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Posted on Wed, Mar. 15, 2006
War protests planned for weekend
By Dogen Hannah
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Iraq War opponents plan to turn out in protest around the Bay Area and elsewhere in the nation this weekend to mark the third anniversary of the March 19, U.S.-led invasion.

Several national activist organizations have planned a major demonstration for San Francisco's Civic Center, for instance. Yet many of the weekend's events are to be relatively modest and set in suburban locales.

"This anniversary, rather than have a few big events, people are really doing stuff in their local communities," said Andrea Buffa of Global Exchange, an international human rights organization.

That includes in the East Bay, where war critic Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a two-hour town hall meeting. East and north of there, marches and rallies are planned in Walnut Creek and Vallejo.

Anti-war activists have been pressuring members of Congress to push for the swift withdrawal of the 135,000 or so U.S. forces from Iraq. In part, this weekend's events are aimed at increasing that pressure.

"We want to educate people and encourage them to become activists and interact in a democratic process," said Tony Martarella, an organizer of the Walnut Creek event.

As of this week, at least 2,309 members of the U.S. military have died in the war, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. At least an additional 17,124 have been wounded in action.

Estimates of the number of Iraqis killed in the war vary. The Web site Iraq Body Count puts the toll at more than 33,600. President Bush in December said 30,000 Iraqis had died in the war.

Here are several war-related events this weekend:

Walnut Creek: March to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the BART station parking lot and end at the city's Civic Park, at the intersection of Civic Drive and North Broadway, for a noon rally.

Author Norman Solomon is to be the keynote speaker. Other speakers include Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez; Contra Costa County Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier, and former Rep. Pete McCloskey.

Boots Riley of "The Coup," Country Joe McDonald, Julay Brandenburg and The Nightbirds, and the Oakland Children's Choir will provide entertainment.

Oakland: Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a town hall meeting from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue.

Speakers include anti-war activist Medea Benjamin; Andy Shallal, an Iraqi who has been traveling around the country talking about the war; and Sophie Simon-Ortiz, a producer and reporter who has been producing a radio program in which the names of Iraqi and U.S. casualties are read.

San Francisco: Rally at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Civic Center at the intersection of Grove and Larkin streets, followed by a 2-mile march through downtown San Francisco and another rally at the Civic Center.

Vallejo: March to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Redwood Street and Sonoma Boulevard and will end at the intersection of Mare Island Way and Georgia Street on the city's waterfront for a noon rally.

Clayton: Peace observance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The one-hour observance hosted by St. John's Episcopal Church, 5555 Clayton Road, will include a candle-lighting, songs, music and prayers led by attendees.

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