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REPORTS
The possibilities are endless, collective and individual
ICUJP joined the nation in a beautiful day of Resistance to War and
Violence with a CD action in Downtown L.A. called 'Ashes To Ashes'.
The street blocking action resulted in the arrests of 19 persons -
including Clergy and Lay-persons from Muslim, Christian, Jewish,
Buddhist, Sufi, Hindu and other traditions, including the Convener of
ICUJP Rev. George F. Regas.
Go to icujp.org/moratorium.html for more details. The page has links to two of the morning's moving and powerful speeches which were delivered to good press coverage near the steps to the Federal Building at 8:00 am:
Both of the speakers are members of ICUJP's steering committee.
From the heart -- to all those with whom we shared risks and took
actions to extend our commitment to making peace on Wednesday --
gratitude and love, and solidarity. Courage and strength, for our
work is just beginning and will become more difficult the more
successful we become in threatening the rule of violent men in our
world. For now, all the arrestees from our group are safe and sound
with "notices to appear" on misdemeanor charges, but in our group we
think of the dangers and threats to:
-- the Iraqi mother and the black youth in America,
We sent a message on Wednesday. We will not cooperate with this war.
We will resist. Resist and Live!
ABC Online: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 17:43 AEDT
Thousands of high school students have abandoned school today to take to
the streets to protest against any war against Iraq.
The biggest crowd was in Sydney, but thousands have also turned around
Australia.
At the peak of the march, about 10,000 students walked through Sydney's
CBD, forcing traffic to a standstill.
Police estimate 7,000 turned out in Adelaide, 1,000 in Canberra and
hundreds in Perth, Hobart and Brisbane. All are determined to have their say.
"We have to get rid of Saddam some way, but war is not the answer," one
student said. "We're the youth of Australia - basically it's going to be our country, we're going to inherit it, so we're here to say what we want and we don't want war," another said.
About 3,000 people rallied in Melbourne, including Iraqi refugee, Maryan
Altabeli. "Doesn't anyone care about the rights of Iraqi children - I do and so should we all," Ms Altabeli said.
Meanwhile, Sydney police are criticising protest organisers of today's
student protest for not following the agreed route, with three people
arrested. Chief inspector Robert Sutton from Sydney City central police described the protest as "rowdy" but says he is more disappointed with the
organisers than the protesters.
"They, for whatever reason, left an hour early, they didn't follow the
route agreed to by police and they went to a different location,"
Inspector Sutton said.
Toronto -
Students on the lines were outraged at this attempt to silence our voices - and moved to occupy President Marsden's office on the 9th floor of the Ross Building. Promptly several squad cars full of police officers removed them, and then when students moved a floor below to the Senate chambers in an attempt to access the halls of power, they were kicked out of there too. Currently [12:30pm] students are rallying at the Student Centre, and will be marching through the campus to alert fellow students to the abuse of the Administration's powers.
Students have been holding information pickets at three of the main entrances to the university, asking them to wait for several minutes while handing out leaflets and talking to drivers and passengers, since 7:30am. Despite some of the worst weather in Southern Ontario all winter, picket lines have been exuberant and positive, as students demonstrate that they are opposed to the sanctions and bombing of Iraq that has caused the
deaths of approximately 1.5 million people.
The action is part of a worldwide coordinated effort by students to intensify the protests against war on Iraq. Hundreds of campuses across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Spain, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Brazil and Scotland (among others) are holding information pickets or strikes today.
Further details of school walkouts
Reports continue to come in from the school walkouts today:
Belfast 500
In London students assembled in Parliament Square before marching to Downing Street where they staged a sit down. Although peaceful the students were penned in by the police who used horses and behaved aggressively towards them. Daniel Goldwater, 13, from Fortismere school said 'I think the police were irresponsible, they treated us like rioters'.
We will be continuing to compile reports of these walkouts as we get more information.
Death Valley, CA
Exciting news on the draw-in!
* * *
From Manila, Philippines
As you know, the U.S. army, the special forces, are already in Mindanao,
particularly in the most beautiful southernmost part of the country, the
Sulu archipelago. It is supposed to be nothing more than the normal
fulfillment of the visiting forces agreement where U.S. soldiers "train"
Filipino soldiers in counterterrorism. Of course we see the absurdity in the exercise and it saddens us that our leaders would again compromise the
nation in this mad pursuit at toeing the line with U.S. might.
We don't know where all the war-talk will lead, but we do know what we want
with our acts of keeping the peace.
* * *
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art antiquities collection contains over 1,200 Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine objects -- sculpture, pottery, bronzes, gems, coins, and glass -- and forms one of the most comprehensive compilations of ancient art in any college museum in North America.
Assyrian Winged Figure with Embroidered Tunic and Shawl
883-859 B.C.
The Walker Art Building
Hours:
Directions:
To reach Brunswick from the south, take the Maine Turnpike to Exit 9 (95
to Coastal Route 1). Continue on 95 to exit 22 (Brunswick, Route 1). Proceed to business district and turn right on Maine Street, following signs to Bowdoin College. >From the north via the Maine Turnpike, take Exit 14, then I-95 to Exit 22 (Topsham-Brunswick, Route 1 North). Proceed to business district and turn right on Maine Street, following signs to the College.
For a map of the campus, showing the location of the Museum of Art, click
here.
* * *
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the College Art Association
The curtailment of civil liberties and human rights at home and abroad has a direct impact on our members and our ability to achieve CAA's core values
and goals to create open forums that encourage international dialogue and
open exchange of different points of view.
We are deeply concerned about the fate of that country's archaeological
sites, antiquities, and cultural property. In 1972, the CAA urged the
United States to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and we reaffirm that aim
today.
In addition, current policies also have serious implications for government
funding for the arts and humanities, higher education, philanthropy, freedom of expression, and conditions in the university, museum, and other workplace environments of CAA members.
Adopted by the CAA Board of Directors
Article published Mar 6, 2003
Hundreds of opponents to war with Iraq walked out of work and school
across North Carolina to raise the profile of the peace option.
Self-employed welder Joe McTaggart skipped work Wednesday to join a
Raleigh demonstration that drew about 100 protesters.
