n a well attended press conference, the activists Medea Benjamin from Code Pink, Global Exchange and United for Peace and Justice, Cindy Sheehan from Gold Star Families for Peace, Fernando Suárez from Guerrero Azteca Project and the concientious objector Pablo Paredes made a unitary call for the end of the war against Iraq. The common thread of all the interventions was to clarify that inside the United States (US) there is a strong movement against the war. Also, they noted that this movement is being influenced by the struggles and the success of the social movements in Latin America.

Medea Benjamin noted the importance that women have played in the movement for peace in the US, emphasizing the role that Code Pink has had in calling for massive demonstrations, in conjonction with the coalition United for Peace and Justice. She also indicated that massive demonstrations will be held in March in New York and other cities to conmemorate the three years of the start of the war. "In reality, this movement is so big, that even with the lies of the Bush administration, even with the lies of the corporate media, we, the anti-war people, now represent the mayority of the public opinion in the US." clarified Medea.

On the other hand, Fernando Suárez del Solar narrated his experience of having lost a son to the Iraq war on March 27 of 2003, becoming the first mexican to die in iraqi soil. He also made clear that his son was doing his job and the he knew the risks that were involved in fighting a war but he pointed out that the killing of Iraqi children is unacceptable and inmoral. Fernando put out a call to put aside the weapons and instead to pick up books to better educate ourselves.

Pablo Paredes, Ecuadorian and Puerto Rican, former soldier in the US Army, declined to fight in the current war against Iraq when he was called to duty. Pablo emphasized the loss of the culture and the history of Latinos in the US. He lamented the fact that the corporate media does not report the reality of the events that go against the norm of the goverments.

The recognized American activist Cindy Sheehan, after apologizing for her lack of knowledge in Spanish, stressed that it is important for Americans to affect in the decisions that the goverment takes, specifically those that signify the loss of life of other peoples. She specified that the American people have the right to fire those public administrators who go against the sentiment of the majority of the population. Cindy Sheehan mentioned the fact the on January 24th of 2006, 5 American soldiers died in Irak, but that for every soldier around 30 to 50 Iraqis also die.

"We have to transform the military economies of our countries, into economies of peace. Every person in this world must feel secure, fed, dressed and housed. No country should have more, and we must share what we have with the world." declared Sheehan at the end of her intervention.

All the activists shared that the resurgence of the social movements in all of Latin America are giving strength to the movement in the US, and even more, they feel that the movements in the South are a point of reference in the different struggles. They also made a call to keep fighting until and after the end of the war.