Buhari Warns About Foreign Meddling As Nigeria Heads to Polls to Decide on Next President

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An estimated couple of thousand of people to “several thousand” marched on March 18 in downtown Washington D.C., calling for an end to the U.S. imperialist project that they hold responsible for 20 years of a “War on Terror” on millions of people. The weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

U.S. interference in the form of military invasions and other types of activities since 2001 have caused the global displacement of 38 million people and the death of at least 900,000 people, according to the Costs of War Project. Those are conservative estimates.

The demonstration aimed to link the lack of funding for people’s needs in the United States with the diversity of tactics the United States uses to perpetuate wars on people around the world.

“The proxy war in Ukraine has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives, plunged the world into crisis, and will cost the people of the U.S. at least $113 billion in public money,” Press TV reported. “Over the past year, Washington has supplied Ukraine with military equipment worth more than $50 billion, excluding other types of assistance worth tens of billions of dollars.

Rally speakers representing a diverse cross-cut of U.S. society, ranging from students and Filipino migrants, to internal U.S. colonies like African and Indigenous peoples, as well as Wikileaks Publisher Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, gathered in front of the White House for a 1 p.m. rally. Toward Freedom Board Secretary Jacqueline Luqman also spoke, which can be found here, here and here.

Then a mile-long march kicked off that stopped briefly at the Washington Post headquarters.

“The corporate media has decided to boycott the American ppl when they speak up against the war machine. CNN, NBC, ABC, all the corporate networks are just echo chambers for the Pentagon — nothing else.”

DC Rally @BrianBeckerDC #FundPeopleNotWar #NoUSWars pic.twitter.com/tOkitXWh6v

— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) March 18, 2023

Activists spoke out against the newspaper—now owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—because it spread information that helped build the U.S. government’s case for the invasion of Iraq. A U.S. Senate intelligence committee report later found the war was based on false information.

Happening now in front of the Washington Post: “Whether it’s the war at abroad or the war at home, you can count on the Washington Post to be a liar and a warmonger!” —@EugenePuryear pic.twitter.com/m6fi8aSvm7

— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslnational) March 18, 2023

“Thousands of anti-war protesters stretched for blocks without a corporate camera in sight yesterday,” tweeted independent journalist Chuck Modi, who has documented protests in Washington, D.C. “In pre-cell phone age, you wouldn’t even know it happened.”

“We are the people. The mighty mighty people!”

Thousands of Anti-War protesters stretched for blocks w/o a corporate camera in site yesterday. In pre-cell phone age, you wouldn’t even know it happened. #FundPeopleNotWar #NoUSWars #PeaceInUkraine pic.twitter.com/Slty82VVH3

— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) March 19, 2023

Activists on Saturday carried coffins wrapped in the flags of countries that the United States has either invaded over the past two decades or that the United States has helped fuel a conflict inside of through the shipment of arms and funds.

Growing numbers are condemning the US/NATO for fueling the war in Ukraine and blocking peace negotiations. On March 18, the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, protesters carried mock coffins to the White House and demanded “Money for People’s Needs, Not the War Machine” pic.twitter.com/gs3yrujlfK

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) March 20, 2023

More than 200 organizations demonstrated against the United States funding and arming the war in Ukraine, and called for the United States to not interfere in peace negotiations. They also spoke out against a possible military conflict with China and decried the U.S./EU sanctions regime that prevents food, fuel and medicine from reaching one-third of the world’s population.

Plus, the call was raised to close U.S. military bases around the world and U.S. military commands, such as AFRICOM. Some estimates have ranged from as little as 800 bases to thousands of bases, according to U.S. military veteran and psychologist Monisha Rios. She claimed at the International Women’s Alliance conference, held March 4-5 in Washington, D.C., that activists have used a figure based on a calculation that undercounts U.S. military installations.

People leading the march held banners that read, “Remember Iraq: No More Wars Based on Lies” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not War.”

‼️You definitely didn’t hear it on on Tucker Carlson or the Washington Post, but several thousand marched in DC this weekend against endless U.S. wars.

