------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Jan. 30, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
700,000 TELL BUSH: NO WAR, NO WAY D.C.: LARGEST U.S. PROTEST YET AGAINST IRAQ WAR By Leslie Feinberg Washington, D.C. The power of the people. You could see it, filling the broad avenues in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, stretching for miles. You could hear its thunder: "No war on Iraq!" And as marchers reached the crest of Capitol Hill, looked back and roared in reaction to their own sheer strength, a mass of half a million, you could even taste it. What a spectrum: all ages and nationalities, ethnicities, religious beliefs or lack of them, sexes, abilities, genders, sexualities, political viewpoints, occupations and walks of life. They came from diverse regions--from inner city neighborhoods to dairy farms; towns, campuses and reservations. Homeowners and apartment dwellers marched with the homeless; working people walked shoulder to shoulder with the jobless and under-employed. Some weathered the day fortified by a good meal, others marched with growling stomachs. Retirees chanted alongside those too young to work. The mercury hovered around 20 degrees. But even though an arctic front had swept down across the continental United States the day before the massive mobilization, it didn't stop people of all ages from braving the trip to make their voices heard. They came from as far away as Texas, Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota--many traveling an 18-30 hour bus trip in each direction. At least one bus drove all the way down from Nova Scotia. Students from University of Wisconsin-Madison filled five buses. Another 10 buses brought people from around the state. A fleet of 22 buses came from Minneapolis/St. Paul and 35 from North Carolina, including 20 from Winston-Salem. Just some of the cities in New York State: A minimum of 2,000 people from New York State's Hudson Valley. People packed 10 buses from Syracuse, eight from Rochester, five from Albany, four from Callicoon, six from Westchester, two from Rockland County, two from Warwick, and three buses and a van from Buffalo. An armada of more than 100 buses convoyed from New York City, including 20 from New York's 1199/SEIU Health and Hospital Workers Union that brought many African American and Latino workers. The Chicago Teachers Union brought six buses. The 15 buses--with no empty seats--that pulled out of Boston's Roxbury Community College at midnight en route to D.C. were joined on the road by dozens of buses, vans and car caravans from throughout New England. At least 80 percent of those coming from Boston reported that they were going to their first national protest. The labor bus was filled with workers and union leaders from hotels, school bus yards, government and university offices, the Roxbury Workers Association and electrical workers hot off the picket line at General Electric's Lynn, Mass., plant. Latino youth, fresh from marching against a racist attack on bilingual education, helped organize another bus. Three buses from Manchester, N.H., were packed with AIDS educators and civil rights veterans, Palestinian leaders, union organizers, lesbian, gay, bi and trans community activists, environmentalists and others. Trans youth led a bus; leaders of the local Women's Fightback Network captained another. One woman carried a sign on a pole that read simply: Mississippi. Caravans of cars and buses clogged the highways and byways of D.C.; the bus station, Metro stops and cavernous Union train station were teeming with thousands of people wearing anti-war buttons and carrying hand-made signs. Any large stream of people in D.C. that day led to the National Mall. Many people brought with them the sentiments of those who could not make the long journey. A woman from Fargo, N.D., carried a placard with the signatures of all her family and friends, neighbors and townspeople, who were against the war. Next to their names they'd written what they do for a living: nurse, librarian, teacher, auto mechanic. One man carried a sign with 150 signatures. He said, "These are all the people against the war that I know who couldn't come. And I got them all in 24 hours." Representatives of the Brooklyn-based Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for Peace were there. EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE RALLIES This sea of progressive humanity--from anti-imperialists to those cautious about the wisdom of this war--had answered a call issued last fall by the International ANSWER coalition, Act Now to Stop War & End Racism. A sister protest of 200,000 was taking place simultaneously in San Francisco. There were also local protests. In all, including 38 countries around the world, millions marched to protest Bush and his generals' drive towards war against Iraq. Speakers from organizations that make up the ANSWER leadership addressed the rally. They are Partnership for Civil Justice, IFCO/Pastors for Peace, the Free Palestine Alliance-U.S., Nicaragua Network, Bayan- USA/International, Korea Truth Commission, International Action Center, Muslim Student Association of the U.S./Canada, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Mexico Solidarity Network and the Middle East Children's Alliance. ANSWER brought together an impressive array of speakers at two rallies-- one that began at 11 a.m. in the sprawling National Mall, and a concluding rally at the Washington Shipyard. The early rally was seen by millions in the United States and around the world on C-Span broadcasts. Moonanum James, co-chair of United American Indians of New England and a Vietnam-era veteran, opened the rally by connecting the U.S. government's ongoing racist war against Native peoples with their preparations for a racist war against Iraq. Actors Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly addressed the crowd. So did political figures, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton; former-U.S. Congressperson Cynthia McKinney and Rep. John Conyers. The Rev. Lucius Walker read an anti-war statement from Rep. Charles Rangel. