Protesters take on A2 to protest Iraq policies
Olga Mantilla
For the DailyMarch 21st, 2005
Ann Arbor residents took to the streets yesterday to protest the war in Iraq in a peaceful demonstration that marked the second anniversary of U.S. military presence in Iraq. Hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown Ann Arbor flashing peace signs, banging drums and waving banners with slogans that condemned the war and the Bush administration’s policies in the Middle East.
Students of all ages participated in the Stop The War! Day of Action that was sponsored by Michigan Peaceworks, Veterans for Peace and the Peace and Justice Commission of the Michigan Student Assembly.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn), who spoke prior to the march, called the war “a sorry mess” that wrongly claimed the lives of American soldiers. “Americans need to extend their support to the returning soldiers from the war,” said Dingell, a World War II veteran. “The harsh fact is that we’ve lost over 1,500 Americans.”
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje also made an appeal to protesters to support the troops. “ I urge all of you to pay great respect to our veterans, both past and present,” he said.
Before returning to their main gathering point on First Street, the protesters observed a moment of silence to honor U.S. troops killed in the war. A lone trumpeter played taps while participants bowed their heads in respect.
The demonstration was also attended by families with infants and junior high school students.
“I came out to speak up and say that this war is not in our name,” said Ann Arbor resident Chris Coonbe, who marched with husband Luis and daughter Paloma.
Marchers in the rally made posters and wrote letters to elected officials and the media. Children attended workshops where they drew peace signs and penned original slogans.
One nine-year-old boy wrote, “President Bush, why don’t you send your kids to go to Iraq instead of my brother?”
There was also a Conscientious Objection workshop that discussed documentation for conscientious objectors, deferments and social action.
The passionate and colorful march was powered by an eclectic crowd that chanted slogans like “Occupation is a crime … from Iraq to Palestine,” and garnered enthusiastic cheers and encouraging honks from several passing cars. Protesters drew stares and smiles from Ann Arbor residents in bookshops and restaurants on Liberty Street.
“I’m advocating no further action in other Middle Eastern countries. I think it’s important that politicians see that people are not supporting the war,” RC Junior Andy Linn said.
College Democrats Chair Ramya Raghavan agreed. “Even though Bush decided to go to war, it’s important to attend the demonstrations to keep voicing our resentment, so that politicians don’t think we support it because we’re silent,” she said.
College Republicans Chair Allison Jacobs said that while she respected the protest as an expression of freedom of speech, President Bush’s decisions regarding the war were necessary responses to the situation there.
“The president’s choice to liberate Iraq was necessary to establish the democracy we now see in Iraq,” she said in an e-mail. “We support the president in the Iraqi liberation.”
Anti-war sentiment reverberated in cities across the United States and Europe in other protests held on Saturday.
More than 10,000 people marched through the center of Rome, protesting the continued presence of Italian troops in Iraq.
In New York, a procession of demonstrators made their way up 42nd Street, sporting peace signs and carrying 50 cardboard coffins — a tactic that was also used to protest the Republican National Convention and Bush’s inauguration. There were also anti-war rallies in Madrid, Barcelona and Istanbul.
Peaceworks Director Phillis Engelbert said people need a voice in government policies, and that the demonstration was a culmination of that expression. “The war is very unpopular, not only here but across the U. S., according to recent polls. This event shows people that are questioning whether the U.S. is doing the right thing, that they are not alone. It’s empowering.”
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:20:12 -0500