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News :: Peace
Renewed Protests Locally & Worldwide: "Bush Is A Liar!"	Current rating: 0
by Ricky Baldwin Email: baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (verified) Phone: 217-328-3037	02 Oct 2003
Hundreds of thousands of people in 45 nations have already demonstrated against the US Administration's belligerent policies ahead of a coordinated mobilization Oct. 25. Champaign-Urbana residents are no protesting thefirst Saturday of every month on North Prospect.
Renewed Protests in Champaign & Worldwide: “Bush Is A Liar!” (Champaign) Over the summer, the Bush Administration has faced one embarrassing revelation after another about its war in Iraq. Administration officials have been forced to retract almost every claim it made to justify the US invasion in the spring. Most significantly, US operatives have repeatedly failed to produce the alleged “weapons of mass destruction” the Iraqi government was supposed to have. “Bush is a liar!” proclaim signs across the nation and in 45 countries, as hundreds thousands take to the streets again to protest the Bush Administration’s policy of ‘preventive’ war. “Where are the WMDs?” demand others. In the last week alone, as many as 100,000 reportedly marched in London, and tens of thousands more demonstrated in Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and other cities. In Chicago, hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside President Bush’s $2000-a-plate fundraiser on September 30. Locally, “Prospect for Peace” demonstrations started up again Sept. 6 and continue on the first Saturday of every month. Worse than lies Whatever was said, the US occupation of Iraq has proved even more violent in many ways than the invasion. This summer the number of US troops killed since the President declared the end of “major combat” exceeded the number killed during that combat – with no official notice of the irony. Moreover, millions of Iraqis – mostly children – face starvation and spreading diseases like cholera, according to the UN and humanitarian organizations. “Occupation is not liberation!” proclaim activists around the US. Others note sardonically, “This is what ‘liberation’ looks like,” pointing out the numerous incidents of US troops firing on peaceful Iraqi civilians, US censorship on Iraqi news, nightly curfews and direct appointment of a “puppet” government. Back by popular demand So the “Prospect for Peace” protests, organized by the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE), have returned to their old spot on North Prospect Ave in Champaign the first Saturday of every month from 2-4 pm. This month there will also be one additional Saturday protest on the date of a national protest organized by umbrella groups ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice.  Oct. 4: Monthly “Prospect for Peace” from 2-4 pm on N. Prospect Ave.  Oct. 25: National demonstration in Washington, DC, and locally on N. Prospect, 2-4 pm. Over 800 people signed at one or more weekly anti-war protests on Prospect between October 2002 and the end of local protests in May 2003. Many of these participated week after week, but many others felt moved to stop after seeing the protests on their way to do shopping. Participation peaked just before the Iraqi invasion, when over 10 million people took to the streets worldwide. Local organizers lost count at over 300 on one Saturday, and for weeks participation topped 200.
See also: http://www.anti-war.net