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark got a rousing cheer when he called on those listening to "impeach Bush." Blase Bonpane, from the Office of the Americas, traveled from Los Angeles to bring greetings. International representation included Ashraf El-Bayoumi from the Cairo Conference against U.S. Aggression on Iraq and Jeremy Corbyn from the Stop the War Coalition and a member of the British Parliament. They linked the Jan. 18 mass turnout with the call for worldwide demonstrations on Feb. 15. Abe Tomoko spoke as a representative of the Lower House of the Japanese Parliament. Struggles around the world against U.S. domination were articulated by Teresa Gutierrez and Sara Flounders from the IAC; Hector Castro, director of education, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, Colombia; Francisco Rivera, Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques; Marie Hilao Enriquez from BAYAN, a mass organization in the Philippines; and Yoomi Jeong from the Korea Truth Commission. At a time when the Bush administration is carrying out mass roundups and demonization of Arab, Muslim and South Asian people in the United States, the ANSWER rally demonstrated solidarity in deed and in word. Speakers included Mahdi Bray, Muslim American Society; Ismael Kamal, Muslim Student Association; Ihab Darwish, Free Palestine Alliance; Ghazi Khan Kan, Council on American Islamic Relations; Imam Mousa, Masjid Al- Islam; and Dr. Mansoon Khan from Peace TV. The Revs. Herbert Daughtry, national pastor of House of the Lord Church; Graylan Haglar, pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, and Jesuit priest John Dear addressed the audience. Anti-war speakers included Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessen from Military Families Speak Out and Liz McAlister, partner and widow of the late peace activist Phil Berrigan. "No blood for oil!" demanded disabled Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, author of "Born on the Fourth of July." Speaking out for labor against the war: Brenda Stokely, president of AFSCME 1707 and Local 215 as well as a co-convener of New York City Labor Against the War; Fred Mason, president of statewide Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO; Michael Letwin from U.S. Labor Against War and Dr. Nadia Marsh from Doctors and Nurses Against the War. ANSWER speakers included Youth and Student Coordinator Peta Lindsay, Elias Rashmawi from the Free Palestine Alliance. Jennifer Wager from IFCO/Pastors for Peace, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard from PCJ and Larry Holmes and Brian Becker, both from the International Action Center. Speakers representing other anti-war coalitions included Bill Fletcher, co-chair of United for Peace and Justice; Damu Smith from Black Voices for Peace; Medea Benjamin from Global Exchange, and Miles Solay from Not In Our Name. Speakers reminded the crowd about the war on the domestic front to free political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, Jamil Al-Amin, and the Cuban Five. Jesse Heiwa, from Queers for Peace and Justice, New York, pointed to the growing coalition of lesbian, gay, bi and trans organizations against the war. Brooklyn-based activists Viola Plummer from the December 12th Movement and City Councilman Charles Barron raised the need for anti-racist solidarity, including fighting for reparations. British pop group Chumbawamba, singer Patti Smith and D.C. cultural artists Pam Parker and Lucy Murphy performed. The first marchers stepped off close to 1 p.m. Accompanied by drumming, chanting and singing, they brought their message "No blood for oil!" to workers and passersby along a two-mile route to the military shipyard. An hour later, when the head of the march reached the Navy Yard, tens of thousands had not yet left the rally site. The second rally took place from atop a truck because the D.C. police reneged on sound and stage permits. Brian Becker concluded that the powerful protest with its huge turnout was due to "a growing disenchantment with the Bush administration and an urgent situation, because Jan. 27 could be a deadline for war." ***** SAN FRANCISCO: CROWDS BREAK ALL RECORDS By Brenda Sandburg San Francisco In one of the largest protests in San Francisco history, 200,000 people filled Market Street from Embarcadero St. to Civic Center on Jan. 18 to say "No war against Iraq." It took four hours for the entire march to traverse the 1.7 miles. The outpouring of people represented all segments of society, including students and youth, union members, church groups and thousands who had never been to a demonstration before. At least 50 Bay Area labor unions sent members to the protest. The Bay Area Rapid Transit system-with an average weekday ridership of more than 300,000 people--added additional trains and extended the number of cars on its weekend trains from four to 10. But the crowds were so dense that passengers throughout the Bay Area had to wait for up to an hour to board trains. The ferry system also added extra ferries on routes from the East Bay and North Bay. At least 125 buses traveled from Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Davis, Sacramento, Sonoma, Fresno, Napa, Placerville, Chico, Arcata and other cities, including eight buses from Nevada City, Nev. Others came by plane and car pool from as far away as Montana, Hawaii and Alberta, Canada. The San Francisco protest, like the national demonstration in Washington, D.C., which drew half a million people, was sponsored by the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition. The march started 40 minutes earlier than scheduled to accommodate the crowd, which was surging forward and filling the side streets. First came a large, militant contingent of ANSWER youth and a Native American contingent led by Floyd Redcrow Westerman, accompanied by ceremonial drums. Next came hundreds of African American youth from Rich mond High School, followed by trade unionists. ANSWER organizers hired a helicopter to take aerial photographs of the protest. They clearly showed the massive numbers of people filling the Civic Center Plaza, winding up Market