Calling for an end
Protesters at Boston Commons rallied for an end to the Iraq War.
Lisa Newman
Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: News
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It may have felt a little like déjà vu for members of the attending generation who had experienced Vietnam, and proudly wore their veterans' jackets.
At one point the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance" was sung. And despite the rain and muddy grounds, people came to protest the war.
Thousands of New England residents rallied at the Boston Common Saturday in an effort to make a national movement to end the war in Iraq.
Liam Madden, a freshman international affairs major and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, spoke at the rally, reminding people that peace movements have made more progress in the past than individual actions.
Madden said he felt encouraged to participate because of his experiences when he fought.
"I was opposed to the war even in the beginning," he said. "I believed the government was lying to us and when I went there, my beliefs were confirmed. There were no weapons of mass destruction. We were creating more terrorism than we were preventing."
United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of groups supporting withdrawal from Iraq, hosted a rally simultaneously in 11 different cities around the country. The rally in Boston started at noon and lasted until 2:30 p.m., when speakers led the crowd on a march around Copley Square. Other cities that participated included New Orleans, Seattle, Orlando and New York.
"The principle purpose of the rally is to be mobilizing and building pressure in Congress to bring the troops home now, to endorse civil liberties and human rights and to prevent a war from starting in Iran," said Joseph Gerson, director of programs of American Friends Service Committee in New England.
The chosen date didn't seem to have any significance, Gerson said, except that it worked best for the largest number of people in the largest number of cities. Expected attendance in Boston was between 5,000 and 10,000, the largest rally since the start of the war.
"There have been a number of demonstrations since September 11 here," Gerson said. "There was a gathering on Sept. 12 last year called 'No More Victims,' meaning both here at home and in Iraq, but this one is expected to be the biggest."
Mike Katz, a junior at St. Johns High School who participated in the rally, said he agreed with Madden.
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william
posted 10/29/07 @ 3:26 PM EST
we need to be responsible. we cant fight and then flee. Resent months have been huge for the country with violence down. if you read articals on it daily then you would know that. (Continued…)
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