GPA Attends the Earth Day Celebration and Peace Walk

On April 23^rd we joined a Peace Walk Coalition, at Clarke Park in Vancouver–With the breakout of war between Russia and Ukraine, and the escalatory measures taken by Canada and the US/NATO, both since and prior to this onset, the calls for peace and demilitarization are as important as ever. While this conflict has been at the forefront of recent anti-war action, it is by no means the only conflict which calls for peace and solidarity. From the genocides carried out against the people of Palestine and Yemen, the violence and unrest unfolding in Sudan and Columbia, to the military occupations of islands across the Pacific, these are only a few of the many conflicts afflicting our world today. It is not only the burden of war itself that must be called out, but the threats that militarism poses to the environment. These threats range from the direct destruction of the environment and wildlife, pollution tied to the operation and maintenance of military vehicles and armaments, to the ever-pressing danger of a nuclear exchange on any scale. All that said, the demands of this year’s Walk For Peace hopes to attract a broader peace audience, while still putting forward substantive solutions that would help realize a credible Canadian peace policy.

Our main calls to action are as follows: • Oppose purchase of new fighter jets • Reduce military spending, reinvest into social needs and environmental protection • End to all sanctions against all countries • Canada out of NATO • End to all Canadian exports of weapons and military hardware • Inclusion of military emissions as part of carbon footprint reduction targets • Sign and ratify the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons • Advocate for international cooperation over a new Cold War and avoid world war • Withdrawal of all foreign troops from Ukraine and call for ceasefire and negotiated settlement.

Coalition:

Campaign to Defend People’s Struggle in
Iran-Vancouver
Canada-Philippines Human Rights Sol.
Canadian Cuban Friendship Association
Center for Socialist Education
Coalition against Bigotry
Fraser Valley Peace Council
Frente para la Defensa Hugo Chavez
Global Peace Alliance, Surrey Society
Just Peace Committee
People’s Voice
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity
Solidarity Notes Labour Choir
Vancouver Peace Council
Vancouver Peace Poppies
Vancouver Quakers
Venezuela Peace & Solidarity Committee
Women’s International League of Peace
& Freedom
World Beyond War
Young Communist League