Publié : 27 Oct 2003, 12:07CITATION
October 25 in Washington DC: 100,000 march against the occupation of Iraq --WASHINGTON POST COVERAGE of OCT. 25, 2003, & other media coverage
The October 25 demonstration to End the Occupation of Iraq and Bring the Troops Home Now demonstration was broadcast live and then rebroadcast several times on C-Span, it received major coverage by CNN over an 18 hour period. It was also picked up by hundreds of local newspapers and received widespread international press attention. The Washington Post carried a photograph of the demonstration on its front page; part of the accompanying article is included below.
Washington DC - - credit: Werner Petrikat, PVN
ORGANIZERS' ESTIMATE 100,000, POLICE ESTIMATE 50,000, NEW YORK TIMES REPORT 10,000
In another shameful example of biased reporting, the New York Times report of Oct. 25 gave a lower crowd estimate than even the Washington DC police by a factor of five. For decent and objective coverage see the Washington Post article.
The October 25 demonstration had a record number of family members of soldiers, veterans and active duty soldiers; contingents from the Arab American and Muslim community; and many others.
100,000 people marched through the streets of Washington, D.C. today in the largest anti-war protest since George W. Bush's May 1 speech on the U.S.S. Lincoln aircraft carrier where he proclaimed "Mission Accomplished."
The demonstration was co-sponsored by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice. The demonstration continued to grow throughout the day, reaching its peak only around 2:30 p.m., when the last busses arrived in the area of the Washington Monument grounds. By the time the front of the march reached the Justice Department the last demonstrators were only leaving the assembly area. The march stretched more than 20 city blocks filling them curb to curb including Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington's eight lane boulevard.
More than 145 cities participated in organizing transportation, bringing busses and car caravans to the demonstration. March organizers said that the dramatic increase in the turnout, compared to the first demonstration against the occupation of Iraq on April 12 (estimated by the police at 30,000) is evidence that a growing number of people in the U.S. believe that the Bush administration's rationales for the war and occupation have been exposed as lies. The Washington demonstration was also the largest mass mobilization in opposition to the Patriot Act, which was signed into law two years ago this weekend, and the protestors marched to both the White House and the Justice Department. A sister action in San Francisco drew 20,000 people into the streets demanding an end to the occupation
Funds are urgently needed so that this movement can continue its renewed momentum and take the next steps. To donate online through our secure server go to http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
From: WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE IN D.C., A DIVERSE MIX ROUSES WAR PROTEST
By Manny Fernandez Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, October 26, 2003; Page A08
Tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators marched in Washington yesterday to call for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, turning out in smaller numbers than for prewar protests but making plain their opposition during a noisy yet peaceful procession.
From a stage on the Mall and along a route that ringed the Washington Monument, the White House and the Justice Department, protesters lodged an array of grievances against the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies, including the financial and human costs of the occupation and the effect of the Patriot Act on civil liberties. Organizers of the two coalitions that sponsored the demonstration, International ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice, said the morning rally at the Washington Monument and a march through downtown that grew throughout the afternoon signaled a revival of the antiwar movement, which had not staged a major street demonstration in Washington since the fall of Baghdad in April.
"The movement has gotten a very big gust of wind in its sails at the very moment that the Bush administration is slipping in the polls," said Brian Becker, an organizer with ANSWER, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
Yesterday's march coincided with protests in more than two dozen cities across the United States and around the world, including San Francisco, Anchorage and Paris. D.C. police and U.S. Park Police were out in force in vehicles, on motorcycles and bicycles and on horseback in the District. D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey and a Park Police spokesman said no arrests had been made as of late afternoon.
The demonstrators represented a diverse mix of dissent, from suburban high school students to gray-haired retirees, from fathers pushing their children in strollers to Muslim American college students shouting through bullhorns. There were people from D.C. Poets Against the War, the Louisville Peace Action Community, Northern Virginians for Peace and Central Ohioans for Peace, among many others. Banners in Spanish, Korean, Urdu, Hebrew, Arabic and Tagalog decried the war. Smaller marches began at various locations in the city and led to the main rally, including those organized by Muslim American and by African American activists.
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Bill Perry, 56, a construction worker from Levittown, Pa., who served in Vietnam, stood at the edge of the monument grounds in the morning, holding a homemade sign demanding that the United States get out of Iraq and the United Nations get in. "About six blocks up the street, there's a beautiful memorial for 58,000 of our brothers and sisters who died in Vietnam," said Perry, wearing a yellow sweat shirt emblazoned with an "Airborne" eagle insignia. "Already, we've lost about 350 of our own brothers and sisters in this war. One can't help but wonder how big the memorial for this war is going to have to be."
The demonstration, organizers said, signified a new phase in the life of the antiwar movement. It illustrated new cooperation among often-divergent factions, as for the first time, two of the biggest coalitions put their organizational muscle behind one event, sharing expenses and logistical duties. ....
Staff writers Spencer S. Hsu, Sylvia Moreno and Monte Reel contributed to this report.
