North Star Republic

Thousands to March to the G20 Summit to Bring the Peoples’ Demands:

Money for Human Needs, Not for Wars and Occupations – Environmental Justice for the Earth and its Inhabitant – Jobs and Health Care for All

WHAT: Permitted rally and “Peoples’ March” to G20 Summit

WHO: Thomas Merton Center Antiwar Committee and 40+ endorsing groups

WHEN: Friday, September 25, 2009, 12:00pm - 5pm (opening rally starts at 12:00pm)

WHERE: The plans for Friday are:

· 12:00 pm – Opening Rally at the corner of Fifth and Craft Avenues in Oakland.

· 2:00pm – Protestors will march down Fifth Avenue to the City County Building Downtown for a speak-out.

· 3:00pm – They will march down Grant St. to the Federal Building for another speak-out.

· 3:30pm – They will march down 10th St. to a block from the G20 and then conclude the march.

At least three feeder marches are being organized to join the march along the route.

Angry at the lack of opportunity for public input at the upcoming G20 Summit and the escalating global economic and environmental crises, the Thomas Merton Center and its Antiwar Committee are organizing a permitted march to make sure the peoples’ demands are heard. “Anyone who has lost a job, a home, a loved one to war, lost value to a retirement plan, gotten sick from environmental pollution, or lived without adequate healthcare, water, or food has been directly affected by policies set by the G20 and should join us on Sept. 25th,” said Jessica Banner of the Antiwar Committee. Thousands of people from around the nation are expected to participate in the Peoples’ March.

“We have the right to be seen, heard, and considered,” said Pete Shell of the Antiwar Committee. Although the Merton Center applied for a permit, the City has responded by saying that they can’t guarantee the group’s right to march because the Secret Service will be taking over the event. “We call on the city to defend our right to march to a block from the convention center on Friday, and to use Point State Park for the week of the summit. We want the world to see that Pittsburgh is a place where democracy is practiced and the right to assemble and dissent is allowed.”

Dr. Regina Birchem, a resident of Irwin, PA and former President of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), notes that, “Though the G20 documents from past meetings have acknowledged the inequalities and the many who suffer and die of starvation, the world leaders’ policies of exploitation and exclusion continue. The agenda of accumulation of resources and wealth is protected with enormous military expenditures and increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies.” WILPF – U.S. Section is an endorser of the march.

Many march organizers are motivated by their opposition to the economic and military policies that continue to protect large profits instead of affording people their basic needs and rights. “The Democrats have sold us out, again. The only thing Obama’s kept his promise on is expanding the losing war in Afghanistan,” said Albert Petrarca of Pittsburgh. “We need to re-build the mass movements and it starts with the G20 in Pittsburgh,” he continued. The Antiwar Committee invites all people of Pittsburgh and beyond to nonviolently bring its demands to the summit by joining the Peoples’ March on September 25.

Endorsed by the North Star Republic.

Additional Info:

www.pittsburghendthewar.org – TMC Antiwar Committee web site

http://g20media.org – Merton Center G20 media web site

www.ThomasMertonCenter.org – Thomas Merton Center web site