Community Corner
Anti-War Protestors Mark Iraq War Anniversary
At the eighth annual anti-war demonstration and march held by the ANSWER Coalition, protesters spoke out on a variety of topics including U.S. President Barack Obama, the invasion of Libya, education budget cuts and racism.
Hundreds of anti-war protestors marched the streets of Hollywood Saturday afternoon as part of an annual demonstration to mark the eighth anniversary of the Iraq war.
Protestors met at Hollywood and Vine at noon for a short rally and marched to Hollywood and Highland.
Among war veterans and relatives of deceased soldiers were locals who were not happy with U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to leave troops in Iraq and increase the number of troops in Afghanistan.
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“We did this [demonstration] many years ago," said Julie Natara. "When Obama took over, we thought we were done."
“It’s just crazy, 8 years later, we’re not getting out of there, and now we’re talking into going into Libya,” she added.
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Sharon Tipton held up a poster with a series of morphed headshots of Obama and former President George W. Bush, an image by the artist Andy Worthington.
Tipton came to the demonstration to “mourn the loss of 2 million Iraqis and remind people that 9/11 was a crime,” she said. “It was started by people, not a country.”
“Obama is a continuation of the Bush policy,” she added. “Our government is a rogue state.”
Robert Jay, who comes to the demonstration every year with his father James, a Vietnam veteran, is also unimpressed with Obama.
“It’s the same agenda," Jay said. "It doesn’t matter who is president."
Saturday’s demonstration was organized by the ANSWER Coalition, a national coalition of hundreds of organizations that campaign against U.S. invasion in other countries. The coalition formed days after the 9/11 attacks. They have organized the event for the past eight years.
The rally on Hollywood and Vine included speakers who spoke out about racism, slashed education budgets and disconnected communities.
When the crowd started to march, they chanted “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation.”
Oscar Sanchez, who held up a CODEPINK banner with Dara Wells, said he would have come to the demonstration even if it were raining.
CODEPINK, an anti-war movement started by a group of women in 2002, makes a frequent appearance at anti-war rallies and demonstrations.
“I came out here to be with people who oppose the war,” said Sanchez. “It reenergizes my efforts. It inspires me that this war will come to an end.”
[Information on a crowd estimate and whether any arrests were made was not immediately available from LAPD. Hollywood Patch will update this article when the information becomes available.]
