Michael Falcone/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Throngs of
anti-war demonstrators took to the streets of Westwood Saturday in
a roving protest that snaked from the Federal Building to
Westwood.
By Dexter Gauntlett and Hemesh
Patel
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
A protest at the Westwood Federal Building of roughly 2,500
anti-war demonstrators and a counter-demonstration across the
street ended peacefully today.
Similar anti-war protests took place throughout the country
today, with crowds that were in the thousands in San Francisco and
Washington, D.C., according to organizers.
“Our country is getting caught up into a riptide of pride
and prejudice,” said Steve Martin, a council member for the
city of West Hollywood who spoke during the rally. “Creating
widows and more orphans is not a recipe for peace, but for
terrorism.”
The rally, which started at noon, consisted of a march through
the streets of Westwood followed by presentations from 10 community
leaders. Students from UCLA and surrounding colleges were informed
by e-mail of the event, and they gathered to show their support for
finding a peaceful resolution to the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
“Now is the time to build the opposition before bombs are
dropped,” said fourth-year political science student Behzad
Raghian.
United States’ foreign policy in the Middle East was under
heavy scrutiny at the protest, with many citing national policies
as insensitive.
“Avoiding bombing isn’t a solution. I would like to
see a large scale pull-out of U.S. forces in the Middle
East,” Raghian said. “We are completely insensitive to
that area and if we keep that same mentality, things will never
change.”
Four students of Afghan descent carried signs that read,
“Don’t Kill the Afghan.” They said that two
opposing governments exist in Afghanistan and that not everyone in
their country supports the Taliban. “They have no news, no
radio and no idea what’s going on with anything in the
outside world,” said Haseena Qudrat, a fourth-year student at
Cal State Northridge.
Across the street, a smaller counter-demonstration of roughly 25
people was organized by the International Human Rights Watch and
Afghan Resistance.
“We came because we support America and the Afghan
people,” said Anne Terrell, one of the counter-demonstrators.
“I’m a patriot and I’m doing something for my
country.”
Another counter-demonstrator, Hang Fire, said that those who
protest against defending the nation are only undermining the
country’s unity.