OVER 50,000 DEMONSTRATORS BRAVE RAINSTORMS IN LOS ANGELES: “NO TO WAR ON IRAQ!"

March 16, 2003--Under a sea of umbrellas and torrential downpours, Los Angeles’s anti-war movement sent a decisive message to Washington March 15: No to Bush's planned war on Iraq. The massive LA demonstration war one of thousands of demonstrations around the world, including protests of more than 100,000 in Washington, DC and San Francisco.

The strength of the Southern California anti-war movement was dramatically displayed today, as demonstrators filled the streets of downtown LA to protest President Bush’s planned war on Iraq despite heavy rainfall.

Following much speculation that the day’s event would be cancelled due to the weather, the turnout far exceeded the organizers’ expectations. The huge, rain-soaked crowd marched through downtown LA to a mass rally which featured speeches by Reverend Jesse Jackson, columnist Arianna Huffington, activist Tom Hayden, actress Alfre Woodard, actor David Clennon, and Academy Award winning actress Mira Sorvino.

“The fact that on one of the of the worst days of the year in Los Angeles, over 50,000 people would turn out to say no to war proves that the message of today is: as Bush and his crowd become weaker and weaker, we of the peace movement of the world, of Los Angeles. of the United States, become stronger and stronger,” said organizer Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild and the ANSWER Coalition.

Wrapped in a yellow raincoat, Reverend Jesse Jackson addressed the crowd, “We want peace in our world and we want it now! We deserve it now! Don’t let racism stop you, don’t let anti-Semitism stop you, don’t let anti-Islamism stop you, This land is our land, this world is our world, keep hope alive! You don’t have to kill to have democracy, you can negotiate; we can choose minds over missiles..”

In describing U.S. policy toward Iraq, John Parker of the International Action Center in Los Angeles said, “Any time you put down a people's aspirations for self determination and national sovereignty, it comes at a heavy cost. It will inspire the uprisings all over the world, and here too. It already has.”

Among the attending celebrities, actress/activist Alfre Woodward said, “It is an ongoing privilege to stand up for peace and the practice of democracy, our actions are making a difference, no matter what George Bush does, we are making a difference, we have got to keep at it”

At the massive rally in Washington, DC, Larry Holmes, a leading organizer for the Int’l ANSWER Coalition, stated:  “Bush seems determined to fight this war, but he was also determined to have a vote for war at the UN Security Council last week. Bush wanted this war months ago; the anti-war movement has held him back. War is not inevitable."

The Los Angeles demonstration was organized by the International ANSWER Coalition, Coalition for World Peace, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Not in Our Name Project.

 

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