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by Eric Howerton and Jeff Proctor
Daily Lobo
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Albuquerque residents protesting the use of military force in Iraq offered diplomacy and American regime change as peaceful alternatives to tensions surrounding recent events in the Middle East.
According to Albuquerque Police and event organizers, between 1,000 and 1,500 people, many of whom were students, assembled in front of Truman Gate at Kirtland Air Force Base.
As more protestors gathered at Kirtland, Albuquerque police announced the closure of several blocks of Gibson Avenue.
The event, sponsored by the Committee to Stop the War Machine, started with opening remarks from Robert Anderson, a UNM professor and Green Party activist.
"The peace movement is ahead of schedule, there's a lot of pent up energy," Anderson said. "This is the moment we've been waiting for for a long time."
Anderson also vocalized his distress over misrepresentations of the anti-war movement by mainstream media. One of the day's many speakers, Debby Christensen, echoed Anderson's concern, saying that protests "force the media to pay attention to (the peace movement) on the front page and at the top of the hour."
Protesters' vehicles congested nearby residential streets because adequate parking was not provided.
There was no shortage of blaring car horns, Bush and Cheney mockeries or picket signs.
Protest signs fingered Bush as an international terrorist and demanded that impeachment hearings be enacted immediately.
Picketers also held signs reading, "Bush is a dumb weapon of mass destruction," "Why America as empire?," "Honk if your son's life is worth more than a barrel of oil" and "Bush family stands to gain from this war."
Following Anderson's introduction, local school teacher Jeanne Pahlo spoke to the crowd about the dangerous proliferation and storage of nuclear weapons in and around the Albuquerque area.
She condemned Kirtland for its ambiguous responses concerning the matter, saying that Americans have a right to know what happens in their own neighborhoods.
Beverly Bell, of the New Mexico Center For Economic Justice, continued to fuel the crowd's enthusiasm by invoking Dr. King's idea of the "Giant Triplets: racism, extreme materialism and militarism."
Bell said the triplets feed America's sick foreign policy and are the roots of this problem, not its solution.
She concluded by rejecting all prospects of war, whether on foreign or domestic soil, and likened the Bush administration's implementation of racial profiling to tactics used by the Nazi Gestapo.
Crowds were intermittently entertained by bubble blowing, chanting and folk music performed by local band The New Patriots, who covered Country Joe McDonald's anti-war classic, "Fixin' To Die Rag."
Other speakers included Damacio Lopez, Judy Bierbaum, Sam Parks and UNM student Trey Smith. Smith, also a high school student organizer, indicted the University's bureaucracy as part of the "war machine."
"The U.S. Department of Defense calls the UNM Board of Regents part of their bureau," Smith said.
He added that the money to pay for war comes from domestic programs, funds that could be better spent benefitting educational institutions, and urged students to voice their distaste for war and inappropriate spending.
Closing remarks were made by Anderson and Amy Goodman, host of National Public Radio's Democracy Now! The rally then dispersed and reassembled at the corner of University Boulevard and Central Avenue for a march toward downtown.
UNM English student and march participant Petra Salazar, Pfc. in the Army National Guard, said that a war with Iraq is not justified.
"If it was to go into Israel to stop them from killing Palestinians, I'd go," Salazar said.
As the procession made its way from the University, some voiced their opposition to the anti-war movement from the sidelines.
"In my opinion this war is not about oil," said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Hyrum Gerald Duncan.
Duncan, who served in Somalia, said that Americans should abide by the mandates of their elected officials, and that it is every young person's right and duty to protect their nation.
As the protestors reached Robinson Park, located at the corner of 9th Street and Central Avenue, the number of participants had increased to nearly double the size of the crowd at Kirtland. Festivities in the park included street theater and an open microphone.
The Albuquerque rally and march were followed by a vigil at Senator Pete Domenici's residence, which was attended by about 60 people.
The rally was one of more than 60 pro-peace demonstrations that took place throughout the world on Saturday, Gordon said.
