January 6 MAWO Forum Report

On January 6th, dozens of activists crowded in to the Large North Hall of Joe’s Café on Commercial Drive for a public forum entitled ‘Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine: Prospects for Struggle in the Coming Year.’ The forum, organized by Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO), opened up the new year with a discussion on the history and current struggle of oppressed people, with specific emphasis on the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, and the prospects for struggles in 2010.

Janine Solanki, co-chair of MAWO and executive committee member, opened up the forum as the first MAWO forum of 2010 and the emphasized the importance of reflecting on the last year to develop a better perspective for the future of antiwar organizing.

A series of film clips were shown that looked at recent events and different struggles around the world.

Janine then introduced Ali Yerevani as the speaker of the forum. Ali is the political editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper, and is a long-time social justice activist who first became involved in politics as a participant in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Ali reflected on the wars and occupations that are igniting the resistance of the people of the Middle East and the inability of imperialist countries to keep a strong foothold in these countries. He also discussed the important role that Yemen now plays in the new era of war and occupation as a new target with the recent bombings and media frenzy around it. With the new so-called airport security measures enacted by the Western countries, Ali introduced the idea that this is not only targeting Muslim people, but is the beginning of an attack on the democratic rights of all working people. He emphasized that the antiwar movement has very important work already at the beginning of 2010, and it is necessary to take the challenges head-on.

The forum ended with a discussion that flowed among participants about the recent news, and reflecting on the past year of struggle, and the challenges ahead.