The peace movement is being reborn in the U.S. before our eyes. pic.twitter.com/WaD6CyIlRC

— Zeb Habash (@Habash_Zebulon) March 20, 2023

After the march, a teach-in was held at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, just a few blocks from the rally site. There, professor Noam Chomsky, as well as representatives from the U.S. colonies of Guam and Hawaii, gave remarks.

Activists like Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture of Philadelphia, a member of the Black Alliance for Peace, spoke out against the international wars as well as the domestic war on the people of the United States. That includes the most recent federal government move to eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to hungry families. “Roughly 60 percent of those households have children, and more than half include older people or adults with disabilities,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s editorial board writes.

“More and more ppl are against this war because their conditions are worsening. They’re cutting food stamps; it’s harder to pay rent; wages are stagnant. This must change. We must fight back!”

DC Anti-War Rally #PeaceInUkraine#FundPeopleNotWar #NoUSWars pic.twitter.com/KT5TXSNIc3

— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) March 18, 2023

 

The protest was noted for how it was led by people who bear the brunt of U.S. imperialism.

“When the interests and positions of colonized people are respected, the turnout to mobilizations look different,” tweeted the Black Alliance for Peace, an anti-imperialist organization led by African people in the United States. “Perhaps the March 18 demonstrations signal a shift is taking place: That an anti-imperialist movement led by young African and other colonized peoples is rising.”

When the interests and positions of colonized people are respected, the turnout to mobilizations look different. Perhaps the March 18 demonstrations signal a shift is taking place: That an anti-imperialist movement led by young African and other colonized peoples is rising. https://t.co/W2O8fHr8HU

— Black Alliance for Peace (@Blacks4Peace) March 20, 2023

Many commented that a renewed movement for peace was emerging with this demonstration. About 11 million people protested the U.S. invasion of Iraq 20 years ago. An ANSWER Coalition representative did not reply to this reporter in time to confirm the number of marchers on March 18.

Margaret Kimberley of @Blacks4Peace and @blkagendareport says we don't want to have to be here again in another 20 years saying no to war. End wars now! @freedomridebloghttps://t.co/0DAr3f2em5 pic.twitter.com/zizTODEXp9

— Popular Resistance (@PopResistance) March 18, 2023

“Here we are again, 20 years later, because imperialism persists,” Black Agenda Report Executive Editor Margaret Kimberley told activist group Popular Resistance. “As long as that is true, the location of the war will change, the people waging the war will change, but we will still have wars. Our goal is to end imperialism.”

WIKILEAKS: THE AFRICAN ANGLE

Julian Assange turns 52 today, although it's probably not one he's celebrating. The Wikileaks founder is spending a fourth year at Britain's Belmarsh prison and faces charges in the US for violating the Espionage Act. But for many, he’s an example of… pic.twitter.com/sUSewXwfo9

— African Stream (@african_stream) July 3, 2023

Julian Assange turns 52 today. The WikiLeaks founder is spending a fourth year at Britain’s Belmarsh prison and faces charges in the United States for violating the Espionage Act. But for many, he’s an example of a journalist punished for exposing shocking truths about governments and the rich and powerful. African Stream looks at his revelations on Africa.

CALÍ, Colombia—Former militant-turned-politician Gustavo Petro had sharp words for his flashy millionaire opponent, who is thought to have won votes among the Colombian youth because of his presence on a social media platform.

“You can’t combat corruption with phrases on TikTok,” Petro told a crowd on Sunday night in Bogotá. He referred to Rodolfo Hernández, 77, who ran his campaign on ending corruption based on his success in the construction industry.

During Sunday’s first round of the presidential election, Petro did not garner the 50 percent needed to avoid a second round on June 19. He won 40 percent of votes while Hernández received 28 percent. The first round attracted 47 percent of the country’s 39 million registered voters.

Hernández, who ran on the League of Anti-Corruption Governors ticket, has been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, both known for sex scandals and off-the-cuff remarks. However, what might help Hernández win the presidency is an alliance of right-wing and center-right candidates who had run in the first round. Competitors like right-wing Team for Colombia coalition candidate Federíco Gutiérrez and center-right-wing Hope Center coalition candidate Sergio Fajardo announced their support for Hernández in their concession speeches Sunday night.

