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Anti-war protesters march in Portland in national effort
Monday, March 19, 2007 | 1 comment(s)
PORTLAND - Marking the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, thousands of demonstrators crowded into a grassy stretch of downtown and then marched through the city on Sunday to call for an end to the war.
At the end of the hourlong march a small group broke off for a series of scuffles with police and a standoff that lasted into the evening. At least 15 protesters were arrested.
The Portland protest was one of several around the country over the weekend and one of the larger ones, with the crowd numbering in the thousands. Organizers said there might have been as many as 15,000 people at the staging point for the march. Police did not give a crowd estimate.
Families, students and older citizens participated in the demonstration, with scores of officers on bicycles and afoot keeping watch.
The protest started with a rally at Portland's South Park Blocks. Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi and human rights activist, told the crowd that only a few Iraqis collaborate with U.S. forces, so the war is now between the occupiers and almost everyone else in the country.
Steve Weiss of Salem accompanied a group of people with children who are in the military and said his 18-year-old son will leave for Iraq April 11.
“Kids go in for all sorts of reasons,” he said. “I think physically he's really well trained, but mentally, I think he has no idea what he is getting into.”
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an early critic of the war, addressed the crowd before the march.
“Missing the chance to build a more coherent foreign policy is wrong. We can't just be right, we've got to end this war,” said Blumenauer.
As the march along 24 blocks ended, a group of young people led police on bicycles, horses and motorcycles through downtown. A few of the protesters wore black and called themselves anarchists. A few wore the green of the University of Oregon.
A few scuffles broke out, police used pepper spray at one point, and several people were led away in plastic cuffs.
Late in the afternoon, protesters stood on one side of the street chanting, “Let them go,” while police in riot gear lined the other side of the street in front of front of the Justice Center, which holds the jail.
A few protesters carried a black banner that read, “No Gods, no country, no masters,” and a circled A symbol for anarchy.
Some said the police overreacted.
“They showed a huge amount of force,” said Jake Fagan, 21, of Portland, who said he had lost two friends in Iraq. “But we are just trying to march.”
At the end of the hourlong march a small group broke off for a series of scuffles with police and a standoff that lasted into the evening. At least 15 protesters were arrested.
The Portland protest was one of several around the country over the weekend and one of the larger ones, with the crowd numbering in the thousands. Organizers said there might have been as many as 15,000 people at the staging point for the march. Police did not give a crowd estimate.
Families, students and older citizens participated in the demonstration, with scores of officers on bicycles and afoot keeping watch.
The protest started with a rally at Portland's South Park Blocks. Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi and human rights activist, told the crowd that only a few Iraqis collaborate with U.S. forces, so the war is now between the occupiers and almost everyone else in the country.
Steve Weiss of Salem accompanied a group of people with children who are in the military and said his 18-year-old son will leave for Iraq April 11.
“Kids go in for all sorts of reasons,” he said. “I think physically he's really well trained, but mentally, I think he has no idea what he is getting into.”
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an early critic of the war, addressed the crowd before the march.
“Missing the chance to build a more coherent foreign policy is wrong. We can't just be right, we've got to end this war,” said Blumenauer.
As the march along 24 blocks ended, a group of young people led police on bicycles, horses and motorcycles through downtown. A few of the protesters wore black and called themselves anarchists. A few wore the green of the University of Oregon.
A few scuffles broke out, police used pepper spray at one point, and several people were led away in plastic cuffs.
Late in the afternoon, protesters stood on one side of the street chanting, “Let them go,” while police in riot gear lined the other side of the street in front of front of the Justice Center, which holds the jail.
A few protesters carried a black banner that read, “No Gods, no country, no masters,” and a circled A symbol for anarchy.
Some said the police overreacted.
“They showed a huge amount of force,” said Jake Fagan, 21, of Portland, who said he had lost two friends in Iraq. “But we are just trying to march.”
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