"If there was going to be a war, I just had to know I tried to do
something," said McTaggart, 49, of Garner,
Tucker Wilson, a junior at Asheville High School, faces a one-day,
in-school suspension for walking out of classes to attend an anti-war
rally in downtown Asheville.
"I just felt strongly that the world and the United States should hear
students' voices from Asheville and across the nation that this war is
unjust and will also hurt the school system," he said. Wilson said he
feared spending and budget cutting to pay for the war would shortchange
education.
Demonstrations also were planned in Chapel Hill, Durham, Elkin,
Hendersonville and Davidson.
High school and college students across the country walked out of class
for protests that organizers predicted would be the biggest campus
demonstrations since the Vietnam War.
Another national anti-war group, Not in Our Name, called on workers to
call out sick and business owners to close up shop Wednesday as part of a
"national moratorium to stop the war on Iraq."
McTaggart said he had been uninvolved in peace protests before talk of an
Iraq war increased last August. Since then, he's been spending part of
every Sunday displaying anti-war signs for shoppers visiting Raleigh's
largest shopping mall.
"I never did anything before, but I really think this war is going to be
such a disaster I had to come out," McTaggart said. "There's a lot of
people who are against the war, but don't say anything."
Andrew Pearson of Chapel Hill took the day off from his job designing
databases for real estate managers to promote a loosely organized effort
to hang anti-war banners from bridges over some of North Carolina's
busiest highways.
He said the banners in Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh were
probably seen by tens of thousands of motorists during Wednesday's
morning rush hour. He later joined a lunchtime demonstration at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill opposing the Bush
administration's pledge to use force if necessary to remove Iraq's
alleged nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
"We're trying to show folks across North Carolina that people are ready
and willing to disrupt their daily lives to stop the war," Pearson said.
"Bush needs to take into account that the cost of a war in Iraq won't
just be measured in lives, but in the disruption it will be causing at
home in terms of protests, strikes, people willing to be arrested, boycotts."
Religious, Academic and Political Groups Protest War
On a soggy patch of grass in front of Trinity College's student dining hall, two motionless bodies lay next to gray papier-m Fach De bombs. The two were pretending to be victims of a not-yet-declared war with Iraq.
Some gave them strange looks. Others stopped to examine.
But if the students who filed into Mather Hall for lunch had any
questions, a sign with rain-stained ink plastered on the back of a body
cleared it up: "Dead Human Being. Victim of mass destruction deployed
against Iraqi civilian population by U.S. Government."
"We want to personify the facts," said Scott Virgin, a member of
Trinity's Anti-War Coalition and one of the students who organized
Wednesday's demonstration against a war with Iraq. "If what we do is
change people's daily routine, then we'll have made it a little bit more
real for them."
The demonstration at Trinity was one of hundreds that took place at high
schools, colleges and universities across the country Wednesday as a part
of a movement known as "Books not Bombs."
The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition said earlier that tens of
thousands of students at more than 350 schools had pledged to join the
protest. The group did not have an immediate estimate on how many
students participated.
Events were scheduled at more than a dozen Connecticut schools, many of
which were held outdoors under a steady cloud cover and intermittent rain.
About 300 people attended a noontime rally at Wesleyan University in
Middletown, said Ben Somberg, 19, a government major.
"I think people think this war is absurd. Students think it's absurd. All
kinds of people think it's absurd," Somberg said. "And that group of
people is growing broader and broader, and becoming more and more mainstream."
Chanting "one, two, three, four, we don't want your bloody war," students
stood outside Glastonbury High School holding placards and flashing the
peace sign to passing cars.
"(Saddam) is absolutely the epitome of evil," Matt McLaughlin, a student
protester told WTNH-TV. "I question his ability to hurt us. There are
other ways to do this."
While students held the majority of protests nationwide Wednesday, others
also joined in the effort. Another anti-war group, Not in Our Name, urged
workers to call in sick and business owners to close up shop Wednesday to
protest a war with Iraq.
At Hartford's Constitution Plaza, members of Reclaiming the Prophetic
Voice, an interfaith anti-war group, held a demonstration outside of U.S.
Sen. Joe Lieberman's office. Lieberman, who is seeking the Democratic
nomination for president, has been an advocate of military action in Iraq.
In front of a small wooden altar, protesters placed yellow roses,
carnations and peace lilies around an 8-foot banner with a picture of a
corpse lying in ashes.
Some protesters wore brown burlap sackcloths slung over their shoulders.
Biblical prophets wore sackcloths to emphasize an impending national
disaster, and the group wore the cloths to symbolize that war with Iraq
would mean global disaster, said the Rev. Allie Perry, one of the group's
leaders.
Protesters also sprinkled ashes across the sidewalk.
"We bring these ashes today as a sign of the terror and devastation that
our government is threatening to perpetrate on the people of Iraq," Perry
said. "This is what shock and awe really looks like."
Sheltered by a dome of umbrellas, the protesters carried signs reading,
"We the People Speak," and "United for Peace."
"Amen! Amen!" they cried.
San Juan Islander
Cries of "Kill Saddam!" were met with "Not in our Name!" during protests
on the county Courthouse lawn today (Wednesday, March 5, 2003).
Approximately 100 Friday Harbor students walked out of class at 1:20 p.m.
to protest the war with Iraq. It was part of the national "Books not
Bombs " event.
The students gathered in front of the courthouse where they were met by a
pro-war demonstrators. Shane Bison, Arylss Lee, Anna Dickerson and Liam
Knight supported President Bush's plans for war with Iraq. Lee and
Dickerson plan to join the military.
There were heated exchanges between the dozen pro-war demonstrators and
the hundred anti-war protesters. Sheriff Bill Cumming and several
deputies were on hand to make sure neither side incited the other to violence.
Ben White and County Commissioner Darcie Nielsen spoke to the crowd.
Nielsen stressed the fact that the anti-war protestors support the
troops. "We don't want them to die, " she said.
The protestors paraded through downtown Friday Harbor. They held hands on
the courthouse lawn and sang America the Beautiful as the event wound down.