Ajamu Baraka, an advisor to Francia Márquez, Petro’s vice-presidential running mate, said right-wing forces combined with systematic voter suppression through violence and intimidation will make it difficult for the Pacto Histórico ticket to pull off a win.

“Turnout is going to be key, but as we saw yesterday, there are areas where paramilitary forces intentionally prevented communities from voting,” he said. “Communities that—if they voted—they would have voted for the Historic Pact.”

AfroResistance, a group that advocates for Afro-descendant women and girls in the Americas, helped organize a 29-woman election observer delegation, the largest group of observers in the history of Colombia’s elections organized through Misión de Observación Electoral (Electoral Observation Mission). Half of the group observed the process in Calí, while the other half monitored in the predominantly Afro-descendant port city of Buenaventura.

Election observers founded irregularities in Buenaventura, where a 2017 civil strike shut down the country’s main port on the Pacific Ocean for 22 days.

Representatives from Pacto Histórico—the left-wing coalition Petro ran his campaign through—were kidnapped and disappeared from the polling site after the group of observers left. Parties were permitted to keep party observers at each voting station. After consulting with a Buenaventura-based observer, the observers decided to not return to the site to inquire. Election officials were not immediately available to comment to Toward Freedom.

Buenaventura is known for “chop houses,” buildings where paramilitaries have been known to cut adversaries’ bodies alive as a warning to others. Paramilitaries in Colombia have guarded for years the production and flow of drugs out of the country. Meanwhile, the United States has for 22 years poured $4.5 billion in the form of military training and arms into Colombia.

Voting appears to go smoothly in another voting station in Calí. Local activist Charo Mina Rojas (@renacientes) says many more people are voting, but fear of the repercussions for expressing opinions have kept campaign signage on cars and buildings to a minimum. #ColombiaDecide pic.twitter.com/Vf9ULHIcrm

— Toward Freedom (@TowardFreedom) May 29, 2022

Jemima Pierre, an AfroResistance delegation observer who represented the Black Alliance for Peace as the organization’s Haiti/Americas Coordinator, said polling stations in Calí were categorized on a range of one to six, with six representing the most affluent neighborhoods. She and her group of observers were assigned to visit polling stations that ranged between three and six. They noticed the more affluent neighborhoods contained biometric machines that checked voter identification cards.

“It seemed to me there was a correlation between class, color, access,” she said.

Charo Mina Rojas, a member of Proceso de Comunidades Negras, an alliance of Afro-descendant organizations in Colombia, said it’s normal for people to post signs of campaigns they support on their cars and homes. This year was different, though.

“It’s a lot more low-profile, low-key this time,” she said, adding she hadn’t heard people openly speaking about for whom they are voting. “It’s hard to know. I think some people feel afraid of saying who they are voting for because it’s so contested and kind of dangerous for some of us.”

Indeed, many voters declined to speak with this reporter outside a poll in Calí, citing their fear.

“People may be voting for a change, but keeping it quiet to keep safe,” Mina said after voting at a poll in Calí.

But some voters were happy to share their perspectives with Toward Freedom.

“[Change] depends on us. We have to stop what’s been happening for years,” said Jaime Rodriguez, 69, commenting on decades of paramilitary violence tied to the Colombian elites and U.S. control of the state. That’s why he said he voted for Petro. “The government meddles everywhere.”

Margarita Ramirez, a retired marketing firm researcher who spent her career traveling through urban and remote areas of the country, told Toward Freedom she voted for Petro.

“The situation of the people in the city is very different from the situation in the rural areas,” she said, describing her travels to Amazonian areas like Arauca, where she witnessed a mother with no food to feed her children breakfast. The World Bank states 35 percent of Colombians live in poverty. Only 69 percent of Colombians eat three meals per day. “Those people do not have access to electricity, to water, to education, to food. There is no dignity.”

Meanwhile, in the cities, house maids can work upwards of 13 hours a day, leaving their children to fend for themselves, said Ramirez, 59.

“Why don’t those people help those people’s children have access to shoes, to education?” she asked. “It’s time for a change.”

Julie Varughese is editor of Toward Freedom. She recently reported on Colombia’s presidential elections here and here.