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| Iowa Greens to Travel to D.C. for January 18th Protest. |
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MEDIA RELEASE The Bush White House continues to pound the drum for an unnecessary war with Iraq. And its enthusiasm for military aggression is shared by most members of Congress, including disappointingly non-oppositional Democrats. But listen closely and you'll hear another sound rising over those war drums -- the sound of footsteps. Increasing numbers of average U.S. citizens from all walks of life are joining together in a mass movement to say 'No' to military action. And their journeys from all around America will end in Washington, DC on January 18, at an anti-war protest that organizers predict will draw hundreds of thousands. (A similar action last October attracted an estimated 200,000.) Over 150 buses from across the country will be going to the DC event. And some will be carrying Iowa Green Party members. Greens from Des Moines, Iowa City, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Decorah, and other Iowa towns plan to attend. The Rev. Jay Robinson, a longtime activist in Iowa's peace community and Green Party candidate for governor of Iowa last year, will be among those making the trip. (And the Iowa contingent will be part of a large American opinion community: A recent national poll found 72% of respondents believing that the Bush White House has yet to demonstrate to the American people that the Iraqi government is complicitous in global terrorism, at least, to a degree necessary to justify military action.) The DC march is scheduled to commence with an 11AM rally on the national mall outside the White House, proceed to the Navy Yard, and conclude with a 1PM rally at the Civic Center. It is being organized by International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.) So far, more than 1000 political and social justice groups and individuals have formally endorsed it, among them former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and Rainbow Push founder and President Jesse Jackson. Groups backing the march represent a cross-section of America: Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the Muslim - American Society Freedom Foundation, the Gray Panthers, the NAACP, the Shalom Center for Peace and Justice, and the Indian Association of Lawyers. Others endorsing it are Queers for Racial and Economic Justice, United Students Against Sweatshops, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO), the Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Lesbians For Peace. Also calling for nonviolent resolution in recent days have been celebrities Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Woody Harrelson, and Janneane Garafalo. In addition to Iowa Greens, others from this state who plan to attend include members of the American Friends Service Committee (Des Moines), Campaign Against War (Iowa City), Time For Peace (Ames), and the Grinnell Anti-War Alliance. Non-violence is one of the Iowa Green Party's guiding principles. The party was officially founded in 1999. Iowa Greens currently serving in elected office include Tim Harthan (Emmetsburg City Council), Eric Kinman (Windsor Heights City Council), and Jim Paprocki (Cedar Valley Board of Trustees). END For more information, contact: |
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