Protesters March, Rally Against War With Iraq

The 2-mile march started on Constitutional Avenue, where people listened to notable figures -- such as actress Susan Sarandon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson -- speak against war in Iraq for hours before they proceeded down the street.

The protest in Washington coincided with similar protests across the United States and around the world, including ones held in San Francisco, Mexico City, Berlin and Tokyo.

Buses, vans and carpools took a coalition of more than 800 North Carolinians to the Washington rally, said Michal Osterweil, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student and an active member of the Campaign to End the Cycle of Violence.

UNC-CH groups such as CECV, the Student Environmental Coalition and Students United for a Responsible Global Environment were at the rally.

They were joined by students from Duke University, Wake Forest University, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Asheville, said Andrew Pearson, treasurer for Internationalist Books and a CECV member.

N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, attended the rally and said protesters came from all over the United States and consisted of retirees, students and everyone in between.

"(There was) a combination of support and joy that we were all saying the same thing and frustration that we will not be heard. ... But we'll be back," she said.

Pearson said not many North Carolinians seemed to support the war. "People who went with us were from mainstream America."

Kinnaird said even Fayetteville, where Fort Bragg is located, had a contingent of protesters at the rally.

Ralliers said North Carolinians shared a proud camaraderie at the protest.

"The most visible thing there was a big North Carolina flag," Pearson said. "I felt like, 'We represent!'

"North Carolina really showed its potential at this rally, and we can only grow stronger in voice."

Protesters from all over the country said their sheer numbers peacefully got their message across.

"This war is illegal, immoral, and it's not in our own international interest, and we have more important things to do than start a war, " said Khodr Zaarour, director of political affairs for the Muslim American Political Action Committee.

Iyad Hindi, MAPAC president, said that although he would like to see Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein removed, war is not a solution at this time. "We want a regime change, but the price would be tremendous," he said.

Osterweil said protesters do not accept Bush's argument that the war will ensure the U.S.'s security. "We aspire to make democracy work and make clear how opposed we are to the war," she said.

Pearson said, "This mobilization reveals that we have a lot of political power to the pro-peace (and) pro-justice movement.

"If Bush wants to continue, he would do it with resistance from home."

Pearson said efforts will continue in North Carolina to protest the war on Iraq. "We're ready to shut down highways," he said. "We've been collecting hundreds of pledges of resistance ... to support civil disobedience."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.