Thousands mobilize in US cities against Occupation of Iraq and War in Iran
October 29, 2007
PDA gets shout out on Reuters & the St. Petersburg Times.
From Seattle to Boston and points in between, PDA chapters across the country participated in the Oct. 27 National Mobilization on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the Senate's vote to authorize War in Iraq. The protests were organized by the United for Peace and Justice Coalition, including ANSWER and Progressive Democrats of America, and an estimated 100,000 people across the country participated.
The weather was uncooperative in several locations, but rain in Boston, New York and Orlando failed to dampen the spirits of demonstrators. Two thousand showed up in
Orlando, where the Florida Democratic Party Convention was also being held.
In
Boston, the rain cleared and an estimated 10,000 activists took to the streets to hear
Howard Zinn and other notable progressives speak on the Iraq occupation, the pending action in Iran, and other Peace and social justice issues.
In
New York a wet but energetic crowd of tens of thousands made its way to Manhattan carrying signs demanding an end to the Occupation of Iraq, Impeachment, and Healthcare not Warfare.
The streets of
Chicago played host to over 5000 demonstrators, including labor, people of color, and peace activists from the Midwest. And in
Salt Lake City, PDA board member Mayor Rocky Anderson called for accountability for the actions of this administration before a crowd of approximately 1000, including a large contingent from Idaho.
At the
San Francisco site, tens of thousands more lay down in the street in a “die-in” to symbolize the deaths of American troops and Iraqi civilians in Iraq. The wildfires that have devastated southern California did not prevent thousands from turning out in Los Angeles for the demonstration where another “die-in” was staged.
In
Seattle, an estimated 7500 from all over the Northwest were present for a youth-and-community program followed by a march and rally.
Protests took place in Jonesborough, TN, the home of the largest producer of depleted-uranium weapons, and Philadelphia, where protestors formed a human chain. In New Orleans the protestors linked war spending to the failure of this administration to address rebuilding their city after the devastation caused by Katrina.
In addition, demonstrations took place in at least another
twenty-five cities including Denver, Phoenix, Houston, and as far away as Rome, Italy.
Read eye witness reports
here.
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