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San Francisco: Thousands Protest the Iraq War •
UK: Thousands March to Demand Withdrawal of Troops from Iraq •
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Anti-War Fervor Fills the Streets
By Petula Dvorak
The Washington Post
Sunday 25 September 2005
Demonstration is largest in capital since
US
military invaded Iraq.
Tens of thousands of people packed downtown Washington yesterday and
marched past the White House in the largest show of antiwar sentiment
in the nation's capital since the conflict in Iraq began.
The demonstration drew grandmothers in wheelchairs and babies in
strollers, military veterans in fatigues and protest veterans in
tie-dye. It was the first time in a decade that protest groups had a
permit to march in front of the executive mansion, and, even though
President Bush was not there, the setting seemed to electrify the
crowd.
Signs, T-shirts, slogans and speeches outlined the cost of the Iraq
conflict in human as well as economic terms. They memorialized dead
U.S. troops and Iraqis, and contrasted the price of war with the price
of recovery for areas battered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Riffs on
Vietnam-era protests were plentiful, with messages declaring, "Make
Levees, Not War," "I never thought I'd miss Nixon" and "Iraq
is Arabic
for Vietnam." Many in the crowd had protested in the 1960s; others
weren't even born during those tumultuous years.
Protest organizers estimated that 300,000 people participated, triple
their original target. D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who walked
the march route, said the protesters achieved the goal of 100,000 and
probably exceeded it. Asked whether at least 150,000 showed up, the
chief said, "That's as good a guess as any.
"It's their protest, not mine. It was peaceful -- that's all I care
about," Ramsey said.
The protesters rallied at the Ellipse, then marched through a misty
drizzle around the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The
crowd thinned as events continued into the evening with a concert on
the grounds of the Washington Monument that featured Joan Baez and
other performers, along with antiwar speeches.
The police presence along the demonstration's route seemed more relaxed
than at recent protests, although D.C. police and U.S. Park Police had
hundreds of officers in place to deal with potential trouble. Police
said a construction fence was torn down and a newspaper box damaged,
but they reported no injuries or major problems. They said three people
were arrested -- one on a charge of destruction of property, one on a
charge of attempted theft and one on a charge of disorderly conduct.
More than 200 counter-demonstrators set up outside the FBI building on
Pennsylvania Avenue, and some back-and-forth yelling occurred as the
antiwar marchers moved past. "Shame on you! Shame on you!" one
counter-protester shouted at the antiwar group. Several dozen officers
stood between the two groups, and no trouble erupted, police said.
Some organizations supporting the war in Iraq plan to demonstrate today
on the Mall.
Antiwar groups staged smaller rallies yesterday in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Seattle, London, Rome and other cities. In Washington, the
events were sponsored by groups including the ANSWER Coalition and
United for Peace and Justice and focused on a succinct theme: "End the
War in Iraq and Bring the Troops Home Now."
Roughly 147,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq. Since the war began in March
2003, 1,911 U.S. members of the military have been killed and 14,641
have been wounded.
The protest groups helped organize caravans and carpools, and many
participants began arriving early in the morning after bumpy, all-night
bus rides.
Leslie Darling, 60, came from Cleveland with four friends and said it
was her first antiwar protest. She said she was moved by what happened
after Hurricane Katrina.
"It made clear that while we spend all this money trying to impose our
will on other countries, here at home in our own country, we can't take
care of each other," she said.
When the bus coming from Kalamazoo, Mich., pulled up to Freedom Plaza
on Pennsylvania Avenue, Sister Maureen Metty, 56, stretched her legs
and prepared for a brand-new experience.
"There were 250 sisters who wanted to be here today, but I'm the one
they chose to send," she said. She carried a sign that read "Sisters
of
St. Joseph's for Peace," a folding stool and a backpack with snacks,
her toothbrush and toothpaste. She snapped a flurry of pictures for the
sisters back home, took a deep breath and headed into the crowd.
