Antiwar protests open in D.C.
Organizer: 220 cities represented in Washington
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Demonstrations planned for many parts of the country got under way Saturday morning in the nation's capital as thousands gathered to protest the Bush administration's preparations for a possible attack on Iraq.
Scheduled participants at the Washington event include Hollywood celebrities, politicians, labor union leaders, religious leaders and civil rights activists, all invoking the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. the weekend before the national holiday in his honor. Notable names include Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Lange, former "M*A*S*H" TV actor Mike Farrell, the Rev. Jesse Jackson. the Rev. Al Sharpton and disabled and decorated Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic."You will be a part of an extraordinary moment in this country's history," Kovic said during his speech from the stage at midday. Kovic's autobiography, "Born on the Fourth of July," became a successful Hollywood film. In his comments Saturday, he predicted that the peace movement would successfully prevent an Iraqi war.
Kovic's speech was followed by chants of "No blood for oil! No blood for oil!"
One protester held a sign that depicted King and read "I have a dream!" The sign's opposite side showed President Bush and read "I have a nightmare."
The U.S. protests coincide with international demonstrations that began Saturday in New Zealand and were scheduled for Germany, England and other spots.
President Bush has threatened military action against Iraq if it refuses to abide by United Nations resolutions calling for it to disarm itself of alleged weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad has repeatedly denied possessing such weapons -- chemical, nuclear or biological.
Brian Becker, co-director of the International Action Center, said U.N. Resolution 1441, which requires Iraq to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction, is "a diplomatic fig leaf to serve for this administration and as a trigger to war."
Becker said people from 220 cities nationwide have committed to attending the demonstrations.
Demonstrators -- who converged at the Capitol -- planned to march to the Washington Navy Yard, a military installation in Southeast Washington.
In San Francisco, California, where organizers predicted a turnout of about 50,000 protesters, the day's events begin at 11 a.m. (2 p.m. EST) with a march from the waterfront down Market Street in the heart of the city to the Civic Center.
"We are marching to embrace the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday," said a Web site for the organizer, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER).
"This is not the first time that a government that seeks to carry out wars of aggression has lied to the people about the nature of that war," it said.
"There is no way to drown out the voices of so many," said Mara Verhaden-Hillard, a spokeswoman for ANSWER. "George Bush has said that he intends to launch a pre-possible military action Bush has threatened against Iraq if it refuses to abide by United Nations resolutions calling for it to disarm itself of alleged weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad has repeatedly denied possessing such weapons -- chemical, nuclear or biological pre-emptive war, and now he's facing the most formidable obstacle, which is a pre-emptive antiwar movement. That is what will restrain the government of the United States."
A white-haired woman who identified herself as a Republican said she, too, was planning to join the protesters.
"The antiwar movement is not just a bunch of left-wing radicals," she said. "There are many, many sensible people who are opposed to this war for sensible reasons."
The woman said she did not believe Bush's contention that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- which that country contends it does not have -- pose an international threat.
"Personally, I think that oil interests play a big part in this," she said. "I'm much more concerned about North Korea and their weapons of mass destruction than I am about the possible ones in Iraq. But Iraq has a lot more oil, and North Korea has none. That, to me, is very telling."
The Rev. Greylan Haglard, co-chairman of the Washington rally, concurred.
"Why should our daughters and sons have to fight and die to benefit the profits of oil companies and oil industry?" he said.
Temperatures were in the 20s in Washington Saturday and were forecast to be in the 50s in San Francisco.
Also on the list of expected participants in Washington were former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; documentary filmmaker and corporate gadfly Michael Moore; Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit; Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/18/sproject.irq.us.protests/index.html
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I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country.... corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.
Abraham Lincoln
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