State Green Party Press Release

Pacific Greens Endorse March 20 Peace Events.

Pacific Green Party of Oregon

March 12, 2004

Contacts:
Joanne Cvar, Media Coor, 541-563-3615 cvar@oregonvos.net
Liz Trojan, Co-Chair, 503-246-7850 elizat8@pobox.com
PGP: http://www.pacificgreens.org
USGP: http://www.gp.org

The Pacific Green Party of Oregon joins the international community in endorsing a Global Day of Action planned for March 20, the one-year anniversary of the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. Millions of people will take to the streets in more than fifty countries worldwide to raise their voices in an emphatic chorus crying out that "THE WORLD STILL SAYS 'NO' TO WAR." From New York to San Francisco, hundreds of organizations, including veterans' groups and families of 9-11 victims, are organizing rallies, marches, and other events in possibly the largest peace rally since Vietnam, protesting the effects of the Bush administration's militaristic policies at home and abroad, including the invasion, occupation, and corporate control of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additional themes for the protests highlight the connections between local and global issues: adequate funding for jobs, education, and health care instead of dedicating more than half the national budget to bloated "defense" spending; ending our government's support of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza; and repeal of the PATRIOT Act and other assaults on our civil liberties.

Some ninety local organizations are planning marches and rallies around Oregon: along the coast in Astoria, Bandon, and Florence; in the valley towns of Corvallis, Salem, and Eugene; in southern Oregon's Roseburg and Medford; and in numerous events planned for the mobilization in Portland. To find out and participate in what is happening near you on March 20, visit the United for Peace and Justice website at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php?caltype=17.