FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2003
Contact: Julie Callahan, (408) 374-2668, (408) 981-4134
Rob Molinar, (408) 297-2299
MORE THAN 5000 PEOPLE IN SAN JOSE SAY NO TO
WAR
Today more than 5000 demonstrators took to the streets
of San Jose and joined the rest of the world in a vast
and unprecedented wave of protest aimed at preventing
war on Iraq. In the largest San Jose rally in over a
decade, people from babies in strollers to great-grandmothers
filled twenty blocks of Santa Clara Street with chants,
music, and handmade signs, and converged on Cesar Chavez
Plaza, where leaders from all segments of the community
spoke, sang, and even danced in a powerful message of
unity and opposition to war.
Among the speakers were Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren,
who read an antiwar statement from herself and fellow
Congressman Mike Honda, and County Supervisor Blanca
Alvarado, who spoke about the local impacts of war which
led her to sponsor the recent Santa Clara County resolution
opposing an Iraq war. Both urged the audience to keep
up the struggle for peace in their daily actions, with
Lofgren emphasizing the importance of considering candidates'
records on the war in the upcoming 2004 elections.
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers,
also encouraged protesters to continue their actions
beyond that day, tying international to local issues
with a call to participate in the annual spring march
honoring Cesar Chavez and in an upcoming Sacramento
rally to fight education budget cuts. Claudia E. Armenta
of Students for Justice took up the issue of military
spending versus school budgets as well, leading protestors
in a chant for "education not annihilation!"
Other speakers included Helal Omeira of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations, Antonieta of Latinos
Against the War, combat veterans George Johnson and
Dennis Kyne, Jeffrey Samson of the Filipino organization
Bagong Bayan, Rodney Gonzalez of CWA Local 9423, Lindi
Ramsden of The Interfaith Council, Wendy Greenfield
of South Bay Jewish Voice for Peace, and dozens more.
The march and rally were spearheaded by the local community
group South Bay Mobilization to Stop the War, with the
support and endorsement of more than 37 local and national
organizations, from the San Jose Peace Center to the
South Bay Islamic Association to Silicon Valley De-Bug.
The protest was organized in solidarity with similar
demonstrations which took place today in at least 603
cities around the world, drawing millions in an unprecedented
worldwide cry for peace.
Organizers say the protest succeeded in drawing people
from all walks of life in San Jose - not just the peace
activists who regularly make the drive up to protests
in San Francisco. Proclaimed Raj Jayadev of Silicon
Valley De-Bug, "San Jose is different." Cultural
performances showcased local talent, from folk singers
to Spanish guitar music to hip-hop and breakdancing.
Said vocalist Tiffany Ente in the final performance
of the day, "Even though we're coming together
to prevent the war, it's also a celebration of solidarity,
because we've come together as a community."
On the Web: http://www.sanjosepeace.org
Worldwide protests: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=725
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