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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Anti-War Protest Draws 120
By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer
Before a banner with big, bold orange letters that blared "No More War," more than 100 anti-war protesters marked the seventh anniversary of the start of the Iraq war with a demonstration that began at Civic Plaza and took to nearby city streets Saturday.
"I'm here to tell you that we here in Albuquerque are not alone," Jennifer Caldwell a member of ANSWER, or Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, told the crowd. "Because all across this country, and in fact all around the world, thousands of people are coming out and into the streets to say, 'No!' to war and occupation."
The protest was one of a number that took place across the nation the same day and for the same reason.
"It's important all over this country, and everyone should be out protesting our continued presence in Iraq, the surge in Afghanistan, the issues in Pakistan and the occupation of Palestine — they're all connected," Santa Fe resident George Martin said, holding a turquoise, black and white flag adorned with a peace symbol.
"We truly have a global society; everything is connected. And while we're closing schools and libraries in the United States, we're causing harm and destruction in the rest of the world. We need to re-prioritize our budgets, and bring all of our troops home."
The "action," for certain, wasn't only about war, but a backlash against "bank bailouts" and "empire building," as anti-war activist Bob Anderson put it.
Which is why, from the Downtown Plaza, the demonstrators who numbered at least 120 about an hour into the cold weather-affected event, proceeded to a Bank of America location north, across the street, then to Lomas Boulevard NW, in front of the Federal Courthouse.
There, their signs were made visible to passers-by. Signs like: "End the War Now," "Peace Enriches All" and "FOX News Makes You Stupid."
Event speakers or performers included mainstays of the peace movement — think Raging Grannies — and also politicians, like state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, and City Councilor Rey Garduño, the latter of whom called the war "ill conceived" and "illegal."
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