Massive "No War" protests in Washington
Defying arctic conditions and a war-mongering administration, 200,000 protestors marched in Washington chanting "No war in Iraq." Khaled Dawoud reports
After months of hard work and resilient determination a massive anti-war demonstration was held in the United States capital on Saturday. Observers have dubbed it the largest since the Vietnam era of the 1960s. Another huge demonstration attended by nearly 100,000 people also took place in San Francisco, and smaller protests were reported in Portland, Oregon and Tampa, Florida. The protests coincided with the birthday of leading black civil rights activists, Martin Luther King, who opposed war and fought for the poor and oppressed. King was assassinated in 1968.
People from all walks of life, young, old and from various political backgrounds defied temperatures as low as --4 degrees Celsius to express their opposition to US President George Bush's plan for war against Iraq. Their reasons for protesting were varied. Some were pacifists who oppose war as a matter of principle, others were simply not convinced that the US administration has made a good case to justify bombing another country, and a third group feared that the intended war against Iraq would divert attention from more important issues such the fight against terrorism and improving the declining US economy. But for all those protestors -- civil rights activists, labour union leaders, feminists, Greens, Democratic Congressmen, church leaders and Hollywood stars -- the message was the same: "No war in Iraq."
At underground stations and road intersections leading to the gathering place near the Congress building, young members of International A.N.S.W.E.R (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) which organised the rally, were distributing leaflets and signs with statements such as "No Blood for Oil", "Let the Inspectors Work", "Money for Jobs and not for War", "Bombs Can't Destroy What Inspectors Can't Find" and "Peace is Patriotic." Others were selling Palestinian kuffiyas and flags, confirming a rising trend among anti-war activists in which opposition to the Iraqi war is linked with support for the Palestinian people and the end of Israeli occupation.
Prominent civil rights activist and former presidential candidate, Rev Jesse Jackson, took the podium and summed up the feelings of the crowd saying, "the weather is cold, but our hearts are warm. We are here to say let's give peace a chance." Other prominent speakers included Rev Al Sharpton -- who is seeking to win the Democratic Party nomination for the 2004 presidential race alike -- actresses Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly; former US Attorney- General Ramsey Clark; and prominent Vietnam veteran, Ron Kovic. There were also speakers from Britain and Egypt, who saluted the protesters and their effort in expressing opposition at home.
Speaker after speaker criticised the Bush administration, accusing it of using the post 9/11 grief experienced by most Americans to launch war against Iraq. Others lashed out at what they described as "Bush imperialist schemes" seeking to occupy the Middle East region to control its oil.
One labour union leader told the audience, "even if Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD), we should not forget who provided those weapons: Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld." The speaker was referring to a photo printed recently in The Washington Post, showing Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein in 1983. The photo was run alongside a report which revealed how, at the time, Rumsfeld turned a blind eye to reports that Iraq was using chemical weapons in the eight-year war against Iran (1980-1988).
Martin Hugler, a church leader, dubbed Bush's insistence on removing Iraq's WMDs as "words of mass deception". He added, "this is a war to advance imperialism, destroy human lives and benefit oil companies and arms' dealers."
Former Attorney-General, Clark, known for his supportive stance in relation to Arab and Palestinian rights, called for Bush's impeachment. He said Bush was "lying to the American people" about the actual purposes of the war, was ready to use nuclear weapons, disregarded civil rights, and threatened to kill thousands of innocent civilians all over the world. "These are all good reasons to impeach Bush." The crowd replied by repeated chants "Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush."
Ashraf El-Bayoumi, a university professor from Egypt, denied claims that Arabs hated the American people, and attacked the Bush administration for backing what he described as "authoritarian Arab regimes that violate the human rights of their people". He added, "your media tells you that the Arab people are dead. This is wrong, and the anger we feel is unprecedented. Your media tells you Arabs hate America. But we hate racism, violence, oppression, US unilateralism and US imperialism."
Rev Sharpton stressed that the Bush administration must let the UN weapons inspectors continue their work, saying that "in Iraq, there are weapons inspectors, but here we are the moral inspectors, and we should stand firm against Bush's political game of mass distraction." He also praised the presence of Christians, Muslims and Jews among the protestors, saying this was the America the late King strove to achieve.
Actress Lange said she was opposing the war not as a public figure, "but as a mother of two children who is determined to see that the legacy of the next generation is not war". She accused President Bush of seeking to settle the old scores of his father who decided not to overthrow Saddam after winning the first Gulf War in 1991, and said, "we must say no to this immoral war. We must say we are the people, and you (Bush) are not speaking for us."
The massive marches that took place over the weekend were not ignored in mainstream US media, unlike similar protests held in late October by the same groups. Influential newspapers and television channels at the time ignored the protests, which were attended by more than 100,000 people. But with Bush's popularity waning and many Americans baffled by the apparent double standards employed in dealing with Iraq and North Korea, the tide seems to be turning.
An editorial in the New York Times on Monday stated that "Mr. Bush and his war cabinet would be wise to see the demonstrations as a clear sign that noticeable numbers of Americans no longer feel obliged to salute the administrations' plans because of the shock of 11 September and that many harbour serious doubts about his march toward war." It added, "protesters were raising questions in the name of patriotism about the premises, cost and aftermath of the war the president is contemplating. Americans have yet to hear Bush make a persuasive case that combat operations are the only way to respond to Hussein. These protests are the tip of a far broader sense of concern and lack of confidence in the path to war that seems to lie ahead."
Nearly 1,000 protesters gathered in front of the White House on Sunday to reiterate their anti-war message, and at least 16 people were arrested briefly after they tried to block some of the main roads.
Also this week, the Chicago City Council joined a growing number of municipalities whose politicians have banded together to oppose a preemptive war with Iraq. Chicago is the largest city to have passed such a resolution, similar resolutions having been passed in cities such as Albuquerque, New Mexico; Berkeley, California; Madison, Wisconsin; New Haven, Connecticut; Oakland, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Seattle, Washington; Syracuse, New York; and Washington, DC. The Chicago resolution passed by a vote of 46-1. Alderman Joseph Moore, who sponsored the resolution, summed it up saying, "It is our sons and daughters who will be recruited -- perhaps even conscripted -- to fight in this war."
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 23 - 29 January 2003 (Issue No. 622)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/622/sc3.htm