The sleet put a damper on this Saturday’s Iraq War protest plans. But ten or so die-hard activists were still in Monument Square at noon. For the most part, the protestors received encouraging honks and peace signs for standing out in the cold to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq. An afternoon showing of the Oscar-nominated documentary Iraq in Fragments (see "A Million Little Pieces," by Christopher Gray, March 16) was followed by a lively discussion led by a panel of two Iraq War veterans, Peace Action Maine director Dan Muller, and two high school students who organized the day’s events.
The next day, there was a repeat of the rally in Monument Square, this time at 5 pm and with a lot more protestors bearing signs such as “End the Occupation of Iraq!” or “Freezing for Peace!”
This isn’t the first push for peace Mainers have taken in the past month; on February 21 and 28 groups of activists occupied US representative Tom Allen’s Portland office, demanding that he vote to stop funding for the war. The protests were similar to many antiwar actions taken throughout the American involvement in Iraq (see "A Somber Occupation," by Sara Donnelly, December 16, 2005).
Those sit-ins yielded a total of 19 arrests. “Talking isn’t enough anymore,” Muller says, “there’s too many people dying.” During the second occupation of Allen’s office, Allen waited until 11:30 pm, after the late-night news broadcasts, to call in the police; when the police arrived early, the office workers sent them away, hoping that footage would not appear on the news.
When the cops did start trying to make arrests, they were confused, as many of the protestors were wearing suits and business garb, while the office workers were dressed in casual wear. One policeman exclaimed, “I’m confused, who are the bad guys?” Muller recalls. He did say, though, that the police treated the protestors so well that the activists were wrote a letter declaring their high esteem for the police department.
There will soon be more demonstrations and trainings in nonviolent activism. Muller says, “when people who believe in peace are willing to risk as much as people who believe in war, that’s when change will take place.”
On the Web
Peace Action Maine: peaceactionme.org