KENNEBUNKPORT protest

Source: Portland Press Herald
Published: 18 November 2001 Author: TED COHEN

KENNEBUNKPORT — In a scene reminiscent of the first Bush presidency, an estimated 300 anti-war protesters rallied Saturday in front of former President George Bush's home. The Maine Global Action Network said they organized the rally to protest the war in Afghanistan. They displayed banners, sang and beat drums.
"This is not about giving peace a chance," said David Kubiak, an organizer for the network. "It's about taking on the corporate powers that built this war and are profiteering from it."

The protesters gathered at St. Ann's Episcopal Church, a half mile from the Bush compound on Ocean Avenue, and marched to his oceanside summer home. Bush was not there at the time.

Police Chief Robert Sullivan, who assigned extra officers for security, said the rally went off without incident. He said there were no arrests. "Their goal was to bring an awareness for global peace," the chief said.

The protest, stemming from the current President Bush's foreign policy, was similar to rallies that were held here during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. At that time, the senior Bush was in office and he summered here each year of his presidency.

The church where the march began Saturday is the church the Bush family attends during the summer. Built in 1887, the church is where Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker — the ex-president's parents — were married in 1921.

The Bush family has had a home here since the turn of the century.

Staff Writer Ted Cohen can be contacted at 791-6321 or at:

tcohen [at] pressherald.com