The full article can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2003Oct25.html
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October 25 in Washington DC: 100,000 march against the occupation of Iraq --WASHINGTON POST COVERAGE of OCT. 25, 2003, & other media coverage
The October 25 demonstration to End the Occupation of Iraq and Bring the Troops Home Now demonstration was broadcast live and then rebroadcast several times on C-Span, it received major coverage by CNN over an 18 hour period. It was also picked up by hundreds of local newspapers and received widespread international press attention. The Washington Post carried a photograph of the demonstration on its front page; part of the accompanying article is included below.
Washington DC - - credit: Werner Petrikat, PVN
ORGANIZERS' ESTIMATE 100,000, POLICE ESTIMATE 50,000, NEW YORK TIMES REPORT 10,000
In another shameful example of biased reporting, the New York Times report of Oct. 25 gave a lower crowd estimate than even the Washington DC police by a factor of five. For decent and objective coverage see the Washington Post article.
The October 25 demonstration had a record number of family members of soldiers, veterans and active duty soldiers; contingents from the Arab American and Muslim community; and many others.
100,000 people marched through the streets of Washington, D.C. today in the largest anti-war protest since George W. Bush's May 1 speech on the U.S.S. Lincoln aircraft carrier where he proclaimed "Mission Accomplished."
The demonstration was co-sponsored by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice. The demonstration continued to grow throughout the day, reaching its peak only around 2:30 p.m., when the last busses arrived in the area of the Washington Monument grounds. By the time the front of the march reached the Justice Department the last demonstrators were only leaving the assembly area. The march stretched more than 20 city blocks filling them curb to curb including Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington's eight lane boulevard.
More than 145 cities participated in organizing transportation, bringing busses and car caravans to the demonstration. March organizers said that the dramatic increase in the turnout, compared to the first demonstration against the occupation of Iraq on April 12 (estimated by the police at 30,000) is evidence that a growing number of people in the U.S. believe that the Bush administration's rationales for the war and occupation have been exposed as lies. The Washington demonstration was also the largest mass mobilization in opposition to the Patriot Act, which was signed into law two years ago this weekend, and the protestors marched to both the White House and the Justice Department. A sister action in San Francisco drew 20,000 people into the streets demanding an end to the occupation
Funds are urgently needed so that this movement can continue its renewed momentum and take the next steps. To donate online through our secure server go to http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
From: WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE IN D.C., A DIVERSE MIX ROUSES WAR PROTEST
By Manny Fernandez Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, October 26, 2003; Page A08
Tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators marched in Washington yesterday to call for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, turning out in smaller numbers than for prewar protests but making plain their opposition during a noisy yet peaceful procession.
From a stage on the Mall and along a route that ringed the Washington Monument, the White House and the Justice Department, protesters lodged an array of grievances against the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies, including the financial and human costs of the occupation and the effect of the Patriot Act on civil liberties. Organizers of the two coalitions that sponsored the demonstration, International ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice, said the morning rally at the Washington Monument and a march through downtown that grew throughout the afternoon signaled a revival of the antiwar movement, which had not staged a major street demonstration in Washington since the fall of Baghdad in April.
"The movement has gotten a very big gust of wind in its sails at the very moment that the Bush administration is slipping in the polls," said Brian Becker, an organizer with ANSWER, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
Yesterday's march coincided with protests in more than two dozen cities across the United States and around the world, including San Francisco, Anchorage and Paris. D.C. police and U.S. Park Police were out in force in vehicles, on motorcycles and bicycles and on horseback in the District. D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey and a Park Police spokesman said no arrests had been made as of late afternoon.
The demonstrators represented a diverse mix of dissent, from suburban high school students to gray-haired retirees, from fathers pushing their children in strollers to Muslim American college students shouting through bullhorns. There were people from D.C. Poets Against the War, the Louisville Peace Action Community, Northern Virginians for Peace and Central Ohioans for Peace, among many others. Banners in Spanish, Korean, Urdu, Hebrew, Arabic and Tagalog decried the war. Smaller marches began at various locations in the city and led to the main rally, including those organized by Muslim American and by African American activists.
********
Bill Perry, 56, a construction worker from Levittown, Pa., who served in Vietnam, stood at the edge of the monument grounds in the morning, holding a homemade sign demanding that the United States get out of Iraq and the United Nations get in. "About six blocks up the street, there's a beautiful memorial for 58,000 of our brothers and sisters who died in Vietnam," said Perry, wearing a yellow sweat shirt emblazoned with an "Airborne" eagle insignia. "Already, we've lost about 350 of our own brothers and sisters in this war. One can't help but wonder how big the memorial for this war is going to have to be."
The demonstration, organizers said, signified a new phase in the life of the antiwar movement. It illustrated new cooperation among often-divergent factions, as for the first time, two of the biggest coalitions put their organizational muscle behind one event, sharing expenses and logistical duties. ....
Staff writers Spencer S. Hsu, Sylvia Moreno and Monte Reel contributed to this report.
The full article can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2003Oct25.html
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