Santa Monica Students Part of Nationwide Protest
With a U.S.-led war against Iraq seemingly days away, hundreds
of local college and high school students Wednesday joined tens of
thousands of their colleagues nationwide in what was likely the biggest
campus antiwar protest since the Vietnam War.
More than 1,200 students from Santa Monica College, as well as students
from five local high schools, participated in a series of protests across
the city. More than 200 of the protesters descended on City Hall, where
they were met by about 50 police officers.
There were no arrests, police said.
The rallies began at Santa Monica College, where about 500 students met
on the campus "Free Speech" area in the morning. They then marched down
Pico Boulelvard to the amphitheater for an old-fashioned teach-in that
swelled the ranks of protesters to more than 1,200, said Bruce Smith, the
college's spokesman.
"The event went very peacefully," Smith said. "We felt it was a very good
educational experience for the students."
Inspired by the morning's events, about 200 protesters spontaneously
spilled into local streets, marching down sidewalks along Pico Boulevard
to City Hall, organizers said.
In the afternoon, the raucous crowd gathered on the City Hall lawn
chanting "No Blood For Oil," as police officers lined the entrance to the
building and quietly watched as protesters shouted them down.
"We're here to draw attention so people realize" that they're not alone
if they oppose a war with Iraq, yelled one organizer through a bullhorn.
Juana Masa, 19, a student member of the antiwar group Not in Our Name
said her group wanted to encourage the community to band together against
the war and wanted to send a message that "we aren't going to stand for
business as usual."
"This war is unjust," said Masa, a sophomore at SMC. "This war is not
going to happen in our name."
The group challenged workers to call in sick and business owners to close
up shop Wednesday as part of a "national moratorium to stop the war on
Iraq," wire reports said. It has not yet been determined whether any
widespread sick outs took place.
Lelani, another sophomore at the college who declined to give her last
name, said she felt compelled to participate because she wanted to let
people know that their government was not representing them.
"I want the people of Iraq to know that I don't support a war against
them," she said, adding that she was tired of U.S. domination around the
world.
Brianna Pruett, 20, an art major in her first year at SMC, said she was
against the war, though she believed that Saddam Hussein was a negative
force in the region.
"I don't condone war on Iraqi citizens in order to propagate our
country's thirst for oil," she said.
Though Pruett reported that police threatened students with arrest after
they staged a temporary sit-in on Pico Boulevard, Lt. Frank Frabrega said
no arrests were made and everything proceeded peacefully.
After the brief rally on the City Hall lawn, the protesters proceeded
along 2nd Street to the Third Street Promenade to host an impromptu
public forum on the war.
The protesters, escorted by police along the way, drew mostly supportive
honks from drivers tied up in traffic at local intersections as they
snaked through city streets.
Sit-in at Santa Rosa Navy Office - Part of National Protest
A dozen anti-war protesters, including five high school students, were
arrested Wednesday at a Navy recruiting station after taking over the
downtown Santa Rosa office for two hours and refusing to leave.
Santa Rosa police took the protesters, ages 14 to 60, to the police
station where they were cited and released on misdemeanor charges of
trespassing.
A Windsor High School student who was arrested said the arrests were an
escalation in tactics by local anti-war groups as tensions in the Persian
Gulf region near a crisis point.
"The rallies have become more like a parade, so we're shutting down
businesses to get our voices heard," said Derek Boland, 18, a Windsor
senior who helped plan an anti-war protest at his school earlier in the week.
Wednesday's sit-in was spearheaded by students taking part in a national
protest by tens of thousands of high school and college students. An
estimated total of 200 students walked out of Sonoma County classrooms,
including 80 at El Molino High School and 79 at the private, 88-student
Summerfield Waldorf School.
Several adult activists outside of the recruiting office said they were
on hand as observers and not to sway the younger protesters into taking
action. They included an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild and
members of Not In Our Name Sonoma County, the Sonoma County Peace and
Justice Center and other anti-war coalitions.
"As long as it's done non-violently, we'll support it," said Elizabeth
Stinson, executive director of the Peace and Justice Center. "The message
here is really clear: Recruitment can't go on as usual when there is a
war of genocide coming."
Some of the protesters participated in non-violent civil disobedience
training held Tuesday and Wednesday, including at Santa Rosa's Courthouse
Square, where about 100 students gathered at noon to network and wave
peace signs.
From there a smaller group marched down Mendocino Avenue and into the
lobby of the Navy recruiting station, where they chanted, "Let us grow
up! Keep the military out of our schools!" and banged a drum.
Some protesters taunted Army recruiters by yelling through the locked
door to their office.
After refusing the protesters' demand for them to shut the office for the
day -- a request recruiters honored two months ago during a similar
demonstration -- the recruiters called police.
"I'm not going to allow anyone to use intimidation to close this
station," said Eric Sanders, who runs the Navy office.
Police responded in force with one commander, one lieutenant, two
sergeants and 10 officers, including a canine unit and two officers on
horseback, Cmdr. Rod Sverko said. All of the officers were held over from
the day shift and were on overtime, police said.
Sverko said the response was to ensure that things didn't get out of
hand. As it turned out, the mood was pretty relaxed.
When helmeted officers came to take the protesters away one by one, the
demonstrators stood up and allowed plastic "flex cuffs" to be put on
before walking to a rear parking lot where they were patted down and put
into a police van or cars.
"They made it easy for us, and we made it easy for them," Sverko said.
Anjuli Sanneman, 18, of Windsor was one of the first to come out,
chanting anti-war slogans as she walked.
"I don't regret it at all," she said. "It's something I believe in strongly."
Waiting in the parking lot for her 16-year-old daughter was Michaela
Aizer. Sierra Aizer, a student at Sebastopol's Nonesuch School, had
phoned her mother to tell her what she was going to do.
"If she feels empowered enough to do this, I support her," Aizer said.
The protest arrests were the first in Sonoma County since 1999 when three
anti-fur protesters refused to leave the Burlington Coat Factory store in
Rohnert Park.
Local Students, Teachers Join Global Protest
Area college and high school students took their anti-war message to the
streets of downtown Seattle this afternoon, marching from Seattle Central
Community College to Westlake Park.
