Home > Report & photos from March 20
PRESS RELEASE
FROM THE ORGANIZERS OF THE MARCH 20 ANTI-WAR PROTEST
Statement from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
March 20, 2004
The March 20 demonstration in New York City far exceeded
the expectations of the march organizers. Chanting
"Occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine" and "Bring
the troops home now," more than 100,000 people marched.
Starting at 23rd and Madison, the march filled 45 blocks
through midtown Manhattan, north on 6th Avenue to 40th
Street and back to the original rally site. The
demonstrators were so numerous that the front of the march
almost hit the back of the march and had to come to a
fifteen minute stop when it was returning to the rally
site in order to allow the end of the march to proceed
forward.
The demonstration was initiated by the A.N.S.W.E.R.
Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) and United
for Peace and Justice, the two major anti-war coalitions
in the U.S. A large number of Arab and Muslim
organizations co-organized the event.
"This sea of protest in the heart of Manhattan sends a
powerful message to the war-makers and their corporate
backers," stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the
Partnership for Civil Justice and member of the
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition steering committee. "The streets of
New York City were filled with people united in their
opposition to the Bush program of war, conquest and
empire. Members of the Arab and Muslim community marched
shoulder to shoulder with military families and veterans
demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq."
On this global day of action, there were coordinated
demonstrations in more than 45 countries. According to
Reuters, "More than a million anti-war protesters poured
into the streets of cities around the globe on Saturday’s
anniversary of the invasion of Iraq to demand the
withdrawal of U.S.-led troops."
"The turnout at the demonstration today exceeded our
expectations," stated Peta Lindsay, a national coordinator
of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Student and Youth National Coalition
and a student at Howard University. "People around the
United States recognize that they have been lied to by the
Bush Administration. When we were demonstrating in the
millions a year ago, we asserted that the Bush
administration was rushing to war not because Iraq posed a
supposed grave and imminent danger to the United States
but rather because the U.S. had imperial ambitions in this
strategic and oil-rich region. We were telling the truth
and Bush was lying and more and more people can see that
for themselves today."
"The demonstration linked the occupations of Iraq and
Palestine," said Waleed Bader of the National Council of
Arab Americans. Bader, who co-chaired the opening rally,
said, "The people of the Middle East are fighting against
occupation and they demand their right to
self-determination."
There were demonstrations in more than 250 cities and
towns across the United States, including major regional
demonstrations of 50,000 in San Francisco, 20,000 in Los
Angeles and 10,000 Chicago.
PHOTOGRAPHS of the demonstrations in New York City, San
Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago and Spain are available
at
http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/032004m20report.html
More photographs and reports from around the U.S. and the
world will be available soon at