Posted on: Sunday, October 27, 2002

Anti-war activists gather in Hawai'i

Associated Press

Demonstrators gathered in Honolulu and on the Big Island yesterday to protest President Bush's plans for a possible war against Iraq.

The rallies were held in conjunction with other protests conducted across the Mainland and in Europe and Japan.

The Honolulu rally, organized by University of Hawai'i professors, included a march that attracted about 800 people.

"War without end? Not in our name!" read one sign carried by marchers, while another said, "War is not the answer." Some of the marchers chanted "No justice. No peace. U.S. out of the Middle East."

"To stand up for peace and to stand up for justice is what supposedly this country is supposed to be," demonstrator Josh Cooper said. "And all these people are standing up for their civil rights. And that's what it's all about."

"We need to stop the policies that create terrorism in the first place," said another marcher, Pete Doktor.

Following the march, the protesters held a rally at Ala Moana Beach Park, where University of Hawai'i Hawaiian studies professor Haunani-Kay Trask was one of the speakers.

"When I was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the '60s and '70s, our war was Vietnam," she said. "Do you remember Vietnam? The United States lost; they lost and they're going to lose this war."

On the Big Island, the Center for Non-violent Education and Action Inc. held a peace rally at the Mooheau Bandstand in Hilo. Speakers included Hawai'i County Mayor Harry Kim.

The protesters signed a symbolic 4-by-8-foot postcard addressed to Bush that said "No War on Iraq."