fyi

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Media Workers Against The War (MWAW)
> http://www.mwaw.org
>
> NEWS RELEASE: Sunday 10 February 2002
>
> *  Fight the fiction: Black Hawk Down protest
>
> *  7pm, Wednesday 13 February, Empire Cinema, Leicester Square
>
> * NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION AGAINST BOMBING AFGHANISTAN
>
>  Saturday 2nd March 2002 - 1pm Hyde Park, London
>
> Media Workers Against the War (MWAW) has called for a protest on Wednesday
> against the movie Black Hawk Down, set to become one of the biggest
> Hollywood hits of all time.
>
> "The film Black Hawk Down is a grotesque misrepresentation of a grim
> truth,"
> said a MWAW spokesperson.
>
> "Thousands of Somalis, two-thirds women and children, lost their lives in
> the course of US and UN 'humanitarian' incursions into the country. The
> film
> focuses on 18 trained US military fighters who died during a bungled raid.
> Black Hawk Down was made in consultation with the Pentagon and its release
> is timed to buoy up support for the aggressive, unilateral US military
> agenda currently threatening world stability.
>
> "Even the most prudent of critics have suggested the film is a racist
> portrayal and makes for uncomfortable viewing. Media Workers Against War
> invites everyone to join a condemnation of this brutal depiction of
> fiction
> as fact. Never again should a world watch silent as millions of dollars
> are
> spent to glorify a slaughter of the poor."
>
> Assemble at the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square, 7pm, Wednesday February
> 13.
> More information can be found on the MWAW website.
>  http://www.mwaw.org
>
> NOTES:
>
> 1) US attack on Somalia:
> *  Between 6,000 and 10,000 Somalis were killed by US and UN troops from
> 1993 to 1995, according to UN figures.
> *  The entire Somali population receives $191m aid per year; this film's
> budget was $120m.
> *  Mohammed Farrah Aideed was hostile to US oil interests protected by his
> predecessor Siad Barre, ousted in 1991.
> *  The 1993 'humanitarian mission' was a pretence. Famine was abating,
> peace
> talks between warlords had begun. Instead of promoting peace, the US armed
> rival factions, refuelling a partisan war which was still continuing when
> the UN withdrew in 1995.
> *  This film pays a personal tribute to all 18 US soldiers killed. None of
> the Somali dead or wounded are named.
> *  According to The New York Times, this film 'converts the Somalis into a
> pack of snarling dark skinned beasts - intended or not, it reeks of glumly
> staged racism.'
> *  In October 2001, Hollywood declared itself committed to new initiatives
> in support of the war on terrorism. This film was made in consultation
> with
> the Pentagon.
> *  Somalia has been named by US officials as one of the potential future
> targets in the ongoing war on terrorism.
>
> 2) NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION AGAINST CONTINUING MILITARY ACTION IN
> AFGHANISTAN
> Saturday 2nd March 2002 - 1pm Hyde Park, London
>
>
>
> ____________________________
> Pete North
> Local Economy Policy Unit
> 202 Wandsworth Road
> London SW8 2JZ
> 020 7815 7706
>
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