Revolutionary Worker #1192, March 23 , 2003, posted at http://rwor.org
On March 15, people in the U.S. and the world stepped out into the streets again to oppose the U.S. government's war on Iraq.
In the U.S., tens of thousands rallied and marched in Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in an emergency action called by the International ANSWER coalition.
Around the world, protests took place in many countries--from Australia and New Zealand to Latin America to Europe to the Middle East and Asia. In Spain, where the prime minister has been one of the few staunch allies of Bush, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Madrid, Barcelona, and other cities. More than half a million were in a march in Milan organized by Italy's largest trade union. Demonstrations in Turkey, where the U.S. has military bases, declared, "Yankee Go Home!" Protests all over occupied Palestine, including at Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza Strip, demanded, "Save the Iraqi children!"
The following are reports from RW correspondents on the March 15 protests in D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Washington, DC
Close to 100,000 people marched in the U.S. capital in an action sponsored by ANSWER and United for Peace & Justice. Beginning with a rally at the Washington Monument, people marched through streets close to the White House. There were lots of contingents: Not In Our Name, Palestinian activists, Washington teachers union, D.C. Labor for Peace and Justice, and many more. One group of demonstrators was arrested when they went into the World Bank building.
In the crowd were youth and students from many cities and people from various movements and organizations. Many expressed their determination to refuse to go along with any of the phony rationales the U.S. gives for attacking Iraq.
As I walked through the crowd, people spoke out in many ways against this unjust war. There was a sense that at this moment, people must refuse to be silent and continue to pour out their hearts and minds to oppose what this government is doing. A middle school Mexican youth had a sign saying "Mexicans against the war." He said, "Making wars all over the world is wrong. Bush can't go around making wars against anybody he wants to."
A youth in NION said, "Sometimes parents and teachers tell high school students to get their priorities straight. I say, `I got my priorities straight, my priorities are to help the people of the world.' And it's good to see youth that are trying to help the people of the world."
I walked up to a group of young Iraqi women. One of the women told me, "It is important that a lot of Americans come out to prove that what the American government is doing is not what the American people want. It is important for the world so the world can see that it is Bush that is an international terrorist. If the U.S. government was so concerned about liberating the Iraqi people, then the sanctions wouldn't be imposed on the people right now. The sanctions have been destroying the people for the past 12 years, and war on top of the sanctions will only bring more pain to the Iraqi people."
As I waited to get on the bus back home, a young activist said, "We showed today again there are people in this country who have feeling for the Iraqi people, that people here in the U.S. are not ignorant and going along with this war. We showed today that we are citizens of the world and the Iraqi people are just like us. We showed the world there are people in this country who do not go along with the media and the government that the Iraqi people are not our concern... So I was inspired by today's rally."
As I walked onto the bus, the chant, "We will not be silent, we will not be tame, the war on the world is not in my name!" came to mind--and it really captured the spirit of the day. The people spoke loud and clear that they stand with the people of Iraq and the people of the world against this war of horrors.
San Francisco
From 60,000 to 100,000 people took to the streets of San Francisco for the third huge march in as many months. The march gathered at Civic Center Plaza and marched through the largely Black Western Addition area on its way to Jefferson Square Park. "It just means so much to have them walking in the Black community," said Josephine Baker on the front porch of her apartment in the Western Addition.
"I think opposition to war has never been stronger, and that's not being listened to," Margarita Gutierrez, an assistant investigator in the S.F. district attorney's office, told the Chronicle . "I feel like we're living in a dictatorship."
"We can't live like this any more. It's not working, it has to change. All we do is exploit the rest of the world for our benefit," a young woman protester told the RW .
Speakers and performers at the rally included Martin Sheen, Danny Glover, Michael Franti and Spearhead, former congressperson Cynthia McKinney, and members of the S.F. Board of Supervisors.
About 2,000 protesters took part in a breakaway march. "We're trying to step outside of the boundaries that they draw for us," a student from UC Santa Cruz told the RW . The breakaway march headed back to the Civic Center and the financial district. The cops repeatedly tried to pen in the demonstrators and at one point used tear gas. 180 were arrested.
One protester told the RW that he didn't know where things were headed in the coming days, but one thing he was sure of: "They're not going to stop--and we're not going to stop!"
On the previous day--Friday, March 14--200 people gathered at dawn in front of the Pacific Stock Exchange in response to a call from Direct Action to Stop the War, which has been organizing for massive civil disobedience to stop business as usual. Over 80 people were arrested for blocking the entrance to the stock exchange and nearby intersections.
One of those arrested was Warren Langley, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a former president of the Pacific Stock Exchange. In a written statement, Langley explained, "I have always worked within the Establishment and I have always been a rule-follower rather than a rule-breaker thinking that if a rule was wrong, change it, don't break it first. So I am surprised to be here today telling you that, to stop the war, I am willing to `break the rules' and ask you to join me in `breaking the rules' so loudly that we are heard by the President and his administration to convince them to find a way to peace not war. We have to be heard like the people were heard about civil rights in the '60s and the Vietnam War in the '60s and '70s."
Los Angeles
March 15 was a day of heavy rain in L.A. By sunrise streets were flooding, lawns were saturated, and the rain kept pouring down. The march was going to begin at noon at Olympic and Broadway, in the downtown Latino shopping district. By 11:30, it was a sea of umbrellas, bright yellow ponchos, banners and homemade signs.
"I thought we'd be the only ones here," a Latino man told the RW . "The rain, the wind, the cops, it didn't stop us from coming." A woman student said, "Even though it's raining, the war doesn't stop, the bombing doesn't stop. We have to stop the war before it starts."
As the march started, tens of thousands of people sent up a roar. Drums, bagpipes, and trumpets kept spirits high. There were lots of cops--at the rally site at the federal building, cops were lined up holding rubber-bullet guns.
Jesse Jackson and Vietnam vet Ron Kovic walked with the lead banner and spoke at the rally. Other speakers included Alfre Woodard, Ariana Huffington, Mira Sorvino, and Tom Hayden. Radical Teen Cheer performed, and Aztec dancers danced and drummed their way down Broadway. Code Pink marched with pink ponchos and umbrellas. People came from Bakersfield in Central Valley with a "Kern County for Peace" banner.
There were trade unions in the lively mix: teachers, service workers, municipal employees, Justice for Janitors. There were youth from all over, including high school students who walked out of classes the week before to protest the war.
In L.A., the march was initiated by ANSWER, Not in Our Name, Interfaith Communities United for Peace and Justice, and the Coalition for World Peace. Latin@s Against the War on Iraq marched with a banner. There were many chapters of the Green Party. At the end of the march, a group of over 100 youth continued marching and did a banner drop on the nearby Hollywood Freeway.
One special speaker was actor David Clennon--one of many courageous artists who have been attacked for speaking out against the war. People cheered as he said, "This is not a war for the liberation of Iraq and we know it! This is not a war to bring peace to the Middle East and we know it! This is not a war against the perpetrators of 9/11 and we know it. This is not a war to protect the people and the territory of the United States and we know it! This war will be unjust, immoral and un-American, and we know it! No war for oil!"
"The fact that in L.A. people are willing to come out here for hours and hours in the pouring rain is a testament to our determination that nowhere along the line are we going to let Bush turn us back," said Xochitl Johnson, from the Not In Our Name project. "We're going to see this through to the end."
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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