Troops Out Now!

World-wide Protests Mark the Beginning of 'Operation End the War'

Press release Toronto Coalition to Stop the War

Toronto, March 17, 2005 - On March 19 2005, the second anniversary of the illegal war against Iraq, the multi-million-strong global peace movement is entering the next phase. 'Operation End the War' is beginning. On March 19th and 20th there will be protests in over 40 cities in Canada, and over 600 cities around the world. In solidarity and synergy with the global peace movement, the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War is putting the Canadian government on notice: Get out of Afghanistan, and stay out of Iraq, Iran and Syria.

WHAT: TROOPS OUT NOW - Rally and March
WHERE: Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto (at Queen St. and Bay St.)
WHEN: 1pm, Saturday March 19, 2005
WHO: Toronto Coalition to Stop the War (TCSW)
WHY: To end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and prevent attacks of Iran and Syria

"Despite pronouncements of democracy and liberation, over 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been murdered," says James Clark of TCSW. "Ballot Boxes amid the bullet barrages of a foreign occupation are not signs of democracy, but of colonization. It is time for the troops to get out and let the Iraqi people determine their own future."

The global days of protest from March 19 - 20, come on the heels of a fraudulent election in Iraq and revelations of the U.S. administration's plans to attack Iran in June 2005. TCSW highlights the fact that despite the widely promoted "election" in Iraq, the US occupation is continuing to build 14 permanent military bases there, with plans for launching further illegal wars of aggression in the region. Both the forces who boycotted the election, as well as most parties and groups who participated have condemned the occupation and called for the U.S. to withdraw.

"What the peace movement has been saying all along has proven to be true," says Christine Jones of the Canadian Peace Alliance. "It is clearer now than ever that the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan have not been about democracy or liberation. It's about empire."

The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War was founded in 2002. TCSW has over 50 member organizations, including labour, faith, environmental, human rights, social justice, and neighbourhood groups. TCSW has brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to end the war and vows to intensify its efforts to end this war and prevent the next one(s).

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For More Information:
James Clark, Toronto Coalition to Stop the War. 416-795-7856
Christine Jones, Canadian Peace Alliance & the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War. 416-254-7555
Dylan Penner, Toronto Coalition to Stop the War & ACT for the Earth. 416-880-6245

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