Friday rally promotes Sunday "Bring the Troops Home!" peace march, transforms South Park Blocks into Peace-Sign Workshop and Gallery

Event: PPRC Rally and March for Peace - "Bring the Troops Home!"
Date: Friday, September 19th, 2003
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square
Contacts: www.pprc-news.org

The Portland Peaceful Response Coalition Friday 5:00 p.m. rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square will be a send-off for volunteers promoting this weekend's "Bring the Troops Home" peace rally and march, and will end up in the South Park Blocks for an open-air peace-sign workshop and gallery. "As Americans come to realize the scope of the lies told to justify the criminal war in Iraq, and as the grief and anger builds with each tragic report of deaths and injuries of US soldiers held hostage in this unplanned and unraveling occupation, more are speaking out against the Bush Administration's policies of war and empire," said Mikel Clayhold, a PPRC volunteer. "This Sunday will be the next opportunity for our community to speak out with one voice; "Bring the Troops Home!" is the clear message emerging from a country that is only now beginning to recognize the catastrophe Bush has crafted in Iraq."

"The US soldiers, who are being killed and injured almost every day now, are targets because the Bush Administration insists that they will be in exclusive control of the oil resources of Iraq," said Will Seaman, another PPRC volunteer. "The international community has made it clear that they are willing to provide security forces, but they have insisted that Bush give up his "go it alone" control in favor of a multilateral and genuine transition to Iraqi democracy." Seaman believes that the US occupation has only resulted in greater distrust and anger among the Iraqi people, all of it directed at US soldiers, and that a multilateral international involvement that is independent of US control has the greatest chance to succeed. "The reason the UN compound was attacked is because the UN is seen as serving the US occupation," said Seaman. "There are very few certainties in the mess that Bush has made of Iraq, but shifting away from the current policy of total US control holds the greatest promise of reducing tensions with the Iraqi people, and decreasing the risk and causalties to our soldiers."

The rally and march is set to begin at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, September 21st, at Terry Schrunk Plaza, S.W. 3rd & Madison, downtown Portland. For more information, please call (503) 236-3065 (Peace & Justice Works).

Back to PPRC-news home