quality education for all, and sustainable, clean energy. "We voted last fall for change, and as citizens, women and peace-makers, we're here today taking our vote to the next level," said Dana Balicki, CODEPINK campaign coordinator. "Saying the 'Bailout is bullshit' may be crass, but it's not nearly as crass as hundreds of billions of dollars spent in war and occupation and in bailing out millionaires on Wall Street rather than going to our schools, our hospitals, and infrastructure." The march will mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic 'Beyond Vietnam' speech at Riverside Church in New York and his death exactly one year later. It will reflect King's messages linking the exorbitant costs of war abroad to injustice and disparity at home. U.S. spending in Iraq has reached about $610 billion, and in Afghanistan, Obama recently announced plans to spend 60 percent more than current levels of $2 billion per month. Americans do no want, nor can they afford, another war without end. A USA Today/Gallup Poll earlier this month found 42 percent of Americans felt the Afghanistan war was "a mistake," an increase of 30 percent earlier this year and 34 percent in August 2008. More war in Afghanistan will fuel the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, increasing their numbers, will lead to more civilian deaths -- in 2008, amid U.S. military operations, civilian casualties climbed 40 percent and further alienate Afghans, who increasingly view the U.S. as an occupying force. For more information, please call Jean Stevens, national media coordinator, at 508-769-2138 or email at jean@codepinkalert.org, or Dana Balicki, CODEPINK campaign coordinator, at 202-422-8624. |
