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THE WORLD SAID NO TO WAR

n countries east and west, north and south in over 600 cities around the globe, people took to the streets on Saturday, February 15^th to denounce the Bush Administration's call to war. From Cape Town to Helsinki, Karachi to Berlin, Manila to Cairo millions upon millions of people turned out in the largest protest in history. Some cities, such at London, experienced their biggest demonstration ever. In Tel Aviv, 3,000 Jews and Arabs gathered in a bold show of unity against the war.

In New York City - despite the fact that the temperature never made it out of the low 20's and tens of thousands of people never made it further east than Third Avenue - 700,000 people flocked to Manhattan's east side for the mass rally held on First Avenue near the United Nations. The speakers' platform was at 51^st Street, and protestors who succeeded in getting through the heavily guarded police checkpoints and barricades packed First Avenue all the way up to the 80s.

Though the City Administration had denied the rally's sponsor, United for Peace & Justice, a march permit (supposedly for security reasons), there were dozens of "feeder marches" that stepped off from various points around the city and marched on the sidewalks to the main rally. They were to be seen coming from every direction energetically chanting, waving signs and sporting their banners.

As more and more protestors poured into midtown, Second, Third and even parts of Lexington Avenue filled with demonstrators who were prevented by police from reaching the main assembly site. The entire mid-section of the city was pretty well brought to a standstill by their mass presence. Traffic was snarled for miles on both sides of town.

While the protestors showed admirable self-restraint - including in some situations that seemed engineered solely to cause them great frustration - there were incidents in which the police used horses, clubs and pepper spray to assault peaceful demonstrators. According to the National Lawyers Guild, around 350 people were arrested, many held in tight handcuffs without access to food, water, or bathrooms.

Many people attended the rally simply as private individuals, such as Claude Coleman, Jr. who held a sign reading, "I Support Regime Change: Our Own." When asked why he had come, he responded, "There's an old saying, 'If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.' So I'm trying to make a difference in my own life and the lives of other people."

And Renee Vowser, who had come from Washington DC with her sign, "US: Weapons of Mass Destruction Leader," stated, "I'm here because I believe the greatest obstruction to peace in the world is the U.S." She explained that Bush’s real reason for wanting war couldn't be that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction since Israel has weapons of mass destruction and the U.S. government does nothing. "It can't be because they're in violation of U.N. resolutions because Turkey, Israel and Morocco are each in violation," Vowser continued. "So it has to be about oil. And I'm not going to war for oil."

Many religious organizations, both local and regional, were present too, such as the Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship and the Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT.

Union members were out in force as well. One with a large presence was 1199/SEIU, New York's Health and Human Service Union, headed by Dennis Rivera.

George Gresham, the union's Secretary Treasurer commented, "We're here as healthcare workers to protest this preemptive war. We think it's a distraction from the nation's real priorities - our domestic problems and the budget. We should be talking about healthcare for the citizens instead of warfare." He said that this has been the tone that has resonated throughout their membership each time they've gone to them and asked what position the union should take on this. "They've been very clear that they do not support this war," Gresham concluded. "So we're here to join the rest of the world and speak out against it."

While many people attending the demonstration were too far from the stage or a screen to hear the speakers, many listened to them via their portable radios. Thanks to WBAI FM, we were able to hear South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Angela Davis, Susan Sarandon, Ossie Davis, Harry Belefonte and many more - approximately 60 speakers and performers in all.

When Presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton came to the microphone, I was stuck at 52^nd Street and Third Avenue, arguing - unsuccessfully - with the police about letting me through the barricade. When, I heard Sharpton's voice, though, I dropped everything, whipped out my tape recorder, and held it near my tiny radio to catch his speech.

As I leaned in, my attention riveted on his words, I soon noticed I wasn't alone. One of the African American female police officers on the other side of the barrier was also leaning in, just as eager as I was to hear what he said!

I repositioned my radio so we could both hear equally well. We stood there, Black and white, police officer and civilian together, our heads practically touching across the barricade, listening intently to Sharpton's entire speech.

Rev. Sharpton began by asking people to reject the notion that evidence has been given that justifies military action in Iraq. "We've heard the case, and the case has not been made," he said. "We say stop the war. All of the oil wells in Iraq are not worth one drop of innocent blood that President Bush wants to shed."

He went on to point out that Bush's purpose is not to secure America's safety but to pursue "a Manifest Destiny plan that will put the whole world at risk." And he spoke about the ordinary citizens of America, stating that this is a land of people who get up and go to work every day to have freedom and civil rights at home. "We do not work to send our children to foreign shores to protect oil interests," he declared. "We do not work to go on foreign soil, trying to propagate a philosophy of international domination, rather than to uplift those that have been downtrodden."

He warned, too, "They will say tonight that we protestors are the enemies of America, but we are the protectors of America. We're not against the troops; we're trying to save the troops from being used in an unjust way. The real patriots are standing here in the shadow of the U.N. today saying 'Give peace a chance.' That's what we feel we must do in order to save human lives, to save our world from a nuclear confrontation."

He finished by addressing the nation's Chief Executive: "Mr. Bush, we come in the cold to warm up the world. We're going to heat up a peace movement. You're going to see a movement like you've never seen before. We will go forward until peace is on the world agenda."

While all the other Presidential candidates either support this brutal war or are wishy-washy about where they stand as to it, it's great to see Rev. Al Sharpton out there standing squarely on the side of truth and justice, boldly making his views known before the whole world.

New York City's outspoken Council Member Charles Barron spoke on behalf of the Black and Latino youth of his Brooklyn district who refuse to go to Iraq to kill innocent civilians. "These people - Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell - do not represent the Black community," he stated. "We say no to war! If Bush wants to fight Saddam Hussein, he can get on a plane and go over there and fight him himself!"

Another highpoint of the afternoon was the speech by Danny Glover. He pulled no punches when he said, "We stand here because our right to dissent and our right to be participants in a true democracy have been high jacked by an administration of liars and murderers who curse us because we stand in the way of their tyranny and because we stand in the way of their unholy and brutal agenda, an administration whose villainy and greed is insatiable. We stand at this threshold of history and say to them, 'Not in our names!'"

Will these huge demonstrations of the will of the people make a difference? Maybe. One thing for sure, though: if they don't stop the war, the people will then have proof that this government is not by the people and for the people, and they will know that they have to take action to rescue our democracy or lose it.

Read Donna's Last Column