United National Antiwar Coalition

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United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is a "peace" coalition dominated by the Workers World Party.

Leadership

The names and organizations of the people on the UNAC administrative committee are below:

April 2024 Conference

The "UNAC Conference 2024: Decolonization and the Fight Against Imperialism" conference From the United National Antiwar Coalition website as of March 21, 2024:[2],[3],

"There will be a number of speakers at the conference most from UNAC member groups, friends of UNAC and important people in the movement. However, the conference is for all of us and there will be ample opportunity for all who attend to speak in the workshop and panels and to network with other people and groups.

Some of the speakers will include

Participants

From the United National Antiwar Coalition website as of March 21, 2024:[4]

From FightBack News:

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Over 400 anti-war activists attended a three day conference organized by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) from April 5-7. The conference was held in Saint Paul with the theme “Decolonization and the Fight against Imperialism.”
Topics of the panels ranged from the U.S./NATO war in Ukraine, climate justice, sanctions, the U.S. encirclement of China, the struggle against U.S. imperialism in Africa, and organizing in solidarity with Palestine and its heroic resistance to Zionist occupation.
Friday night’s opening plenary from the Twin Cities Free Palestine Coalition highlighted the diverse support for Palestine from local movements of immigrants’ rights, labor, students, community control of the police, anti-war and Muslim organizations.
Cassia Laham of the UNAC administrative committee explained, “It was so inspiring to hear from leaders of the grassroots movements on the ground. Hearing from their firsthand experience leading and organizing mass mobilizations on behalf of the Palestinian cause was inspiring for all aspiring and current activists. Their analysis of the present resistance to genocide and occupation and they're hopefulness for a free Palestine left the audience filled with hope as well.”
Saturday morning’s plenary saw Husam Marajda from U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and Taher Herzallah from American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) condemn Israel's genocide in Gaza and its terror campaign throughout occupied Palestine.
Meredith Aby, an activist with the MN Anti-War Committee stated, “It was helpful to have Marajda and Herzallah give us their analysis about Israel’s attacks on Palestine and the tasks of the movement. Many of us in the room have been organizing protest after protest, week after week, so it was helpful to take the time to hear serious analysis of the regional and U.S. domestic impact of Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians.”
The conference hosted a special international guest, the Nicaraguan ambassador to the U.S., Lautaro Sandino. He spoke about the numerous gains in improved livelihood and economic development the Sandinista government and Nicaraguan people have achieved in the face of U.S. intervention and sanctions.
Audari Tamayo, co-chair of University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, said after the panel, “Recalling his time as a guerrilla in the mountains, Lautaro Sandino, the Nicaraguan ambassador, urged us to resist and mobilize, and if we get tired, to mobilize again. Ambassador Sandino reminded us that creating change is no easy task and requires utmost effort, a sentiment shared by revolutionaries from around the world who dared to struggle and won. Nicaragua has stood proud in the fight against imperialism, and we will take the lessons learned by those who have been on the front lines and never get tired of mobilizing!”
Saturday afternoon's workshop on Palestine solidarity organizing across the U.S. shared stories from seven different cities. Organizers from Dallas-Fort Worth, New Orleans, Grand Rapids, Denver, Milwaukee, Tucson and Minneapolis discussed the successes and challenges in building mass movements in solidarity with Palestine.
“We are working to strengthen the Palestine solidarity movement by finding dynamic ways to organize in support for the united front of the Palestinian resistance,” explained Emerson Wolfe of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids.
As other presenters covered topics on stopping Cop Cities, banning nuclear weapons, and explaining the U.S. imperial maneuvers to encircle and provoke a war with China, a plenary on defeating repression rounded out the program on Saturday.
“As Dallas-Fort Worth Anti-War Committee members are facing charges for our work, it was very relevant to hear from people like the Anti-War 23 grand jury resisters and the Uhuru Movement members fighting back against political repression and to directly ask their advice,” explained Jo Hargis, of the Dallas-Fort Worth Anti-War Committee (DAWC).
The conference proved to be a consolidating moment for a movement that has seen a massive influx of young people from diverse backgrounds since October 2023, when Israel’s latest aggression on Gaza began. A unity resolution passed by the conference on its final day pledged to continue building protests in the streets for Palestine along with all countries targeted by U.S. imperialism and its proxies.
Conference attendees also unanimously agreed to support related progressive causes like immigrant rights, the fight against racist policing and militarized occupation inside U.S. borders, and freeing political prisoners.[5]

Odessa visit

Three members of UNAC’S delegation traveled to Odessa on the Black Sea to help monitor the May 2, 2016 memorial in Kulikovo Square. The delegation included three brave comrades Bruce Gagnon, who coordinates a global network opposing nuclear weapons in space; Phil Wilayto, editor of The Virginia Defender newspaper: and Regis Tremblay, an independent documentary filmmaker who will be producing a video about this issue. Both Bruce and Regis are members of Veterans for Peace. All three of them are affiliated with the United National Antiwar Coalition.

