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Announcement :: International Relations : Iraq : Protest Activity : Regime : Right Wing |
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Taos Residents to Topple Statue of Donald Rumsfeld |
Current rating: 3 |
by Action Coalition of Taos
(No verified email address) |
10 Mar 2004
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To mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Action Coalition of Taos and Veterans for Peace will topple a twenty-foot effigy of Taos resident Donald Rumsfeld. This action will take place during a rally at the Taos Plaza calling for the end of the Iraqi occupation, one of hundreds worldwide taking place on Saturday, March 20th with the theme "The World Still Says No to War." The statue will depict Rumsfeld riding a missile a la "Dr. Strangelove," recalling the film's final scene marking the end of the world |
TAOS, NM - March 9 - To mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Action Coalition of Taos and Veterans for Peace will topple a twenty-foot effigy of Taos resident Donald Rumsfeld. This action will take place during a rally at the Taos Plaza calling for the end of the Iraqi occupation, one of hundreds worldwide taking place on Saturday, March 20th with the theme "The World Still Says No to War."
The 20-foot-tall statue, built by area residents, will be pulled down at the climax of the rally, which will begin at 3pm on March 20th at the Taos Plaza in Taos, New Mexico. The event will feature a variety of speakers as well as "The Radical Cheerleaders" who will help entertain the crowd with antiwar and anti-Rummy cheers. The statue will be toppled by the five winning participants of a "Why I want to topple Rumsfeld" contest, who will read their submissions prior to the Rumsfeld's fall.
Rumsfeld, who the activists consider to be a war criminal for his part in promoting the illegal war in Iraq, has been protested in Taos several times before. The largest march was in October of 2002 drawing 3,000 demonstrators who marched on one of his several area homes.
According to "Radical Cheerleader" and one of the statue's builders, Molly McNamara, 29, "A small groups of returning Iraqi exiles and the United States military staged the destruction of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. We feel that it is only fitting that a large group of residents in Rumsfeld's hometown pull down this warmongering ex-supporter of Saddam's. Twenty years ago Rumsfeld, provided the former Iraqi dictator with US aid, knowing that the hardware and intelligence being supplied were used to conduct chemical warfare against Iran. While the rest of the world watched in outrage, Rumsfeld even shook Saddam's hand."
Action Coalition of Taos plans to display the effigy at the Bareiss Gallery in El Prado for several days before the event. ACT will also be showing the movie Dr. Strangelove at the Bareiss Gallery on Friday, March 19th. ACT compares Donald Rumsfeld to the film's doomsday militarist. The statue will depict Rumsfeld riding a missile, recalling the film's final scene marking the end of the world. |
See also:
http://www.acttaos.org
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This work is in the public domain |
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Re: Taos Residents to Topple Statue of Donald Rumsfeld |
by Molly
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
16 Mar 2004
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There an error in the press release.Veterans for Peace is not sponsoring nor is involved in this event. All future press releases will not include their name. Past recepients of the incorrect press release are being contacted to correct the problem. |
