***** The Lantern (the Ohio State University Student Newspaper) Monday, April 14, 2003
Ohioans march in national protest
By John Ross
<http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper333/stills/a3o64932.jpg> Media Credit: Miriam Dick Standing in front of the central Ohioans for peace banner dressed as Bush and an embedded reporter are two protestors from New York.
<http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper333/stills/94dv67vn.jpg> Media Credit: Miriam Dick Protestors gathered at the Freedom Plaza in Washington Saturday before they began their march.
WASHINGTON - The sustained antiwar atmosphere around Washington was punctuated again this weekend when thousands of demonstrators gathered to protest war and the Bush administration.
Initiated by the International Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition, protesters met east of the White House at Freedom Plaza at noon Saturday. Throngs of activists filled the square with leaflets, buttons, signs and enthusiastic cries in opposition to President Bush, the war in Iraq and the possibility of future conflicts with other nations.
From a stage erected at the head of Freedom Plaza, representatives from organizations as diverse as the Nicaragua Network, the Korea Truth Commission and the School of the Americas Watch spoke to a crowd of about 30,000.
Issues dealing with social justice, changes in the dominance of American foreign policy and the need to shift from military and corporate interests to ones involving health care, education and jobs were discussed.
"(In October), it seemed like a big party, since there was hope involved," said Norma Wallace, an activist from Central Ohio. "Now, there is anger and frustration that we aren't being listened to."
After hearing more than 40 speakers, the thousands took the demonstration to the streets. Marching for several hours through central Washington, activists passed the Carlyle Group, Fox News, the Justice Department and the FBI and circled in view of both the Capital Building and the White House.
The march remained mostly peaceful, though the unified marchers met with varied sentiment from pro-war demonstrators supporting Bush's decisions and pro-Israeli activists en route to Farragut Park.
The day of protest was coordinated with activities in other U.S. cities and efforts in more than 40 countries worldwide. Domestically, groups from all over the country were in attendance, creating a multiplicity of voices shouting phrases such as "No War for Empire," "Regime Change Begins in the White House" and "No Iran-Syria-North-Korea-Cuba War." The last chant refers to rumored plans for military action in several other countries by the Bush administration.
The message of peace was sung the loudest by many groups, including the Central Ohioans for Peace [@ <http://www.centralohioansforpeace.org/>]. This group [Yoshie: Yes, among other groups!] met in front of the Ohio Union at midnight to travel eight hours by bus and support the movement and alternative solutions to war.
Though smaller than many of the crowds in the past several months, leaders of COP - Andy Reed, Christa Gharbo and Tom Brownfield - all viewed the day as a success. The small Midwestern group was interviewed extensively by national corporate media. For them, the exposure was a triumph against media outlets that have not been kind to protesters during the last six months.
"I think it was very successful," said Reed, a seasoned activist. "For our group especially, the exposure we got with CNN, Fox News and the New York Times, and the networking we were able to do was extremely valuable."
Others on the trip agreed wholeheartedly that their 16-hour trip for a five-hour protest was a success.
"I've been to local protests lately, and this turnout was hundreds of times larger. It's great to see so many people coming together," Columbus State student Jayme Richards said.
Mahmoud El-Yousseph brought his two sons to Washington for a lesson in American history and activism. El-Yousseph said, "It was successful for many reasons - the networking, the creative thinking. The whole atmosphere - the large crowd, the dancers and musicians in the fountain, the dynamic speakers - was very positive." [Yoshie: Go, Mahmoud!]
Though a presence in the national movement, one goal of the central Ohio group remains local, grassroots organization.
"We want people in central Ohio to know that it isn't just millions of people in Rome or New York city or Los Angeles that are getting involved," said Reed. "It's people right here."
<http://www.thelantern.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/416770.html> ***** -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>