About 500 students, many from the University of Washington, Seattle
Central Community College and Garfield High School, took part in the noon
march. About 50 police officers followed on foot, bicycles and
motorcycles. Some officers, dressed in riot gear, guarded freeway on-ramps.
At Westlake Park, they joined a separate gathering sponsored by the
anti-war group Not in Our Name. By mid-afternoon, about 2,000 people had
gathered there, according to Margo Heights, a Not In Our Name organizer.
The events were part of a nationwide peace effort that encouraged people
to take a day off from work and school. Organizers across the country
were calling it the National Moratorium to Stop the War in Iraq.
Tens of thousands of students at more than 300 colleges and universities
pledged to join in the protests, according to the National Youth and
Student Peace Coalition. Thousands of students also rallied for peace in
Britain, Sweden, Spain, Australia and other countries.
Students here also used the event to call attention to a need for better
education funding.
"We have a situation where Washington has one of the highest unemployment
rates in the country, and the price of education is skyrocketing," said
Emily Reilly CQ, a 21-year-old UW student.
"We have a lot of problems at home. Tuition is up for the third straight
year. But at the same time, our government has plenty of money to throw
into a war," added Reilly, a political economy major.
Though hundreds of high school students were in attendance, not many had
to cut classes to participate, as today was an early release day for the
Seattle School District. Most high schools dismissed students just after noon.
PROTEST RALLIES: BAY AREA HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGES SEE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST WAR
Thousands of high school and college students in the Bay Area and around
the world walked out of classes Wednesday to protest a planned U.S.-led
war with Iraq.
In the Bay Area, demonstrations and teach-ins were conducted at a number
of college campuses, including San Jose State University, Stanford
University, De Anza College, San Francisco State University and the
University of California-Berkeley.
Hundreds of high school students in San Francisco, the East Bay, San Jose
and elsewhere also participated in walkouts, despite worries that they
could face detention or suspension for leaving school. In Palo Alto, at
least 30 students from Jordan Middle School left classes and then spent
the day at peace rallies at Stanford.
At Berkeley High School, the anti-war walkout coincided with the lunch
hour, after which most students returned to class. The rally's emotional
highlight occurred when a group of middle school students with peace
signs painted on their faces arrived by skateboard and foot and spoke to
about 500 students gathered in a nearby park.
``We don't want a war on Iraq because we think it's stupid,'' said
Fridelyn Fierstein, 13, a seventh-grader at Martin Luther King Middle
School in Berkeley.
Some Berkeley middle school students said they know they might get
detention but think that showing their opposition to a war with Iraq is
more important than potential punishments.
``The teachers were guarding the exits, but we just left at 10:30,'' said
Marco Mastronardo, 12. ``President Bush probably has no idea that this is
going on, but maybe if everyone does something he'll pay attention.''
Wednesday's events were organized by the National Youth and Student Peace
Coalition, a network of student groups that came together after the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks. But local anti-war groups from Not in Our Name
(NION) to ANSWER, or Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, widely
publicized the demonstrations and handed out large placards and fliers to
students.
At San Jose State University, an estimated 200 students walked out of
classes at 9 a.m. to join a rally that linked funding for war to tuition
fee increases and a federal government that they see as unresponsive to
the needs of youth. One protester carried a placard proclaiming ``Drunk
Frat Boy Drives Country Into Ditch.''
``We need education, not mass destruction -- that is why we're here,''
chanted students, led by sociology major Vanessa Nisperos, 24, of San
Jose. Students also demanded a freeze on Gov. Gray Davis' proposed 25
percent tuition fee increase for the 2003-04 academic year and asked San
Jose State officials to oppose further cuts in California's education budget.
San Jose High Academy students Khaled Abdallah and Obaid Khan, both 14,
walked about a mile and a half to the college campus, knowing they risk
detention or a Saturday make-up class when they return.
``They said we could go, but we'd face the consequences,'' said Khan.
``But we're not doing this for stupid reasons.''
At Stanford, dozens of student groups, from the Muslim Students Awareness
Network to the Stanford Labor Action Coalition, organized activities best
described as a ``think-in'' that attracted hundreds of students.
Twenty-six sympathetic professors canceled classes.
``We've become sick and tired of standing back,'' said Linda Tran, an
18-year-old student from San Jose, who hopes that students will continue
to band together to make their influence felt. ``We want to find
something we can do.''
Chador-clad Mabrookah Heneidi, 19, who spent two months in hiding with
her family when Iraq invaded Kuwait during the Gulf War, participated
even though she doesn't believe protests will stop a U.S. invasion of Iraq.
``What we are doing is really taking the first step toward preventing all
the other wars that are yet to be made by this administration,'' she
said. ``This is our first step toward creating a world that we are going
to control.''
Students also rallied for peace in major U.S. cities including Los
Angeles and New York, as well as Britain, Sweden, Spain, and Australia.
At least 450 students from various San Francisco high schools marched
around the city and then gathered on the steps of City Hall. In Oakland,
at least three people were arrested during a march downtown, but it was
not clear if they were all students.
It was impossible to determine how many Bay Area students took part in
the event, and many school principals said they needed time to scan
attendance records before arriving at final numbers. Some local teachers
were surprised that school officials locked doors to keep students in.
``They locked the main gates, and the students were yelling `Let us out!'
'' said Larry Flesen, an English teacher at Oakland High School. ``I
offered to supervise or chaperon the walkout, but the principal said no.''
Throughout the day, local activists reported details of various events on
Web sites such as www.indybay.org
Thousands of Pupils in Nationwide Protest
Thousands of pupils walked out of classes yesterday in a spate of
anti-war protests which also saw sacks of farmyard manure dumped on
the steps of Labour party headquarters.
Most teachers turned a blind eye or marked pupils down for
unauthorised absence, but two sixth-formers were suspended in Leeds
and three teenagers were arrested in Cambridge.
The protests were claimed as a networking triumph by organisers, who
used telephone trees, texting and email to spark hundreds of
demonstrations across the country.
Annie Symons, whose daughter Alexandra, 13, was one of a crowd of
pupils picketing Downing Street, said: "The parents' network was
buzzing last night but none of us knew quite what was going to
happen. We're so proud of them."
