MARCH 8TH AGAINST THE WAR! 03/08

PRESS STATEMENT
February 27, 2008
Reference: Michelle Garcia
losangeles [at] gabnet.org

MARCH 8th AGAINST THE WAR: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY FROM COAST TO COAST

LOS ANGELES, CA: More than a thousand women are expected to march and
rally against the war in Los Angeles on March 8, 2008 (corner Broadway
and Olympic, 10:30 am). Meanwhile, in NYC women and allies will be
converging at Washington Square park for a Speak Out and Performance
art to protest the war. These events are held to commemorate
International Women's Day.

March 8th Against the war is the call for this year's International
Women's Day. The action is organized and coordinated by GABRIELA
Network along with the initiating committee of the MA-AL. Dr. Enrile,
National Chairperson of GABNet stated, "For too long the liberation of
women has been used to legitimize the war. On March 9th, we stand
together to declare that NO MORE will our just causes be used for such
unjust actions."

This March will mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. By that
time more than 4000 Americans will have been killed. More than one
million Iraqis died it's estimated that another one million will have
died as a result of the sanctions since the first Gulf War. A majority
of those killed have been women and children. Ironically, the Bush
administration used women's rights as one of its justifications for
invading Afghanistan and Iraq, yet it is clear that women's rights are
being systematically eroded in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Women
in Iraq, a country that had some of the most liberal laws in regards
to women before the war, are afraid to leave their homes for fear of
rape and kidnapping. Women in Afghanistan are still being terrorized
and organizations such as RAWA are still forced to operate underground.

Women have formed the backbone of the anti-war movement and will do so
again this International Women's Day. "Women from all walks of life
are marching to let their voices be heard," Jollene Levid, an
initiating committee member of the Mariposa Alliance stated, "We are
coming together to make sure there is no mistaking that women are
tired of the impact of militarization on women and our families."

The Los Angeles march is co-sponsored by: the A.N.S.W.E.R. Anti-War
Coalition, Incite! Women of Color, Global Women's Strike-Los Angeles,
MIWON, and CODEPINK. The march is also being endorsed by: Asian Pacific
American Labor Alliance (APALA), Southern California Coalition on Occupational
Safety and Health (SoCalCOSH), Korean Immigrant Workers' Alliance (KIWA),
Chapinas Unidas, American Friends Service Committee - LA (AFSC), KmB Pro
People Youth, Justice for Filipino American Veterans, Students USC School of
Social Work, US Labor Against the War, Khmer Girls in Action, Free Palestine
Alliance, Kappa Psi Epsilon, UCSD Women's Center, Lil Tokyo for Peace and
Asians for Jericho/Mumia. ####


In Solidarity,
GABNet Los Angeles