March 21 Mass Action against the War.

March 21 mass Actions in the US

On the 6th Anniversary of the US War in Iraq

By AJLPP


Keywords: Direct Action, War & Peace,

AJLPP Update
March 24, 2009

On Sixth Anniversary of Iraq War...More than 10,000 March on Pentagon
Over 4,000 Protest in Los Angeles & San Francisco
Demonstrators Confront the U.S. War Machine!

Over 4,000 people hit the streets of L.A. on March 21 to protest U.S. wars. 10,000 in Washington, D.C. & 4,000 in San Francisco

In Washington, D.C., 10,000 marched on the Pentagon on March 21. As the Associated Press noted, a "throng of war protesters swelled Saturday as they marched across the Memorial Bridge." The protesters marched on the Pentagon and what followed was a dramatic direct action at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and KBR, corporations that demonstrators labeled "merchants of death." The predominantly young crowd continued to grow as the day proceeded. They marched through the Pentagon north Parking Lot and then into downtown Crystal City, where the leading war corporations' headquarters are located.

The march was led by a contingent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. James Circello, an Iraq war veteran and member of the Veterans and Service Members Task Force of the ANSWER Coalition, said, “We refuse to accept the new administration’s attempts to rewrite the history of the occupation of Iraq into that of a humanitarian mission." There was a significant delegation from members of the Arab and Muslim communities and many students participated.

At least 4,000 demonstrated in San Francisco, where police carried out violent attacks on demonstrators and arrested numerous people.

4,000 March in Los Angeles

“The Obama administration has continued the Bush plan on Iraq. But I’ve got something to say to the President: he must end the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan immediately. And the government must begin taking care of veterans and all people right here in the United States. There are too many homeless; there are too many unemployed. Being in the streets today is the most important place to be.” – Ron Kovic

Kovic, Vietnam veteran and author of “Born on the Fourth of July” delivered a rousing, yet solemn speech to 4,000 protesters in Los Angeles on the sixth anniversary of the war. Kovic spoke at the end of the day as veterans and students delivered 40 coffins draped with Iraqi, Afghani, Palestinian and U.S. flags to the doorstep of the Hollywood military recruitment center.

March 21 was a historic protest for LA because it was a militant, veteran- and youth-led action that culminated in a series of dramatic actions targeting the U.S. war machine. The surging energy of the crowd was palpable throughout the day.

A rally with community leaders; anti-war, union and student activists, kicked-off the action. “Today is a new beginning for the anti-war movement,” said Michael Prysner, Iraq war veteran and member of the Veterans and Service Members Task Force of the ANSWER Coalition. "We are initiating a new period of struggle against the racist policies of the U.S. war machine.”

Other speakers included Hamid Khan, South Asian Network; Jollene Levid, GABRIELA Network; Christine Araquel, Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines; Blase Bonpane, Office of the Americas; David Clennon, Screen Actors Guild; Chloe Osmer, National Assembly to End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; Muna Coobtee, ANSWER Coalition and Free Palestine Alliance; Mahmud Ahmad, Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Shakeel Syed, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California; Ryan Endicott, Iraq Veterans Against the War; Tina Richards, Veterans for Peace; Marylou Cabral, Cal State Long Beach student and leader of Youth & Student ANSWER; Carlos Alvarez, Party for Socialism and Liberation; Jim Lafferty, National Lawyers Guild; Sidney Ross-Riden, Global Women's Strike; Sarah Knop, International Socialist Organization, and others. Rebels to the Grain performed political hip-hop and The People's Party played political music along the march route. The rally was chaired by Tamara Khoury, a Palestinian student and ANSWER organizer at Cal State Fullerton, and Peta Lindsay of ANSWER, who also led chants during the march.

After the rally, protesters marched behind a procession of mock coffins through Hollywood chanting "Occupation is a crime, from Iraq to Palestine!" and "Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!"

A mass symbolic "Die-In" covered the entire block of Hollywood and Highland (Photo: Ray White)
After winding past the CNN building and the LGBT center, the march stepped onto Hollywood Blvd. and continued to Highland, the busiest area in Los Angeles. The march stopped in front of the famous Kodak Theatre where ANSWER organizer Ian Thompson led a symbolic “die-in” to dramatize the affect of imperialist wars on innocent people. Thousands lay down in the middle of the street as the sound of bombs and air raid sirens blared over loudspeakers. Thousands of bystanders watched the action with rapt attention on the sidewalks nearby. As people stood up, they chanted "Stop the wars" louder and louder, with their fists held high in the air.

Then, the crowd successfully delivered mock coffins to the recruitment station, where veterans and organizers faced off with a line of police. A brief closing rally featured Ron Kovic; Muna Coobtee, Free Palestine Alliance; and veterans and military families. The action highlighted the terrible costs of the war machine on innocent people abroad and working-class troops in the U.S.

People from all over Southern California mobilized for March 21. “I’m a student who can barely afford to stay in school, and I’m so mad about the war and tuition hikes. This was the most powerful action I have ever been a part of. It makes me want to do more—everything I can, to stop this system,” said Yasmin Abdullah, a Lebanese American student at Los Angeles Valley College.

Another protester, Miguel Herrera, a retail worker from East Los Angeles, said March 21 was his first protest. Herrera said that, at first, he didn’t think people would demonstrate after Obama got elected, but “now that we are out here together in the thousands, I’m so glad to be here. It really shows me that people can make a difference by coming together in common struggle.”

The protest was covered in the Los Angeles Times, the San Jose Mercury News, KTLA and every major media station in Los Angeles, and Chinese, French, and Arabic news agencies abroad, among others. People around the country and world heard and saw the message of the anti-war movement.

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