ANTI-WAR MARCH IN WASHINGTON , D.C. TO TARGET WAR SPENDING "NOT $1 MORE FOR WAR - NOT ONE MORE PENNY" Rally and March set for Saturday, September 29 Gather at the Capitol reflecting pool on 3rd St , 12 p.m. The national anti-war march in Washington , D.C. , planned for this Saturday, Sept. 29 will have as its central demand a cut off of all war spending for Iraq and Afghanistan . The march, organized by the Troops Out Now Coalition will be drawing thousands of protestors to the Capitol over the weekend. A spokesperson for the Troops Out Now Coalition, Larry Holmes, said, "This is it, no more waffling--Congress must unconditionally turn down the request for $190 billion more for colonial war and occupation." Holmes, an army veteran and war resister during the Vietnam War, continued: "The Democratic party leadership of Congress does not need enough votes to either break a filibuster, or override a presidential veto to cut off all war funding. All they need to is make sure that the war funding request never makes it to the floors of Congress for a vote, period".
Saturday's march will culminate at a weeklong anti-war encampment that has been erected by the Capitol reflecting pool. Speakers at the pre-march rally, scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. , include: - Rev. Lennox Yearwood
- Cindy Sheehan
- Donna Smith, from the cast of the movie "SiCKO"
- Adam Kokish, Co-Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War
- Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General
- Ann Wright, the highest ranking official in the U.S. State Department to resign over the war in 2003
- Media Benjamin, Code Pink and Global Exchange
- Malik Rahim, Common Ground Collective, New Orleans
The march will begin at 2 p.m. , and will pass by the Department of Health and Human Resources, FEMA headquarters and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency headquarters before returning to the Capitol for an ending rally. The purpose of this route is to draw attention to the resources that should be invested in health care instead of being spent on war; the ongoing injustices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; and the campaign against immigrants. Some activists not associated with march organizers are planning to engage in acts of peaceful civil disobedience. -30- |