September 24, 2005 anti-war protest

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On September 24, 2005, many protests against the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Iraq War took place.

United States

Washington, D.C.

File:2005 0924 150519veesign.jpg
An anti-war protester shows a peace sign to the White House

Protesters from around the country joined the march in Washington, D.C. organized by ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice to promote peace and an end to the war in Iraq. Organizers claim that around 250,000 people attended the demonstration. Police said that 150,000 was "as good a guess as any".[1] C-SPAN, which broadcast the pre-march speeches, is said to have estimated 500,000.[2] The demonstration route was chosen to be close to the White House, though President George W. Bush was away at the time.

Representative Cynthia McKinney, George Galloway, Carlos Arredondo, Cindy Sheehan, Jesse Jackson, and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark attended the rally.[citation needed]

The September 24 March also included over 300 members of Military Families Speak Out, which represents about 2,500 military families.[3]

World Bank/IMF feeder march

In addition to the main rally and march sponsored by ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice, the Mobilization for Global Justice sponsored a feeder march to protest the policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), held to coincide with the fall meetings of the World Bank and IMF, which were happening on the same weekend.

The feeder march met at Dupont Circle. In addition to more mainstream demonstrators, a large black bloc had gathered. This march from Dupont Circle did not have a march permit from the D.C. government, and as such, details of the actual march route were not disclosed until the last minute. Along with the crowd that had initially gathered, a second feeder march protesting the School of the Americas joined the World Bank/IMF group at Dupont Circle.

The Mobilization for Global Justice's feeder march ran from Dupont Circle down Connecticut Avenue and past Farragut Square, reaching Murrow Park and the World Bank. After marching west along H Street as far as 19th Street NW, encountering police barricades on three sides, the march did an about-face and marched east along H Street to Lafayette Square, joining the main march sponsored by ANSWER and UFPJ.

Amtrak and D.C. Metro both out of service

Amtrak trains southbound from New York toward Washington were not running that day because a power line between New York and Washington were being repaired. The blue and yellow Metro lines feeding into the city from Northern Virginia were reportedly delayed.[4]

Black bloc breakaway march

File:S24 Black Bloc 1.jpg
Participants in the Black Bloc breakaway march near the World Bank

Following the Mobilization for Global Justice's feeder march to the World Bank and then the White House, the Black Bloc began a separate, quite circuitous march through the streets of Washington, headed for the nearest recruitment center. Reaching the recruitment center, police began backfiring their motorcycle engines. A number of demonstrators unfamiliar with the tactic assumed that rubber bullets were being fired, and much of the Black Bloc scattered, seeking cover. With the main bloc reduced to around sixty people, the Black Bloc retreated, with many scattering newspaper boxes and trash receptacles in an attempt to slow police. The retreat ended when police charged through the group at 11th and K Streets NW.[5]

Counter-protests

Free Republic sponsored a counter-protest, which attracted about 100 people, and was held along Pennsylvania Avenue from the J. Edgar Hoover Building to the US Navy Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.[6]

Other U.S. cities

File:Birmingham peace rally.jpg
Anti-war protesters, including Libertarian Alabama gubernatorial candidate Loretta Nall, marching in Birmingham, Alabama

Several thousand attended a rally in Dolores Park in San Francisco and rallies were also held in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Birmingham, Alabama.[6][7][8]

United Kingdom

Thousands joined a march from Parliament Square to Hyde Park. Police estimate that 10,000 took part but organizers put the figure at 100,000. The demonstration was organised by the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB). The protest was organized to coincide with the Washington protest and to occur just before the start of the Labour Party Conference.[9][10]

Worldwide

Demonstrations were held in Florence, Rome, Paris and Madrid.

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Antiwar Fervor Fills the Streets, Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post, September 25, 2005
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Military families add weight to criticism of Iraq war, Miriam Raftery, The Raw Story, October 5, 2005
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Breakaway March Photos, "Michael", DC Indymedia, September 25, 2005
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Antiwar Protests Commence in Washington, Miranda S. Spivack and Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post, September 24, 2005
  7. ↑ Demonstrators protest Iraq war, Steve Thomma, Knight Ridder, September 24, 2005 Archived December 5, 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Veterans and Families Against the War, DC Indymedia, September 25, 2005
  9. ↑ London march against Iraq occupation, for civil liberties numbers 100,000, Matthew Cookson, Socialist Worker Online, September 24, 2005
  10. ↑ Thousands stage anti-war protest, BBC News Online, September 24, 2005

External links

Photography in Washington

Photography in other cities

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