The students included Jacob Hunt Stewart, 14, son of junior health
minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who was one of 350 pupils from
Queensbridge school, Birmingham, who left classes to join a peace
march. Jacob, who was on last month's huge rally in London, said: "My
dad, as health minister, follows the government line, but he believes
I'm mature enough to make my own decision as to whether I want to
take part in a protest."
There were scuffles in Whitehall as several teenagers tried to climb
Downing Street's security gates
Earlier about 100 teenagers, many in school uniform, blocked part of
Parliament Square, shouting peace slogans as MPs debated Iraq.
The only arrests were in Cambridge. Police said two 16-year-old
youths and a 17-year-old girl had been held on suspicion of public
order offences. Students sat down outside the police station and
claimed the three had been arrested simply for trying to walk into
the city centre.
Katherine Connolly, 16, of Hills Road sixth-form college, said:
"You're never too young to be involved in politics. Tony Blair,
obviously, doesn't think Iraqi children are too young to be bombed,
so how can we be too young to protest?"
Frances Rayner, 16, one of scores of students from Long Road
sixth-form college, said: "Young people have a reputation for being
politically apathetic and we're here to show that's not true."
The Whitehall protest carried memories of Vietnam demonstrations in
the 1960s, as school students with flowers and peace emblems painted
on their faces were shepherded behind metal barriers by mounted
police. The largely good-natured air across the country was reflected
by teachers' memos such as one from Queensbridge head Christine
Pitt, who told parents she respected the students' sense of
citizenship and initiative but added "they must have your permission
to participate".
Her counterpart at Prince Henry's comprehensive in Otley, West
Yorkshire, John Steel, defended his decision to send home two
sixth-formers for inciting pupils as young as 11 to walk out. He
said: "We value the conviction of the two students concerned, and
respect the views of all members of our school community, but we
cannot sanction protests during the school day when students should
be in lessons."
Sachin Sharma, 17, one of the suspended students, said: "We don't
have a voice in real terms. As minors, the only way we can express
our views is through demonstration."
The seven sacks of dung were dumped at Labour HQ in London by a group
of protesters led by comedian Mark Thomas, who said: "This is what
the people of Britain think of the proposed second UN resolution."
Other school walkouts involved hundreds of teenagers in Sheffield and
Liverpool.
Andrew Murray, chairman of the Stop the War coalition, said: "This is
another warning to the government. If they go to war now these
protests will be magnified. There will be many more of them."
Rice Among 300 Colleges with Protests Against War
Normally quiet Rice University was transformed into a
bustling scene of political activism Wednesday as several
hundred students and faculty members protested President
Bush's threat of a war against Iraq.
The demonstration was part of a national day of high
school and college student protests called "Books not
Bombs," coordinated by the National Youth and Student
Peace Coalition.
Thousands of students at more than 300 colleges and
universities had pledged to join the protests, according
to the organization. Attendance was spotty at many
campuses and some groups called for support of the Bush
administration. Thousands of students also rallied for
peace in Britain, Sweden, Spain, Australia and other
countries.
Despite a near-constant drizzle during Rice's lunchtime
rally, sign-carrying students crowded onto the college
green to hear speakers and poets decry the horrors of war.
"If you are a true patriot, you care about whether your
country is right or wrong," said Rice philosophy professor
Alastair Norcross. "A true patriot doesn't blindly
follow."
The rally was sponsored by Rice Students for Progressive
Action and Rice for Peace.
Rice senior Charlotte Albrecht, one of the organizers,
said more rallies and other antiwar activities would be
planned.
"It doesn't stop here," she said. "This is just the
beginning for us."
Members of Rice for Peace had printed 150 antiwar T-shirts
that were sold out before the rally even started. One of
the green "Rice for Peace" shirts was draped around the
statue of school founder William Marsh Rice.
Former state representative Francis "Sissy" Farenthold was
among the speakers.
"Maybe we should have had this rally in front of the Baker
Institute," said Farenthold, drawing laughter with her
reference to the university's prestigious research center
for public policy.
Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg said the
rally was "particularly significant" at a university where
students traditionally have been more known for their
devotion to academics and research than to political
activism.
At Texas A&M, about two dozen students, faculty and
community members demonstrated peacefully for several
hours with signs, folk music, speeches and readings from
the Greek play Lysystrata, in which women withhold sex
from their men fighting in a war.
"We felt we had to do something on our campus, as
difficult as it is," education professor Patrick Slattery
told the crowd, referring to A&M's conservative culture,
which partially stems from its military tradition.
The small group was largely ignored by passing students,
although some engaged in animated discussions with the
protesters about the merits of a war.
"I would sit around and smoke a joint here with anybody,
but I don't get the thought process of the antiwar
movement," a female student who declined to be identified
said to one of the protesters. "How would you deal with a
murderer like Saddam Hussein?"
At San Antonio College, nearly 100 people gathered to
speak out against military action, waving antiwar signs
and chanting slogans such as, "Wanna support the troops?
Bring them home."
In Madison, Wis., organizers estimated 5,000 students
rallied, though police put that figure at 2,000. In
Milwaukee, 40 students lined the sidewalk in front of the
Marquette University student union during an hour-long
protest.
In Los Angeles, 18 demonstrators were arrested for
blocking an intersection during an interfaith protest as
several hundred cheered. Hundreds of students at Santa
Monica City College rallied and about 500 Venice High
School students left class for a protest on the school's
front lawn, waving signs and chanting "No more war, no
more war."
Sporadic rain fell on hundreds of protesters -- and a
small number of Bush administration supporters holding a
counter-demonstration -- at Penn State University. The
protesters later presented the mayor with petitions asking
the borough council to oppose war with Iraq and resist
elements of the USA Patriot and the Homeland Security
acts.
Two sisters, Kate and Allie Dunn, traveled to a New York
City anti-war rally from suburban Westchester County to
express their support of the Bush administration.
"Remember 9-11?" asked a sign carried by 18-year-old Kate.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Hello!
