Socialist Action /October 2002
Thousands March Nationwide Against US
War on Iraq
A couple of days before Congress began discussing the administration's
war bill, tens of thousands of antiwar protesters made their views known
in the streets. On Oct. 6, marches and rallies took place around the United
States under the slogan, "Not in Our Name."
In the largest action on Oct. 6, a crowd estimated at from 20,000 to
45,000 filled Sheep Meadow in New York City's Central Park. The New York
Times, unfortunately, did not see fit to mention the protest in the
next day's edition.
In Los Angeles, over 10,000 people joined the largest antiwar protest
in that city since the Vietnam War. The protesters marched from the federal
building in Westwood, down Wiltshire Blvd. to the headquarters of the national
guard.
In Portland, Ore., in the largest antiwar action seen there in years,
some 6000 marched through downtown to the federal building on Oct. 5. The
demonstration was given a boost when the daily Oregonian featured
preparations for it on its front page the day before. Also on Oct. 5, 1000
marched in Eugene and 600 in Corvalis, Ore.
In San Francisco, 8000 (according to the daily papers) packed into Union
Square, for a rally in the heart of the city's downtown hotel and shopping
district. Singer Bonnie Raight was among the speakers, along with other
popular music personalities.
The demonstration got fair publicity in the Bay Area media, including
a front-page article in the local-news section of the main daily paper,
the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Chronicle article quoted a representative of the Arab Antidiscrimination
League as saying: "This is the beginning of a solid anti-war movement."
He went on to say: "It]s high time to realize that exercising your
right to freedom of expression does not make you un-American."
This rally came on the heels of a march the week before, Sept. 28, in
which some 4000 took part, and a rally/musical concert in Golden Gate Park,
hosted by rap singer Michael Franti a few weeks earlier, which about 7000
attended.
In Washington, D.C., some 10,000 marched against a new Iraq war and
against World-Bank-IMF policies. The Sunday, Sept. 29, march took place
despite the attempts of the police to discourage demonstrations through
the "preemptive" arrest of about 650 peaceful anti-IMF protesters
two days earlier.
The Washington action marked the convergence of many protests focused
by the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. The issues raised included
funding for AIDS, sweatshops, and regressive economic policies pushed by
the international financial institutions. Demonstrators came from many
poor countries, from Brazil to Tanzania, to denounce policies that are depriving
millions of people of their livelihoods and even their lives.
Two thousand antiwar protesters marched in late September to the federal
building in downtown Denver. And demonstrations also occurred in other
major cities, such as Chicago, as well as many smaller cities and communities.
Socialist Action /October 2002 |