U.S. demonstrations keep up the pressure
By Monica Moorehead
The U.S. military's "shock and awe" bombing of Baghdad is a
strategy to terrorize the Iraqi people into surrendering to
U.S. colonial occupation and to psychologically paralyze and
demoralize the worldwide anti-war movement.
But not only is the Iraqi population heroically resisting
this brutal invasion, the anti-war movement worldwide is do ing
everything it can to resist the war. And despite the growing
number of U.S. military casualties and prisoners of war, people
in cities large and small in this country are demonstrating
against this war.
Coordinated demonstrations took place all over the U.S. on
March 22 that brought out hundreds of thousands against the
invasion of Iraq.
More than 250,000 people took to the streets of New York
City. The march was called by United for Peace and Justice.
Many contingents, including one from International ANSWER--the
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism--coali tion, made up the
march which span ned more than 40 blocks and took more than
four hours to wind its way down Broadway to Washington Square
Park.
New York's "finest" attempted to close down the march at 4
p.m. A tense confrontation ensued. Thousands of cops in full
riot gear began arresting people, picking them off one by one.
The crowd, including people who had just been enjoying a spring
day in the park, chanted "Let them go" and "Arrest Bush!" More
than 90 people were reportedly arrested and many were
pepper-sprayed by the police.
In Atlanta, 1,500 anti-war activists marched to the
international headquarters of Cable Network News. The march
took to the streets without a permit and stopped traffic in
front of the CNN building. Continuing to focus on the role of
the media in this war, marchers passed by the Atlanta
Constitution newspaper before ending up at a rally in Woodruff
Park.
'No business as usual'
Since the actual military attack on Iraq began, anti-war
groups have disrupted traffic, blocked government building
entrances and other campaigns of resistance to emphasize that
there is no business as usual when an imperialist war
erupts.
In San Francisco, there was direct action on March 20
and 75,000 people took to the streets on March 22. (See related
article.)
Also on March 22, well over 3,000 people shouting, "Peace!
Now!" took part in the largest march in years in the major port
city of Long Beach, Calif. The rally and march were
co-sponsored by the Long Beach Area Peace Network and the
ANSWER coalition of L.A.
At about the same time in Los Angeles, some 20,000 to
25,000 anti-war demonstrators marched without a permit from
Hollywood and Vine to nearby CNN headquarters for a militant
rally to express the growing anger over pro-war bias in
reporting by the big-business media. They chanted, "CNN,
NBC--put our protests on TV!" Signs read: "PNN--Pentagon News
Network."
After marching back to Hollywood and Vine, they resisted
police efforts to push them out of the intersection for another
hour. People were in no mood to be rushed off the street, and
held their ground in spite of a number of unprovoked arrests,
and threats of tear gas and rubber bullets.
The demonstration was called by the ANSWER coalition,
Coalition for World Peace, Interfaith Communities United for
Justice and Peace, and Global Women's Strike.
In Chicago, 15,000 anti-war protesters took the
streets on March 20. Police illegally detained more than 750 in
the streets for hours, before arresting them. Those arrested
report they were denied food, water, sleep and bathroom
facilities. They were finally released on the morning of March
22. Some of those arrested had been passersby who weren't even
part of the demonstration.
Some 80 people in Chicago carried out civil disobedience at
the federal building on March 21. Later that day, 4,000 marched
through downtown. A day later, 1,500 people turned out for an
emergency demonstration.
The Western Massachusetts Stop the War coalition organized
the largest anti-war protest at the Westover Air Reserve
Base to date: 2,000 marched; 55 protesters were arrested as
they lay down or sat on the ground in front of the base gate.
This base provides C-5 cargo planes that transport soldiers and
supplies to the Middle East.
On March 20, more than 1,000 students from Seattle Central
Community College, University of Washington and numerous area
high schools walked out in Seattle, to protest the war.
They joined some 3,000 other anti-war activists at the Federal
Building for a rally and march.
Police attacked a peace encampment with pepper spray on the
State Capitol campus in Olympia, Wash. Five hundred
protesters blocked I-5 freeway in Bellingham.
In Philadelphia, more than 100 people were arrested
as they blocked entrances to the Federal Building on March 20.
Some 800 supporters cheered on the anti-war resisters. In the
afternoon, hundreds braved driving, cold rain to protest at
City Hall and the Federal Building. More than 2,000 gathered on
the steps of the Art Museum for a march to City Hall on March
23. Bishop Thomas Gumbleton was the featured speaker at a rally
organized by School of the Americas Watch.
In San Diego, a peacemakers' refugee camp was formed
on March 22 in front of the Federal Building. The camp was
described as "an organized nonviolent direct action designed to
create a safe space for demonstrators to feel a sense of
community." These young people have vowed to stay in front of
the Federal Building until the war stops.
The Old Women's Project organized a march of 80 veiled women
dressed in black, each holding pictures of Iraqi women and
children, which was seen by many shoppers in downtown San
Diego. Later, 1,000 people surrounded the Federal Building and
held an anti-war rally.
In Richmond, Va., 2,000 rallied on March 23.
Other areas organizing ongoing anti-war protests include
Buffalo; New Paltz and 60 other towns and villages in
Mid-Hudson Valley, N.Y.; Houston and Austin, Texas; Detroit and
Lansing, Mich.; Hartford, Conn.; Boston; Baltimore; and many
more cities.
Reprinted from the April 3, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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