Home > LOS ANGELES: "NO EMPIRE IN OUR NAME"
By Sako Sefiani
Los Angeles
Thousands joined a June 5 march and rally organized by the ANSWER
coalition in Los Angeles. They marched through downtown to protest the
occupations of Iraq, Palestine, Haiti and other countries.
The protest, one of several throughout the United States, was held at a
time when the multimillionaires, billionaires and corporate owners who
pushed for the war in Iraq hoping to profit from it are losing patience
with the way the occupation has been conducted.
On the day of the demonstration, for example, the Los Angeles Times
published a photo showing U.S. troops lying dead near their smoking
vehicle. Not long ago a photo like this would not have been published.
For a major corporate-media organ to publish photos like this one, as
well as pictures of the tortured prisoners in Abu Ghraib, exposes the
frustration of part of the ruling class.
"We’re here to say there will be no empire in our name," actor/activist
Danny Glover told the protesters. He added that they were sending a
powerful message to both President George W. Bush and Demo cratic
presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry. Glover denounced Bush for the
occupations of Iraq, Palestine, Haiti and elsewhere.
Responding to news of former Presi dent Ronald Reagan’s death, Glover
said, "The groundwork for the move steadily to the right happened with
the Reagan administration."
John Parker of the International Action Center and Workers World Party
said the "escalation of U.S. atrocities in Iraq, Pales tine, Haiti,
Colombia, the Philip pines and other countries demands urgent solidarity
from working-class and progressive people in the U.S." Parker is WWP’s
candidate for U.S. president.
Parker also spoke of "the quiet occupation of U.S. youths, especially
those of oppres sed nationalities, who languish in U.S. jails, often
suffering treatment similar to those in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison."
He urged the anti-war movement to expose the link between imperialist
wars of aggression and domestic policies. He gave as an example the
bosses’ attack on health and retirement benefits in the recent
California grocery workers’ struggle.
Famous Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist Ron Kovic spoke. So did
a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War and the brother of a soldier killed in
Iraq.
Other speakers included Muna Coobtee of the Free Palestine Alliance and
representatives of the American-Arab Anti-Discri mination Committee,
Committee on American Islamic Relations, International Socialist
Organization, National Lawyers Guild, Coalition for World Peace,
Pacifica Radio, Bayan International, Mindullae Korean-American
Organization for Peace and Reunification, Global Women’s Strike and
others. Preston Wood of ANSWER chaired the rally.
Several speakers pointed out that the U.S. handpicked "transition
government" in Iraq is illegitimate. A close CIA ally, Ayad Allawi, has
been installed as prime minister to be at the beck and call of his
bosses in Washington.
Giving an "Iraqi face" to the occupation will not work with the Iraqi
people. They know what this occupation is really about: domination over
the Middle East, protecting the apartheid state of Israel that acts as
the attack dog for U.S. imperialism, securing oil for the United States
and its allies, and making big profits for the transnational
corporations.
Forum posts
13 June 2004, 06:35
Although hundreds of books have been written about the Vietnam War, The real story has not been told. I was there through most of the war. I was US AID refugee advisor in the Mekong Delta for seven years and witnessed atrocities far worse that those reported about the Iraqi war. I could do nothing to stop our troops from systematically murdering, raping and ravaging innocent peasants. John Kerry was right on target when in 1971 he reported that genocide was rampid. I wrote a novel documenting these atrocities but do you think that Corporate America would even look at my book. They wanted nothing to do with it. The editors said in so many words that truth is not salable. No one wants to read the truth. They’d sooner read novels by Tom Clancy about out our kind, fair minded just GI’s. They don’t want to know the truth about our troops.
Pete