The coordinator and the leader of UNAC, Joe Lombardo, kept the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia informed about the delegation’s historical visit to Odessa and all the details of the memorial. We are willing to share their report with all our comrades and colleagues around the globe.

“Comment from Phil Wilayto:

I was at the memorial today outside the locked gates of Kulikovo Square. There were three of us in a delegation sponsored by the United National Antiwar Coalition to monitor and report on the memorial. Other monitors came from about 10 European countries…

Report of May 2 events from Bruce Gagnon:

Many feared that there would be more violence in Odessa, Ukraine yesterday similar to what took well over 50 lives on May 2, 2014. But in fact the day was peaceful when up to 10,000 people gathered near the Trades Union Hall to place flowers and stand with the Mothers Committee in a make shift memorial. The public was blocked from having direct contact with the Trades Hall by huge numbers of local police, national security services and fully armed neo-Nazi Azov battalion members who have been incorporated into the newly formed ‘National Guard’ in Ukraine (equipped and trained by US Special Forces troops at a base in western Ukraine)…

Phil Wilayto on his way to the European Union meeting with head of Mothers Committee from Odessa:

I’ve left Odessa and will be in Brussels tomorrow. The president of the Mothers’ Council on May 2 is scheduled to make a formal presentation about the May 2 memorial to a committee of the European Parliament. I’ve been asked to add my impressions and also report on UNAC’S Odessa Solidarity Campaign. What is happening in Ukraine today is critical to political developments in Eastern and Southern Europe, and developments there will go on to affect the rest of the world. Odessa is the real thing: a modern-day struggle against the re-emergence of fascism. And yesterday’s turnout of thousands of Odessans in defiance of the fascist threats, official attempts at disruption and media hysteria defeated the best efforts of the extreme right-wing forces to terrorize the brave people of Odessa into submission. It was such a privilege to be there. I’ll be looking for friends and allies to help in this ongoing campaign.[6]

Right of Peoples to Self-Determination and Building a Multipolar World

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December 2014 - "As US/NATO aggression towards Russia increases", five leaders from the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) attended an antiwar conference in Moscow, Right of Peoples to Self-Determination and Building a Multipolar World. We were invited by the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia. The five UNAC members who attended the conference were Margaret Kimberley of Black Agenda Report and the UNAC Administrative Committee; Joe Iosbaker of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, the Rasmea Odeh defense campaign and the UNAC Administrative Committee; Bill Dores of the International Action Center: women's rights activist, Mo Hannah; and UNAC Co-Coordinator, Joe Lombardo.[7]

Delegation.jpg

On December 16, the delegation of U.S. anti-war activists met with the Embassy of the State of Palestine Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Dr. Faed Mustafa. Ambassador Mustafa agreed to the meeting after a request was made by the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, the hosts of the international conference of anti-war forces.

The delegation that met with the ambassador included Joe Lombardo, co-chair of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), Bill Dores of the International Action Center and UNAC and Mo Hannah, also a member of UNAC and Joe Iosbaker.[8]

References

  1. ↑ [Chttps://www.unacpeace.org/about.html, UNAC administrative committee]
  2. ↑ Speakers (accessed March 21, 2024)
  3. ↑ UNAC Conference 2024 Decolonization and the Fight Against Imperialism (accessed March 21, 2024)
  4. ↑ Participants (accessed March 21, 2024)
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ comrades from UNAC visited the memorial in Odessa on 2 May, 2016
  7. ↑ [ http://nepajac.org/rusrpt1.html, Report on UNAC's trip to Russia Joe Lombardo]
  8. ↑ FightBack News U.S. anti-war activists in Moscow, meet with Palestinian ambassador to Russia By Joe Iosbaker | December 16, 2014
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