>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: PROTESTS AGAINST WAR >Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 14:45:29 EST > >FYI. >As usual, the number of marchers are under-reported by the press, but other >reliable sources will come up with teh right figures in a few days I am sure. > > >WASHINGTON (Jan. 18) - Protesters rallied by the thousands in the bitter cold >of Washington on Saturday and in capitals worldwide in a passionate show of >dissent against war with Iraq. The cry ``No blood for oil'' echoed from >America's National Mall to the streets of Pakistan. > >A rally outside the Capitol, followed by a march to a naval yard, anchored >the demonstrations and brought spirited masses together to declare America >the ``Rogue Nation,'' as one sign put it. > >``We stand here today, a new generation of anti-war activists,'' Peta Lindsay >from International Answer, the main organizers, exhorted the national rally. >``This is just beginning. We will stop this war.'' > >Festive face paint adorned some in the crowd but wool hats were pulled down >low and parkas were closely gathered against temperatures that edged up from >the teens. Buses idled with heaters on and protesters occasionally darted >inside for a warm spell before rejoining the rally. > >``We don't want this war and we don't want a government that wants this >war,'' said Brenda Stokely, a New York City labor activist. > >A sign demanded, ``Disarm Bush''; the crowd chanted, ``No war on Iraq.'' > >Activists invoked the nonviolent legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on the long >weekend that marks the civil rights leader's birthday, and booed President >Bush, who was at Camp David, Md. > >``Mr. Bush hung Dr. King's picture up in the White House last year but he >need to hang up Dr. King's words,'' said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a Democratic >presidential candidate. > >``In Iraq today there are weapons inspectors, but here on the west side of >the Capitol are the moral inspectors,'' he said, referring to a bulk of the >demonstrators. ``We're inspecting the immoral policies that said, 'No, we >can't find the weapons in Iraq, we want to go to war.''' > >As with any big Washington rally, the main cause made room for other causes. > >``Free Palestine'' was one of them. Racism and genocide were others. > >``The underlying motives for this government's actions have always been greed >and racism,'' said Moonanum James of United American Indians of New England. > >``In the spirit of Dr. King, in the spirit of Crazy Horse,'' he said, ``no >blood for oil.'' > >A major demonstration also was planned in San Francisco, and activists >elsewhere. For many, the imperative was to come to Washington. > >In Lansing, Mich., several hundred people met at a church before marching 20 >blocks to the state Capitol. ``It's just great enthusiasm here, and a great >spirit of peacemaking,'' said the Rev. Fred Thelen from Cristo Rey Catholic >Church. Signs said: ``Peace is Patriotic'' and ``Iraqis are not evil.'' > >Demonstrators also staged peace rallies worldwide, events that typically drew >hundreds or fewer. > >But 5,000 people marched through downtown Tokyo, carrying toy guns filled >with flowers and wearing face masks that parodied Bush. The crowd, made up >largely of students and laborers, was orderly. > >Larry Holmes, speaking for organizers of the Washington rally, said >protesters everywhere sense war is close. > >``It seems like it has a momentum and a sense of inevitability, and so we're >rushing against the clock,'' he said. ``So as they send the troops there and >surround Iraq, we're sending the troops into the streets of Washington, D.C., >so to speak.'' > >Three dozen people turned out by the Vietnam War Memorial to show support for >President Bush's policy on Iraq and offer a contrary voice to the blitz of >demonstrations. > >``The protesters don't understand the threat'' of Iraqi President Saddam >Hussein, said Scott Johnson, 55, a Navy veteran from Minneapolis. ``It's a >war of liberation for people.'' > >Police said they had been assured the main rally and march, from the National >Mall, around the Capitol, past Marine barracks and to the Washington Navy >Yard, would stay peaceful. > >Overseas, 60 protesters in Hong Kong shouted, ``War, no,'' and in Pakistan, >the familiar refrain ``No blood for oil'' rang out - a refrain that accuses >America of wanting to attack Iraq only to control its oil wealth. > >Several hundred people tried to march on the U.S. consulate in Lahore, but >Pakistani authorities held the crowd back. Six were allowed to deliver an >appeal to American officials to spare Iraqis from war. > >More than 400 New Zealanders demonstrated in Christchurch. In Moscow, a few >hundred people agitated outside the U.S. Embassy in a protest organized by a >branch of the Communist Party. People turned their backs to the building, and >signs called the United States a ``Global Cannibal.'' > >In the Syrian capital, Damascus, thousands marched with a message that was >not all about peace. Many cried, ``Our beloved Saddam, strike Tel Aviv,'' in >celebration of Iraq's missile thrusts against Israel during the 1991 Gulf War >and in hope Saddam would strike again. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians >rallied under the same slogan. > >In Washington, demonstrators hoped the weekend protests and more ahead would >win over an American public that is unsettled by the prospect of an Iraq war >yet supportive of Bush's leadership. > >01/18/03 12:47 EST > >Copyright 2003 The Associated Press > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~