I also think that this situation calls for something more drastic. If each person really realized how much power they have, the government would get scared. This country is supposed to be run by the people, but the people are letting the government take over. Lets take this country back from the hands of the weak men in the White House!
I call for total protest. No one work. No one go to school. People can share food, or buy just for their basic needs. We could store up food and water before hand. We can spend our days protesting. It wont be long before they give in.
The administration in the White House will be frightened. They will no longer have the power. They will not be able to go to war.
This is one of the things people in the country have the freedom to do. We are supposed to be running this country, so lets take it back from those who say they do.
Something any less drastic, I'm afraid, will have little effect on our government. This war is outrageously drastic. Shouldn't the people protest with something equal to it?
I know that something like this would be difficult to arrange. I would be willing to help, and I know many other people who would too.
I think that it is important that we do this or something like it. The lives of the Iraqis, as well as the entire world's, are at stake. Do we think that it is more important to go to work and make money? Or to take our country back from the people who took it from us and try to save the world?
I ask that you please give this some thought.
Bay Area Students Join Global Anti-War Moratorium
With or without permission, thousands of Bay Area college and high school
students walked out of class or held teach-ins Wednesday as part of a
nationwide anti-war protest on more than 350 campuses.
Thousands of other students walked out in Great Britain, France, Sweden,
Spain, Australia, Bangladesh, Switzerland, and Senegal as part of a
worldwide student strike -- organized in the United States by the National
Youth and Student Peace Coalition -- to show the effect of war on
education and spread the anti-war message to new audiences.
Getting students to cut class in the name of peace was easier than
persuading workers to play hooky. Few Bay Area residents skipped work to
join the National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq, organized in
conjunction with the student strike by the national anti-war group, Not in
Our Name.
Workers who did take the day off, such as telecommunications manager Jon
Previtali, spent the day spreading the anti-war message. Previtali was
among volunteers who distributed thousands of leaflets and signs in the
Financial District, hoping to raise awareness of the March 15 rally in San
Francisco. Others hung banners across Interstate 580 and Interstate 80
during rush hour, or attended religious services.
"People won't take that next step of walking out of work until the bombing starts," Previtali said. "And by then it will be too late."
While the 80,000-member San Francisco Central Labor Council endorsed the
moratorium, council leader Walter Johnson said no unions stopped working.
Union leaders are discussing a large-scale work stoppage, he said.
Paul George, director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, said
workplace organizing leaves workers "in a vulnerable position with their
employers. Unlike a big march or civil disobedience, the support group
isn't there."
But in many cases, it was there for students.
From a teach-in at Alameda High School to 26 Stanford professors canceling classes and holding teach-ins, students and some educators paused to reflect on how a war would affect them.
In San Francisco, Police Sgt. Anthony Manfreda said five adults and about 20 juveniles were arrested late Wednesday afternoon when their protest obstructed traffic at Market and 10th streets.
Manfreda said the demonstrators were part of a group of 500 who began
their protest at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall and eventually moved to the
Federal Building and then down Polk Street to Market.
On Market, some moved into the street and sat down about 5:30 p.m.,
prompting their police escort to warn them three times to move or face
arrest. Most moved, Manfreda said, but a token group of about 25 stayed
put. They were cited and released for causing a hazard in a roadway.
The biggest Bay Area crowds were in the East Bay, where students in
Oakland stopped traffic on Broadway as they marched from City Hall to Jack
London Square. Their protest stretched for a block and a half, as
supportive drivers honked and flashed them peace signs.
Police arrested three marchers at Jack London Square who charged a police motorcade, said Oakland Police Deputy Chief Patrick Haw. They were
arrested for obstructing a police officer, handcuffed and taken to the
station, Haw said.
But the majority of students were peaceful, and reconvened in front of
City Hall for speeches and anti-war poetry.
Oakland High basketball players Monicai Richards, Whitney Hubbard and Nola Taylor joined the protest because they are concerned about their family members who have been deployed to the Middle East.
"I don't want to lose my brother," Richards, 15, said. "He's got three
kids, and I don't want to see them without a father. This is hard for me because he is the only big brother I have."
At Oakland High School, security guards locked the school's entrance gates just before noon when students planned to leave, trapping nearly 200
students behind the gates. Some pushed a garbage can near the fence and
hopped over it, while organizers from the Oakland chapter of Not in Our
Name worked their cell phones to reason with administrators.
"We want out, but they won't let us," said junior Ramiro Villasenor, from behind the gate. Principal Clement Mok refused comment.
"This is an outrage," said English teacher Paul August. "What you have is some outside agitators who want to take our kids out of school."
Alexis Hubbell, from the Oakland office of Not in Our Name, said a protest isn't a protest if kids politely gather after school.
"The only way to get action is for major action to happen," she said.
"Students are an untapped resource that we need to tap into."
In Alameda, school officials planned around the walkouts. At St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Principal Anthony Aiello sent a letter asking parents to give their permission for their children to leave campus. At Alameda High, teachers organized a teach-in featuring speakers with various viewpoints, including U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Rocky Morrison, the ACLU and representatives of the Middle East Children's Alliance.
At UC Berkeley, about 300 students from the university and Berkeley High
gathered at Sproul Plaza and marched into campus buildings chanting and
clapping. At San Francisco State University, about 500 students filled the
school's quad to listen to speakers.
A group of about 150 college students and teenagers from San Jose Academy High School gathered at San Jose State University for a rally. Chanting "No justice, no peace," students marched around the quad and carried signs like "The Real Axis of Evil is Poverty, Racism and War."
At Stanford, senior Susan Edwards attended teach-ins on possible racial
backlash caused by the war and another on persuasive and unpersuasive
arguments for war. "It's important to give students the facts and both sides of the story," said Edwards, one of 500 student participants.
Elsewhere in Palo Alto, word of the walkout and moratorium had not spread. "I would still go to work," said software manager Vikram Vij. "The U.S. government has a policy, and it wouldn't change anything." Several San Francisco high schools held anti-war activities. At Washington High School, about 65 of the 2,200 students walked out after finishing the third day of exit exams.
The Washington walkout began at noon, when Cora Garcia, an 18-year-old
senior, grabbed a megaphone and repeated, "Students will not be suspended
for walking out."
