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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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 Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:54 am Post subject: Hundreds held in US anti-war march |
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| Quote: | Hundreds held in US anti-war march
Nearly 200 protesters have been arrested during a march in Washington DC held to demand the return of troops from Iraq and the impeachment of George Bush, the US president.
Organisers said 100,000 people attended Saturday's protest, but police did not confirm the figure.
The arrests took place as police used chemical sprays on protesters attempting to climb over barricades outside the Capitol building.
Up to 1,000 counter-protesters gathered close by and chanted angrily at the anti-war protesters as they marched to the Capitol.
Demonstrators had gathered outside the White House before heading toward the US Capitol building.
The demonstrations come days after General David Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, testified to the US congress on conditions in Iraq.
Viviana Hurtado, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington DC, said the anti-war demonstration was attended by people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
"One of the differences with this demonstration is that it is being led by Iraqi war veterans," she said.
Veterans protest
Phil Aliff, 21, marched as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
"I stayed [in Iraq] for a year, in Abu Ghraib and outside Fallujah," he said.
"When we arrived, we were told we were here to bring stabilisation to the country.
"But we were not rebuilding anything. The Iraqis had only two hours of electricity. And I saw the atrocities committed by the Americans there."
The arrests came after several dozen protesters carried out a "die-in", lying on their backs in front of congress in an attempt to draw attention to the rising death toll in Iraq.
Many were arrested without a struggle after they jumped over a waist-high barrier.
But some grew angry as police with shields and riot gear attempted to push them back and police used chemical spray on at least two people.
'Trust eroded'
Relatives of soldiers who are serving or had served in Iraq were a key group within the public demonstration.
Diane Santoriello held a photograph of her son Neil, who was killed in Iraq in August 2004.
"I am here to get congress to de-fund the war," she said.
Brian Becker from the Answer (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition, the group organising the anti-war march, said Iraqi civilians wanted US forces out of their country.
"The vast majority of the people in the US want the war ended and the troops brought home now," he said.
Speakers at the anti-war demonstration included Cindy Sheehan, an activist whose son was killed while serving in Iraq.
US public support for the war is at an all-time low, with 62 per cent of Americans believing that invading Iraq was a mistake, according to a New York Times/CBS poll published last week. |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Counter-protestors? These bastards should go to Iraq if they think war's so good. Taking part in a few exercises where young children are murdered might give them a different perspective. |
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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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check this story!
| Quote: | Pro-War Protesters Assault Father Of Soldier Killed in Iraq
A counter-demonstration was also held by supporters of the war. One prominent peace activist Carlos Arredondo was beaten by pro-war activists. Arredondo's son Alex died in Iraq three years ago. To honor Alex's memory, Carlos has been crisscrossing the country pulling a flag-draped coffin. He marched with the coffin on Saturday and then left the march to return the coffin to his truck. That's when a pro-war supporter tried to rip a photo of Carlos' son from the coffin. When Carlos tried to save the photograph, he said a group of pro-war activists attacked him.
* Carlos Arredondo: "I was assaulted by a group of pro-war people. They come into the ground, and they kicked me and punched me. As a citizen of this country, it’s my duty and my responsibility to participate. As a father, who I lost my son in Iraq, I got to honor my son." |
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faceless
admin
Joined: 25 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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Here's pictures of the assault and the thugs...
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