Hilo marchers oppose war with Iraq
| • | Civil rights ideals invoked across Islands |
| • | Thousands pay tribute with antiwar protests nationwide |
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
About 400 marchers marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Hilo yesterday with a protest opposing the U.S. mobilization for a war against Iraq.
Kevin Dayton • The Honolulu Advertiser
A mix of demonstrators ranging from children and teenagers to retirees listened to a dozen speakers criticize the plans of President Bush's administration. They also heard taped excerpts of speeches by the slain civil rights leader.
Antiwar demonstrators marched from Pauahi Street to the Mo'oheau Bandstand in Hilo yesterday to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The march was a protest opposing the U.S. mobilization for a war against Iraq.
Several speakers argued the war would benefit the rich, while the price for the military action will be paid by working-class soldiers, sailors and airmen in the military.
"We don't need a pre-emptive military strike against Iraq," farmer and journalist Shepherd Bliss told the crowd at the Mo'oheau Bandstand. "We need a global, pre-emptive peace movement."
Michael Scott, 62, watched the rally from outside the bandstand in a floppy hat while holding his dog on a leash. He said he turned out because his Unitarian faith encourages action, and because he disagrees with how the nation is being run.
"They're making it for profit, and people are not important, and I'm embarrassed and ashamed for the country," said Scott, of Pahoa.
Peter Pomeranze, 48, turned out in an NYPD T-shirt in honor of the New York City police officers killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But Pomeranze said he marched on Washington, D.C., more than 30 years ago to protest the Vietnam War, and he marched again in Hilo yesterday.
"Once again we're going to war to support the aristocracy of the United States, and everyone else will suffer," he said. "I think a slow wave is building of resistance to this war."
Longtime Big Island activist Jim Albertini said people have a moral obligation to stage nonviolent protects against Bush's plans for "a war of aggression against Iraq."
"Terrorism has replaced communism as the new convenient enemy," he said.