Under the watchful eye of a handful of extra police on campus and
Principal Andrew Ishibashi, they marched to nearby Lincoln Park. There,
about 10 student speakers seemed well versed in the international
situation. They urged one another to vote and put anti-war signs in their
windows at home.
"Be proud that you're here today," 17-year-old Colleen Fewer told the
crowd. "We've heard a lot about youth violence. But it is the government that is acting violent. Washington High School does not have enough money for adequate bathrooms, yet the U.S. government is ready to spend billions of dollars for this war."
Later in the afternoon, they joined other San Francisco students in
filling the steps of City Hall. While Washington's principal, Ishibashi,
said he disagreed that a protest should take place on a school day, he
added, "I love my kids. These are good kids. They're not out here causing
a problem."
Later this week, Washington social studies teacher Martin Wolk will assign students to write about the role of walkouts now and throughout history. "A student asked me, 'What if I'm pro-war?' And I told him, 'That's OK. That's fine, too.' "
From Voices in the Wilderness
Chicago, IL - Three of us from Voices in the Wilderness--Amy Mooney, Heidi
Holliday and Ceylon Mooney-- celebrated Ash Wednesday at Boeing
World Headquarters, 100 North Riverside Plaza in downtown Chicago.
As our nation moves closer to war, we found it necessary to confront Boeing
World Headquarters, in the tradition of nonviolence, with the consequences
of their business of weapons and war; we brought ashes and photographs
of children killed by a Boeing AGM-130 in Iraq on January 25, 1999. We
presented these photographs to employees and security, speaking of the
weaponry which killed these children in Iraq; we spoke of our experiences
in Iraq, of meeting these children's families and staying in their homes, then began our Ash Wednesday service. We were charged with criminal
trespass and released in time to attend a rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza
topping off today's National Stop the War Moratorium, where students gave
testimony of their day of walk-outs, teach-ins, direct actions and rallies.
"The ashes with which we bless this picture are a testament to our faith,"
we offered. "We call for penance by Boeing in for death of this 6-year-old
girl--the rebirth of Boeing from these ashes--that this company invest its
resources into those which advance human lives, not reduce them to
ashes." Reactions were varied; many Boeing employees walked into the
office wearing ashes on their foreheads.
Boeing is the second largest weapons company in the U.S.; Boeing
manufactures Tomahawk Cruise missiles, integration systems for nuclear
weapons, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (or JDAM, a conversion system to
create "smart bombs"), and Apache combat helicopters; Boeing's weapons
have been used against civilians in the Israeli-occupied territories,
Columbia, and Iraq.
Boeing moved its world headquarters to Chicago, IL, with massive tax
breaks: up to $41 million in state tax breaks and various grants over 20
years and $19 million in city property-tax relief over a similar period;
Chicago also pledged $1 million to retire the lease of the existing tenant
in the space that Boeing will occupy. This support of the Boeing is
inconsistent with the resolution the Chicago city council passed in opposition to war
against Iraq.
Boeing is another link in the chain of "profits over people"-both the
Iraqis who will lose their lives and the Boeing employees who lost their jobs. We poured ashes to show Boeing what their cruise missiles do to Iraqi
civilians. It's not "collateral damage"-human lives, both Iraqi and American, are at stake.
Since September 11, 2001, Boeing has laid off more than 30,000 employees
while netting billions in profits from arms sales alone; 2002 saw a net
increase in sales to the U.S. Department of Defense-up $3.3 billion from
2001. Boeing has an annual lobby budget in excess of $8 million.
We entered the lobby of Boeing at 8:30AM, laid our photographs on the
ground, scattered ashes, and offered the following litany:
In Judeo-Christian and Pagan traditions, ashes are a symbol of both rebirth
and atonement for one's sins. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the
Christian Lenten season leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of
Christ. We carry to the world headquarters of Boeing, the second largest
arms company in the United States, faces of Iraqis whose homes, lives and
children have been reduces to ashes by a Boeing AGM-130.
For this we must atone:
To be born again, we must:
The little girl in this picture was named Nor, which means "light" in
Arabic. At 9:30AM on January 25, 1999, the United States bombed her slum
neighborhood in Basra, killing her and several other children. Nor's light
was burnt to ashes by a Boeing AGM-130. Nor and her family represent the more than one million Iraqi civilians killed by U.S.-led economic sanctions andU.S. air strikes and the more than 10,000 Gulf War veterans who have died since Desert Storm. Nor and her family represent the millions of Iraqis who will face famine as they are bombed out of their homes, and the thousands of Iraqi civilians waiting to die at the hands of the Pentagon's "shock and awe" and Boeing's weapons. Boeing builds and sells these killing
machines, the people of America foot the bill, and the ordinary Iraqi
civilians pay the price.
A Prayer
With the ashes of war and terror,
Good Lord, hold us in your arms
Student Rally Raises Voices Against War
Students, Faculty Protest War
A flurry of activity took over intersections all over O'ahu Wednesday as
protestors held demonstrations opposing the possible war against Iraq.
The mass protest began at 4 p.m. and lasted until about 6 p.m.
Intersections included Kailua Road and Oneawa, King and University,
Beretania and Fort Street Mall and Kilauea and Waialae; among many others.
Many came out to stand at the intersections and hold signs of opposition,
however the number of participants remain unconfirmed.
Members of the Unitarian Church stood at Pali Highway and Wyllie, while
union members stood at Kapiolani and Kalakaua.
Eric Gill, executive officer of Local 5 said that, "It was the biggest
participation we've had so far. It was really the first time that the
unions came together to protest the war."
Gill said that the various unions, including the University of Hawai'i
Professional Assembly, brought several people to participate and said
that there were at least 50 people present at the intersection.
Local 5 also participated at a University of Hawai'i at Manoa anti-war
fair in early February.
At King and Ward, drummers performed just outside of Thomas Square.
The National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq was organized by Not in
our Name, a nationwide anti-war organization. The Hawai'i sector of NION
joined many other groups around the nation in protesting on the same day.