People came to the Mall and Ellipse in waves. Organizers said that
several thousand never got there because of an Amtrak breakdown on the
New York-to-Washington line in the morning. Others who took Metro faced
delays because of repairs on the Yellow and Blue lines.
Once protesters arrived, they joined throngs headed toward the rally on
the Ellipse, which featured numerous speakers, including the Rev. Jesse
L. Jackson, actress Jessica Lange and Cindy Sheehan, the California
woman who drew thousands of demonstrators to her 26-day vigil outside
Bush's Crawford, Tex., ranch last month and was the inspiration for
many protesters yesterday. Her son, Casey, 24, was killed in Iraq last
year.
"This is amazing!" Sheehan said. "You're part of history."
Some of the biggest applause went to someone not even on the program.
Adam Hathaway, an 8-year-old who became lost while mingling in the
crowds. Before he was separated from his mother, Adam was showing
people his jar of pennies and proclaiming that "President Bush is
taking lots of this and using it in the war."
Several announcements were made seeking help in finding the blond boy
from Maine. He was reunited with his mother, Julia Hathaway, as the
crowd cheered.
Bush was not around to hear the protesters filing past the White House.
He spent the day at command centers in Texas and Colorado, where he
assessed Hurricane Rita recovery efforts. Vice President Cheney was
undergoing surgery at George Washington University Hospital to treat
aneurysms on the back of his knees.
Bush and Cheney were depicted on posters, T-shirts and in makeshift
costumes. Several demonstrators wore masks of Bush's likeness and
prison jumpsuits. They were often asked to pose for photographs.
Many protesters said they had opposed the action in Iraq all along but
were emboldened to demonstrate after polls showed that a majority of
Americans disapprove of Bush's handling of the war.
The masses on the street served up a broad cross section of the United
States by age, geography religion and ethnic group. The Raging
Grannies, Presbyterians for Peace, Portuguese Against Bush and a group
of Quakers were there. The Buddhist Peace Delegation took up most of
14th Street NW with its golden banner that read: "May all beings be
safe and free from anger, fear, greed, dilution and all ill being."
Protest organizers made special note of military participants in the
antiwar effort.
Army 1st Sgt. Frank Cookinham, with a Special Forces patch on one
shoulder, scorpion tattoos crawling across the back of his neck and
"LOCO" permanently inked on his Adam's apple stands out in most crowds.
He was pretty uncomfortable yesterday.
"I've never done this before, but here I am, in uniform, figuring this
is the only way I can shove it to Bush," said Cookinham, of Newport,
R.I., a Persian Gulf War veteran who recently returned from a second
tour in Iraq. "This war makes no sense."
Marching past the Treasury Building, Steven Olsen, 57, and his wife,
Brenda, 49, of Yonkers, N.Y., held signs bearing a photo of their son,
an Army Reserve sergeant sent to Iraq after enrolling in medical
school.
"I hear from him about once a month," said Brenda as her husband
gently
waved a placard that said, "Proud of my soldier: Ashamed of this war."
Staff writers Karlyn Barker, Jo Becker, Susan Levine, David Nakamura,
Robert E. Pierre, Amit R. Paley and Del Quentin Wilber contributed to
this report.
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Thousands Protest the Iraq War
By Kathleen Sullivan, Chris Heredia, Janine DeFao and Todd Wallack
The San Francisco Chronicle
Saturday 24 September 2005
SF also crowded with Love Parade
revelers.
Tens of thousands of people marched in San Francisco and the East Bay
today to urge the U.S. government to pull out of Iraq, joining anti-war
protests in Washington and other cities.
Elsewhere in the city, thousands of people grooved to the sound of
electronic music along Market Street and at Civic Center Plaza. And
tonight, thousands more are expected to rock-out at SBC Park to Green
Day, the celebrity punk band born in Berkeley.
Police estimated 20,000 people marched today. Organizers pegged the
crowd at 50,000. Either way, it was one of the largest anti-war protests
since the U.S. invaded Iraq two years ago. Protesters gathered in San
Francisco's Dolores Park this morning, then marched for two hours to
Jefferson Square Park, where the park was jammed with a standing room
only crowd of bodies.
