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News :: Iraq : Protest Activity : Regime : Right Wing |
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Memorial to Troops Killed in Iraq Is Vandalized in Texas |
Current rating: 0 |
by Elisabeth Bumiller
(No verified email address) |
16 Aug 2005
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"What happened last night is very disturbing to all of us, and it should be really disturbing to America," Ms. Sheehan said in a news conference at Camp Casey. "Because no matter what you think about the war, we should all honor the sacrifice of the ones who have fallen. And to me it's so ironic that I'm accused of dishonoring my son's memory, by doing what I'm doing, by the other side, and then somebody comes and does this." |
CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 16 - Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, who has set up a vigil near President Bush's ranch here, said today that she was "very disturbed" that hundreds of small crosses bearing the names of dead American troops had been knocked down, and that her now 10-day protest was "only the beginning" of national movement to bring all American forces home from the war.
In reaction to the growing anger of many local residents over the crowds and disruptions, Ms. Sheehan's supporters said it was likely that she would move "Camp Casey," her roadside encampment named after her son, to a 300-acre piece of property closer to the president's ranch. Ms. Sheehan's supporters said that the owner of the property was sympathetic to their cause, but his identity could not be confirmed and it was unclear if the deal was complete.
In the meantime, a group of Mr. Bush's neighbors appeared before the McLennan County Commission asking that a no-parking zone near the president's ranch be expanded, which would effectively force Camp Casey to move to the town of Crawford, seven miles away. Neighbors have complained of traffic jams and blocked roads, and some told the commissioners that they worried for the safety of their children as schools reopen. On Sunday, a neighbor fired a shotgun twice in the air on his property. No one was hurt and while the police investigated, no charges were filed.
On Monday night, the police arrested a resident who they said had used a truck to mow down about half the 500 small wooden crosses that were hammered into the roadside dirt. The crosses were put back in place by Ms. Sheehan's supporters this morning as flowers, including crates of long-stemmed red roses, continued to arrive from around the country.
"What happened last night is very disturbing to all of us, and it should be really disturbing to America," Ms. Sheehan said in a news conference at Camp Casey. "Because no matter what you think about the war, we should all honor the sacrifice of the ones who have fallen. And to me it's so ironic that I'm accused of dishonoring my son's memory, by doing what I'm doing, by the other side, and then somebody comes and does this."
Ms. Sheehan, who has vowed not to leave until Mr. Bush meets with her here, said that if local residents wanted her to leave, "they should talk to their neighbor, George Bush, and tell him to talk to us." Mr. Bush did meet with Ms. Sheehan once before, in June 2004 at Fort Lewis, Wash., but she has said that she considered the meeting unsatisfactory and the president disrespectful by his referring to her as "Mom."
Mr. Bush has since said he is sympathetic to Ms. Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Ca., whose son, Casey, an Army specialist, was killed at age 24 in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004. A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, reiterated Mr. Bush's words today, and said that while the president disagreed with Ms. Sheehan's views, "he says he respects her right to peacefully protest."
Ms. Sheehan's supporters said they had planned nearly 1,000 anti-war vigils across the country on Wednesday night, which they said were in part sponsored by MoveOn.org Political Action, a prominent anti-Bush group.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com |
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Neighbor Allows War Protesters to Camp on his Land |
by Angela Brown
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
17 Aug 2005
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CRAWFORD, Texas - Dozens of war protesters camping along a road near President Bush's ranch are about to pull up their stakes - but they're not leaving.
The group is moving about a mile away to a 1-acre corner lot, owned by an Army veteran who sympathizes with those at the vigil that started Aug. 6 by grieving mother Cindy Sheehan.
"I just think people should have a right to protest without being harassed," Fred Mattlage told The Associated Press late Tuesday. "And I'm against the war. I don't think it's a war we need to be in."
The makeshift campsite in ditches off the public road leading to Bush's ranch has attracted hundreds from around the country - protesters as well as Bush supporters holding counter rallies. That has caused traffic jams and road blockages in the rural area.
But some residents are doing more than honking their horns or complaining. In fact, Mattlage's distant cousin who lives near the campsite, Larry Mattlage, fired his shotgun into the air Sunday.
One man was arrested Monday night after authorities say he drove through part of the campsite, running over hundreds of wooden crosses bearing names of fallen U.S. troops. No one was hurt in either incident.
"That's just horrible to desecrate a memorial to the soldiers," Fred Mattlage said. "That upsets me."
He said he will not allow counter protests on his fenced-in property, which is about a mile closer to the ranch than the group's current site. And he is not designating his lot as an established protest site for other groups to use in the future.
"This is for the cause of Cindy Sheehan, and they can stay as long as they want," Fred Mattlage said.
Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., lost her 24-year-old Casey in Iraq last year. She vows to continue the vigil through Bush's monthlong ranch visit unless he meets with her and other grieving families.
They were to start moving their tents, anti-war banners and portable toilets to the new site Wednesday in preparation for a dusk candlelight vigil. It is one of about 1,000 such vigils across the country, an effort organized by liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org Political Action, TrueMajority and Democracy for America.
Protests are nothing new when Bush visits his ranch, but most are in Crawford city limits about 7 miles away. Sheehan's demonstration is the longest-running, most publicized and closest to the ranch.
Tuesday morning, several landowners asked county commissioners to extend for at least 2 miles the no-parking zone on public roads around Bush's ranch. The ordinance now prohibits cars from stopping on the road within about a fourth of a mile. They submitted a petition of more than 60 landowners' signatures.
The McLennan County Commission won't vote on the ordinance until after a public hearing next month. Sheehan's group would be long gone by then - even if it stayed on the public right-of-way - but she promised to return whenever Bush goes to his ranch.
Bush, who said he sympathizes with Sheehan, has made no indication that he will meet with her. Sheehan and other families met with Bush two months after her son's death before she became a vocal opponent of the war.
© 2005 Associated Press
http://www.ap.org |