A press release promoting the event read: "Whoever you are. Wherever you
are. What's the line you haven't crossed yet to show your determination
to stop this war? The line may be different for everyone. But whatever it
is, prepare to cross it on March 5, in large and small acts of courage,
singularly and together."
At the end of the early evening, participants gathered at Kapono's from 6
p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for music, supper and socializing.
With War in Iraq on Horizon, Students Hold Rally at Cox
Hand puppets, banners and music filled Cox Hall's amphitheater Wednesday
as students gathered to stage Emory's latest anti-war protest.
Students from the Emory Anti-War Network, a collection of different
student groups opposed to the war, staged the protest, handing out
pamphlets and urging passersby to sign the petition.
Between noon and 2 p.m., 187 people signed a "People's Anti-War
Referendum" petitioning the U.S. government to avoid waging war on Iraq.
Signatories included students, staff and faculty.
Later that afternoon, protesters gathered on Clifton Road, Haygood Drive
and North Decatur Road to create "no war zones" as part of the national
"Not in Our Name" campaign.
The protests were staged as America continues to face off against
Germany, France and Russia over U.N. approval of military force against
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for failing to disarm.
Organizers said attendance at the protest exceeded expectations.
"I think it went really well," said College freshman Erik Fyfe, one of
the demonstration's organizers. "We ran out of paper for our petitions
because so many people signed up."
College senior Rachael Spiewak said she joined the protest because of
frustration over portrayals of Emory students as apathetic. She suggested
that few students came to previous demonstrations because schools and the
media were uncritical of the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq.
"History is totally manufactured by corporations and the government,"
Spiewak said.
But others in the crowd were less sure of their stances on war.
"We've put ourselves in a difficult situation, but we have to follow
through," said College sophomore Jason Schwartz. "I'm not sure war is the
best way to go about it, but I'm not necessarily sure there's an alternative."
The Emory Anti-War Network plans more protests with a panel discussion in
White Hall March 27 and a teach-in at the Dobbs University Center March 29.
Long Beach Press Telegram
Wednesday, March 05, 2003 - BELLFLOWER Joining peace demonstrations
across California, about 100 students from St. John Bosco High School
took to the streets Wednesday to condemn the looming U.S.-led war against
Iraq.
Unlike some of the state's public schools, however, students here had
permission to leave their classrooms to participate in the well-organized
rally, which was coordinated with the consent of school administrators.
"I tend to think of Catholic schools as conservative most of the time,'
said student organizer Ian Velasquez, "but we got considerable support,
and they seem to understand what we're doing.'
Protesters gathered in the church at the 13640 Bellflower Blvd. campus at
about 1 p.m. before heading south along Bellflower, east on Rosecrans
Avenue, north on Woodruff Avenue and west on Foster Road. Those in front
held up a large blue banner that read, "SJB Youth For Peace' while others
waived smaller signs with slogans such as "Not In Our Name' and "War Is Mean.'
The students were joined by about a dozen teachers and school leaders,
but the Rev. John Itzaina, president of St. John Bosco, was quick to
point out that school sentiment on the war is not unanimous.
"It's not a position of the school, because we wouldn't take a position
on it,' Itzaina said. "But it is the position of these concerned students
and staff members.'
The Rev. John Roche, campus minister, said the rally was intentionally
apolitical.
"We're not taking a stand on politics as much as human life,' Roche said.
"Whether it's our soldiers or the people in Iraq, we're just praying for
a peaceful resolution.'
Elsewhere in California, where the student protest movement was born in
the 1960s, high school and college students skipped classes by the
thousands Wednesday to join worldwide rallies.
Other demonstrators blocked traffic in Los Angeles for almost an hour.
Eighteen people were arrested.
There were no reports of walkouts at Cal State Long Beach and most of the
25,000 high school students in the Long Beach Unified School District
stayed in class. But one teacher at the Jordan High School Freshman
Academy, 171 Bort Ave., was sent home by the principal after he walked
out of his language arts class and into the quad, where he was joined by
a handful of ninth-graders opposed to war.
"I stepped out of the class for no longer than a bathroom break to do
what's right for my country and what I thought was the responsible thing
to do,' said Don Grose, a 16-year teacher who has spent the last three
years with the district.
"I feel it's an important responsibility as an educator to not be neutral
on social issues,' Grose said. "Silence is basically complicity.'
District officials did not share that position. "He was sent home and may
be subject to additional consequences for leaving his class unattended,'
said LBUSD spokesman Dick Van Der Laan.
Meanwhile, student rallies were staged from San Diego to Stanford, where
about 60 professors endorsed the actions by canceling classes or saying
there would be no penalties for being absent. About 300 people protested
at the campus, carrying signs reading, "It's the Middle East, not the
Wild West,' and "The majority of us didn't vote for this war.'
At Santa Monica City College, more than 1,000 students filled an outdoor
amphitheater as part of the "Books Not Bombs' protest. Just after noon,
students streamed onto busy Pico Boulevard, shutting down almost five
blocks around the school and marching 12 blocks to City Hall.
In San Diego, about 350 students marched through the downtown area
chanting anti- war slogans.
Tens of thousands of students at more than 300 colleges and universities
nationwide had pledged to join the protests, according to the National
Youth and Student Peace Coalition. But attendance was spotty at many
campuses and some groups called for support of the Bush administration.
Thousands of students also rallied for peace in Britain, Sweden, Spain
and Australia.
During Wednesday's protests, about 500 students at Venice High School in
Los Angeles chanted slogans and waved signs on the front lawn. Principal
Jan Davis, speaking through a megaphone, warned students they would face
detention for being out of class.
In Los Angeles, non-student protesters, including ministers and priests
in religious robes, blocked an intersection near the federal building as
part of an interfaith protest. Rabbi Steve Jacobs said President Bush was
destabilizing the Middle East.
"He's endangering Palestinians and Israelis. What a shame,' Jacobs said.
"Not only are we all not living in safety, but we're the laughing stock
of the world.'
During Lenten services at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, Cardinal
Roger Mahony offered support for a United Nations settlement of the
crisis in Iraq.
"Long-term generational structures for peace are stronger, and establish
longer lasting ties then war, which always shatters relationships between
nations, races and religions,' he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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