As they marched, people carried signs expressing outrage at everything
from the war in Iraq to President Bush to the treatment of Palestinians.
One man, dressed as Uncle Sam, carried an American flag with a peace sign.
A sixth-grader from San Jose held a handmade sign that said "No war ever
more" on one side and "No war anymore" on the other. "I
am going to be a
conscientious objector," said Dominic Dello Bueno, 11, who was
there
with his father and younger sister. "I vote for peace not war."
Some
participants said they have been actively protesting the war for months
or years.
"I write letters," said Isabelle Corkins, 47, of Alameda,
who with her
husband and 4-year-old daughter. "This is the only thing left that gives
me a sense of doing something."
A student from Laney College in Oakland prepared to help carry a
procession of black coffins, built to represent Iraqi children who have
died in the conflict.
"The idea is that we will stop protesting just because the war is
continuing, but we won't," said Maryjane Jota, 20. "Just
because it's
old news, doesn't mean that it's old news to the people who are
dying."
Douglas Fisher, 61, held a large rainbow flag that said "Peace"
in
Italian. He said he got the flag in Sicily, and has taken part in
several peace marches to oppose the war.
"Somebody said it was a great day for a march," he said.
"I was
thinking it would be great if we didn't have to come down here anymore."
Along a grassy median on Dolores Street, people set up 40 large placards
marking casualties from the war. Each poster carried 60 photos and
drawings, representing American soldiers and Iraqi citizens who have
been killed in the conflict. (The U.S. military estimates that at least
1,900 soliders have died, and thousands more have been wounded in Iraq.)
Jim Haber, 43, said the posters were designed to "show the human cost
of
the war." At least a half dozen counter-protesters, including a group
of
college Republicans from San Francisco State University, turned out to
the military effort in Iraq.
One held a handmade sign that said "Hey, losers. Stop demoralizing the
troops."
Another said he thinks the U.S. military will need to remain in Iraq for
years to help the country establish a democracy. He said he thought most
of the protesters were radicals who wanted to overthrow the U.S. government.
"There is a different way to peace," said Leigh Wolf, a
19-year-old
broadcast major. "This work can come to an end with patriotism instead
of a socialist revolution."
By late afternoon, the crowd at Jefferson Park had thinned considerably.
A smaller protest was also held in Walnut Creek, where about 250 to 300
people marched from the city's Bart station to Heather Farms Park.
The demonstration drew a wide range of people - from seniors to kids-
holding peace signs. Many drivers honked noisily as they drove by
marchers on Ignacio Valley Road, though some gave a thumbs down sign or
a middle finger.
A 52-year-old lawyer said he joined the protest because of her outrage
at the federal government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.
Faith Brewer said she thought the problem was exacerbated because too
many resources were diverted to Iraq.
"Too many people died in New Orleans, because of the war in Iraq,"
she
said.
Brewer said she was particularly motivated to march in Walnut Creek, her
hometown, because it's considered a more conservative city in the
liberal region.
"People tend to think that nobody here is against the war in Iraq -
that
all the leftist, peaceniks are in San Francisco," she said.
Others held signs supporting peace and a pull-out of Iraq. On said "Moms
against the War." Another read, "Bring the troops home now."
A third
said "Peace is Patriotic." Unlike some other war protests, the focus
appeared to be squarely on Iraq.
Sondra Runyan, who has a daughter in the Coast Guard, said she worried
that Americans have become inured to the news of soldiers dying in Iraq.
"It seems when you turn on the radio, they mention we lost two or three
soldiers, and then they're off to the sports scores," said
Runyan, 47,
of Martinez. "People are immune to the pain these families are going
through. This is destroying families."
Contra Costa County Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier, who attended the rally,
said he plans to propose a resolution next month in support of
Congressional legislation to set a deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from
Iraq.