Street and pouring onto surrounding streets. These photographs refuted the original police estimate of 55,000. By Jan. 21, the San Francisco Chronicle was reporting that police had upped their estimate to 150,000. (See editorial on page 10.) The Jan. 18 protest was the third anti-war demonstration organized by ANSWER in the last eight months. Richard Becker, West Coast Coordinator of the International Action Center and a member of the ANSWER National Steering Committee, said that each protest at least doubled over the previous one. "Nothing could be more important because no force on earth can stop this war and turn around the deadly Bush program except the intervention of the people in the political process," Becker said. "Only the people really make history. It was the workers in the 1930s who couldn't take it any more and by the millions went out and organized--not Franklin Roosevelt. That's why we have unions, because ordinary people said, 'No more.'" Singers Joan Baez and Bonnie Raitt performed, along with the local band Los Mocosos. Politicians, anti-war activists and other entertainers spoke at the opening and closing rallies. "We come together today to say no to the loss of innocent lives for a war that is totally unnecessary," said Congress woman Barbara Lee, one of the few members of Congress to oppose Bush's war resolution. "To say no to wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on a war that could go to educating our young people, that could go towards housing the homeless." John Parker of Workers World Party pointed to the source of the U.S. government's drive for war against Iraq. "Imperialism requires the concentration of wealth in the fewest hands," he said. "That creates a system of injustice that breeds war. It's why one million Indonesians died, why 1.2 million Vietnamese died. If you want to stop war, we have to keep on doing what we're doing with the goal of bringing down imperialism and bringing up a system closer to our hearts and values, and that system is socialism." Amy Brenneman, star of the television show "Judging Amy," brought her baby daughter on stage. "When I see the list of things that are going on between civil liberties, environmental protection and reproductive rights, I cannot imagine the world that my daughter will inherit," Brenneman said. Actor Martin Sheen told the crowd: "We want to end our long and shameful silence today and in one strong, clear, unified voice say no to death and war and yes to life so that we may be worthy of the long-promised blessings reserved for the peace makers." Walter Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council, which passed a strongly worded resolution against a war on Iraq, said he was writing a letter to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney asking him to call a meeting of all the labor and building trade councils in the United States. Together, he said, they could "send a message of 14 million people" in opposition to war. Trent Willis, Longshore Workers Local 10 business agent, said that labor was united against Bush and a war on Iraq. "During the 1930s and '40s a lot of labor and social activists lost their lives to build what we have today," Willis said. "Now we have a president in office and an administration that wants to catapult us back to the '30s and '40s, catapult us back to the McCarthy era." "I got a message for you, Mr. Bush," Willis said to loud cheers. "We think you're part of the axis of evil. We think you're a dictator. What do you call intervening in the contract negotiations between the ILWU and the PMA [Pacific Maritime Association]? What do you call waging war against our civil rights? What do you call throwing five Cuban nationalists in jail because they wanted to warn their motherland about a terrorist act about to happen in their country?" Rosa Penate, of the National Committee to Free the Cuban 5, also spoke about the Cuban men being held in U.S. prisons. Several speakers also connected the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation of their homeland to the U.S. aggression the Iraqi people face. "If the slaughter against Iraq is allowed, so will the slaughter against Palestine escalate further and further," said Husam Abu Sneih, of the Free Palestine Alliance. "This is the political position of the U.S.- Israeli alliance--to dominate all, to control the access of resources and set up regimes and bases everywhere." Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Children's Alliance said the movement must not shy away from the issue of Israel and Palestine. "You cannot walk away from the suffering of the children of Palestine," she said. "It is intertwined with the children of Iraq. You can't say no war in the Middle East and ignore what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza." Tony Gonzales of the International Indian Treaty Council spoke movingly about his experiences as a Vietnam veteran. While lying wounded in a military hospital, Gonzales spent weeks contemplating why he was destroying families, their homes and way of life. "I was lost for several years like many veterans who suffer the experience of war and try to come back home and live a normal life," he said. "You can never really do that. You can never really come home the person that you were." Most of the crowd stayed the four and a half hours of the rally. Other speakers included Rep. Lynn Woolsey; John Burton, president of the California State Senate; Matt Gonzalez, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; Rev. Cecil Williams of Glide Church; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers; Hatem Bazian of Al Qalam Institute; and Daniel Ellsberg, renowned for releasing the Pentagon Papers. Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal delivered a taped message to the rally. Rally co-chairs were Alicia Jrapko, International Action Center; Jess Ghannam, Free Palestine Alliance; Carl Muhammad, Peace and Freedom Party; Miguel Molina, KPFA Radio; Gloria La Riva, IAC; and Ted Frazier, NAACP. - 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 wwnews- [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]>
