Portland Protests to End the War and Occupation in Iraq

Between 400 and 500 people gathered in Portland, Oregon today to protest the war and occupation in Iraq and the possible invasion of Iran in a "call for peace and justice". The march began at a small park in the Northwest part of the city and culminated in a rally at the World Trade Center in Downtown Portland.

The crowd that assembled was of every persuasion: the young, the old, parents brought their children; people brought their dogs all to show support for ending the war in Iraq. The local community-sponsored independent radio station KBOO sponsored the event along with numerous groups, such as the Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, and Veterans for Peace. Other groups, such as the Freedom Socialist Party and PDX Peace, were listed as endorsers and had members speak during the march and rally.

A folk band offered peace and political songs to open up the protest, singing "The Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven" and "Ain't Gonna Study War No More." The emcee for the march was Sarah Law Madrid from the September 11th Affinity Group, and she introduced speakers throughout the day. She also urged the demonstrators to research 9/11 for themselves.

The first speaker admitted she did not prepare her speech and probably should have, although her message concerning the occupation of Palestine by the US-funded Israeli government was not lost on the crowd. She went so far as to call out the Democrats in the House and the Senate for not having the courage to end the funding of US occupations in the Middle East. The sound system failed for the rest of the beginning of the march, so when Ms. Law Madrid was giving details about the planned route, her words were lost. Many tried to fill in the silence with chants of "We want justice, we want peace" and "We don't want your oil war, peace is what we're calling for."

The march made two stops along its route. One was in front of the United States Courthouse in Portland where Tom Barry, a father of a serviceman in Iraq, called out President Bush for recycling the troops and opined that if Congress were to institute a draft tomorrow, the war would be over in 90 days. He left the crowd with instructions that "we the people are the deciders" and that "our will is greater and stronger than theirs."

Another stop along the protest route was in front of the Federal Building, where Gary Clay, a former Black Panther, offered his fiery rhetoric and told the crowd to "organize, organize, organize!" He informed the demonstrators that January 7^th and 8^th would be "Peace Monday and Tuesday" and urged everyone to boycott America by not going to work and not purchasing anything. He ended his tirade with "Power to the people" with a raised fist.

The march ended at the World Trade Center in Downtown Portland where numerous groups had set up tables including MoveOn.org and Veterans for Peace. Unfortunately, the organization of the rally was a bit sloppy, so the "blue bus" that was meant to be the focal point and platform for speakers had its thunder stolen by a couple of drum circles that formed in the WTC plaza. The crowd dispersed into the plaza, while the organizers urged them to assemble in front of the bus to reach "critical mass."

Police presence during the march was benign. The marchers received a police escort down Broadway, and the police stopped all traffic along the marchers' route. Many people along the route showed their support by giving the peace sign, and some joined in the march. Cars that were stopped at intersections honked to show their support.