"I don't see this as being out of mainstream," DeSaulnier
said, as he
looked over the crowd . "It may be the tip of the iceberg."
"If enough local elected speak out, we could be saving lives,"
he added.
The Walnut Creek rally ended peacefully at about 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, thousands of electronic music lovers gathered along Market
Street for the 1 p.m. start of the city's second annual Loveparade.
The parade, featuring 24 floats with more than 200 disc jockeys from as
far away as Israel, was expected to head slowly along Market Street,
ending in a massive dance party at City Hall and the surrounding Civic
Center Plaza.
An estimated 30,000 to 35,000 people showed up for the festival last
year, and organizers hope to double that tally this year.
Though precise crowd estimates weren't available, the sidewalks were
packed 12-people deep in some places along Market Street as dance party
regulars mixed with tourists. "Can you feel the love? It's contagious,"
said Brian Tene, 27, of Daly City, dressed in a Superman outfit,
complete with a red cape and sculpted foam chest. "Look at everyone
being themselves and being free."
Loveparade was first launched in Berlin in 1989, with the idea that
techno music would help bridge the cultures of East and West Berlin
after the fall of the Berlin Wall. While the Berlin event is now
defunct, other Loveparades had popped up around the globe, including
Mexico City and Tel Aviv.
The San Francisco event - which includes not only Euro-inspired techno
music but hip hop, house, jungle, funk, progressive and trance music -
has continued the theme that music celebrates diversity, promotes
tolerance and fosters community.
"The music sort of joins everyone together," said parade spokeswoman
Jennifer Manger. "If we can put all the music in one place, we can join
those subcultures together in a community of love."
The Green Day concert was expected to begin at 7 p.m., ensuring traffic
snarls would continue throughout the day. A BART commuter reported
trains were jammed.
Go to Original
Thousands March to Demand Withdrawal of Troops from Iraq
By Tom Anderson
The Independent UK
Sunday 25 September 2005
More than 10,000 protesters descended on London yesterday for a mass
demonstration against the war in Iraq.
Many of the protesters, who marched from Parliament Square to Hyde Park
blowing whistles and carrying placards, were demanding the immediate
withdrawal of British troops.
Buses were used to bring people from all over Britain to join the
demonstration, organised by the Stop the War Coalition.
Scotland Yard estimated that crowds had swollen to 10,000 people by the
time the march reached Hyde Park in the early afternoon, although
organisers put the numbers at up to 100,000. Other marches were planned
for the United States.
Andrew Murray, chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, said people were
marching to show their solidarity with Muslims bearing "the brunt of
attacks" in Iraq.
He told the crowd: "We cannot say how many are here, but there are
certainly tens of thousands from all over the country marching above all
to bring the troops home from Iraq and end the bloody disastrous
occupation."
The former Labour MP Tony Benn, who also took part in the demonstration,
described the war as "unwinnable" and said it had been waged "for
oil
and power".
"We demand that troops come out of Iraq and that a date is set now,"
he
said.
The demonstration, which was the 12th to be held over the past few
years, began outside the Houses of Parliament where protests have been
banned under new laws.
Peter Brierley, from Batley in West Yorkshire, whose son Shaun, 28, died
in Kuwait in 2003, said: "My son was betrayed by Blair. If the
Government do not bring them out, there will be more families like us."
For Sue Smith, who lost her son in a roadside explosion in Basra two
months ago, the day was highly emotional. She choked back tears as she
read out a letter delivered to Downing Street earlier yesterday, begging
Tony Blair to withdraw British troops.
"Seven weeks ago we saw our son for the last time in a coffin at the
chapel of rest," she said.
"You can never know how it feels, but you have the power to stop it
happening again. You made the decision to go to Iraq and you can make
the decision to get our sons and daughters out of there."
British soldier Lance Corporal George Solomou, who refused his call-up
to serve in Iraq, was near the front of the protest as it made its way
to Trafalgar Square and on to Hyde Park.
He said: "I am here to show my solidarity. The British people are
realising they have been told more and more lies about this war."
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