------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Nov. 7, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
MASSIVE ANTI-WAR TURNOUT IN SAN FRANCISCO By Brenda Sandburg San Francisco Between 80,000 and 100,000 people of all ages and nationalities flooded the streets of San Francisco Oct. 26 to stop the Bush administration from launching a new war against Iraq. It was the largest progressive demonstration in San Francisco in more than 10 years. The protest was organized by the International ANSWER coalition--Act Now to Stop War & End Racism. Students, labor activists, parents with their children, religious groups and community organizations traveled from all over California and the West Coast to attend the biggest anti-war protest since the start of the 1991 Gulf War. At least 63 buses came to San Francisco, including 19 from Los Angeles, four from Santa Cruz, five from Sonoma County, and others from as far away as Seattle, Tucson and Salem, Ore. The air was filled with excitement as people marched along the route, chanting, "Pentagon's war, we're shuttin' it down" and "The road to peace is U.S. out of the Middle East." The demonstration was so large that when protesters arrived at the end of the march at Civic Center, tens of thousands more were just beginning the 1.7-mile march from Justin Herman Plaza. It took three hours for the entire crowd to complete the march, most of which was on Market Street, which is five lanes wide. >From the stage, a sea of people filled Civic Center and the adjacent streets, extending to the end of United Nations Plaza two-and-a-half blocks away. So many protesters inundated the city that the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) subway system could not handle the number of people on the platform and was forced to open the gates to allow people to pass through without paying. Reflecting the support of so many people in this city, one BART driver got on her train's public address system and thanked everyone for going to the demonstration. Richard Becker of the International Action Center and a member of the ANSWER steering committee said of the recent war vote in Congress: "It showed that it didn't matter if the calls from the public to their representatives were 1,000 to one--or even 100,000 to one--as long as that one was Exxon or Chevron or Boeing." Becker stressed, "Even most of those in Congress who voted against the war resolution made a point of expressing their support for the objectives of the Bush administration--which is to re-colonize Iraq and conquer its tremendous oil resources. We cannot rely on Congress-only the people can stop the war." As a result, Becker announced, ANSWER was launching two initiatives: a people's anti-war referendum to collect millions of signatures against the war and a Grassroots People's Peace Congress to convene in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18--the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend--and hold a mass demonstration. VOICES OF A BROAD, UNITED FRONT An opening and closing rally gave voice to the political breadth of this emerging new anti-war movement. Veterans of past U.S. wars had a significant presence at this anti-war demonstration. Charlie Liteky, who had received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in the Vietnam War and is a member of Veterans for Peace, presented a moving introduction. He brought to the podium Ron Kovic, author of "Born on the Fourth of July" who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War, as well as veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War. Kovic said those in power in the United States were responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11. "It is their violence that brought the violence to our nation and it is their violence that we must stop, and stop forever." Young speakers addressed the rally, explaining how children would be affected by a U.S. war against Iraq. Samora Pinderhughes, 11 years old, emphasized: "There's no discussion of the millions of people, millions of women and children who will be killed in a war." Pinderhughes added, "The life of a child in Iraq or Palestine is just as important as a life of a child in the United States." Mara Kubrin, 13 years old, said that "innocent citizens and draftees shouldn't die for the decisions of our leaders." Speaking to the large contingent of students who came from campuses throughout the state, Leilani Dowell--an ANSWER student organizer and a member of the Committee for a New Colombia--pointed out that "youth of color are being trained in ROTC programs to fight for a government that never did anything for them." She added that U.S. Marines are scheduled to go to Colombia in February. Several unions joined in the march, which was endorsed by the San Francisco Labor Council, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and other labor unions. Rally speakers included Walter Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council, and Richard Mead, president of ILWU Local 10. Trent Willis, a business agent of the same union, told rally goers, "Bush is not only trying to attack Iraq but labor unions as well." 'TERROR: MADE IN THE USA!' John Parker, of Workers World Party, spoke about the economic system behind the U.S. war drive. Just as it required terrorism and war to preserve slavery, he said, capitalism requires terrorism and war. "The motivation for waging war against Iraq is to preserve the system that takes wealth created by the majority and put it in the hands of a small minority," Parker explained. "The war drive is about preserving capitalism and imperialism." Several speakers linked the U.S. government's attack against Iraq with its support of Israel's war against the Palestinian people. "Israel cannot continue its occupation and create war on the Palestinians without the bullets and bombs supplied to them by the United States, and the U.S. cannot wage war against the Iraqi people without first silencing the Intifada," said Ramiz Rafeedie of the Free Palestine Alliance. Hatem Bazian of Al Qalam Institute explained, "Today there is another America that is saying no to war for oil in the Persian Gulf, no war for the multinational corporations, no war for Bush and his family who are owners of many multinational corporations. We need the America of the slaves, of the women's movement, of the labor movement, of Malcolm X, of Martin Luther King, the America that went out into the streets to end the Vietnam War." Actor and Death Penalty Focus president Mike Farrell called Bush "an arrogant pretender to power, a self-appointed cowboy who is a toady to big oil, a friend to big business, and a henchman to those who would declare the American empire." Weapons of mass destruction? Yong-Bin Yook, Korean-American activist and Los Angeles ANSWER steering committee member, pointed out, "The truth is that America is the greatest producer of weapons of mass destruction. In fact, America is the only nation in history to use nuclear weapons and has now announced to the world that it's willing to use nuclear weapons in a first strike attack against other nations." The Oct. 26 protest was held on the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Patriot Act, which stripped away many constitutional rights. Riva Enteen of the National Lawyers Guild--which is part of the ANSWER coalition--described the impact of the law. "We face security arrests, indefinite detentions, secret courts, secret evidence, military tribunals, no attorney- client privilege, expanded political spying and electronic surveillance and torture," Enteen said. She reported that the National Lawyers Guild has called for a national campaign to repeal the Patriot Act. Rep. Barbara Lee, the only representative in Congress to vote against President Bush's phony "war on terrorism" a year ago, said to those gathered at the closing rally: "Keep the heat on, my brothers and sisters, keep it on. Your voices are being heard." At the closing rally, emcee Alicia Jrapko, a member of ANSWER, asked the sea of people, "Are we going to stop the war?" "Yes," they cheered. Rally co-chairs also included Eyad Kashawi of the Free Palestine Alliance, KPFA hosts Miguel Molina and Davey D, and Gloria Verdieu of ANSWER and the San Diego Coalition to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal. Other speakers included Sen. John Burton, president of the California State Senate; San Francisco supervisors Tom Ammiano and Mark Leno; Dolores Huerta, founding member of the United Farm Workers of America; Barbara Lubin, Middle East Children's Alliance and ANSWER steering committee member; Maudelle Shirek of the Berkeley City Council; Daniel Ellsberg, famous for releasing the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War; Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of the Nuclear Policy Institute; Rula Khalawafi, American Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee; Zulma Olivares of Comite '98; Howard Wallace, Hospital Workers Union Local 250; Ana Duarte, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five; Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Harvey Milk Club; Mario Santos, Bayan and a member of the ANSWER steering committee; and Nobuto Hosaka, a member of the Japanese Parliament. Singer Michael Franti of Spearhead, legendary folk singer Utah Phillips, and spoken-word artists Edgar and Marcello Peres performed. The mayor of Hiroshima also sent a letter in solidarity with the march. Political prisoner Mumia Abu- Jamal sent a taped message from Pennsylvania death row. n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
