Rogue Valley Independent Media Center

"Five Years Is Too Many" Rally - Marking the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War

C I T I Z E N S * F O R * P E A C E * A N D * J U S T I C E, 10.03.2008 19:07

Medford peace rally will mark 5th anniversary of Iraq War

Saturday, March 15, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Gather at Alba Park, 8th & Holly Streets
Medford, Oregon

A father whose son is in harm's way in Iraq, several Veterans for Peace, the Rogue Valley Peace Choir, a history professor and a Republican turned anti-war activist will headline the "5 Years Too Many: End the War NOW!" rally and march this Saturday, March 15th in Alba Park. The event will feature a colorful march through downtown Medford.

Music, speeches and a march through downtown Medford on March 15th will remind the Rogue Valley that the dreadful Iraq War continues after five long, deadly years of killing and suffering. Several prominent local speakers will discuss various aspects of the war and its cost and impact on Oregonians. The Rogue Valley Peace Choir has been invited to sing. Citizens for Peace & Justice of Medford is organizing this year's event with several co-sponsors, including Peace House, Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, Applegate Citizens for Political Change, Socialist Action, the Medford Congregational United Church of Christ, the Rogue Valley Unitarian Fellowships' Social Action Committee, UNETE, Oregon Action and more.

Brian Lewis of Phoenix, whose son is an officer in Iraq, will be a featured speaker, along with veterans Daniel Guy, Dan Davis, Allen Hallmark and Hal Anthony as well as Pastor Kurt Katzmar of the Medford Congregational United Church of Christ. Guy is the former Republican whose disgust with the war and the Bush Administration caused him to join Citizens for Peace & Justice last fall.

CPJ, the Medford peace group, is sponsoring the event along with Peace House and a number of other southern Oregon peace and justice organizations. Other speakers will include Ashland labor and independent media activist Wes Brain and history professor Gerry Cavanaugh. The crowd will receive plenty of encouragement to call and write their members of Congress, the Senate and the White House demanding that our troops be brought home now.

The local grassroots organization for Barack Obama for President expects to have a sizable contingent at the rally, according to Matt Sutton, Group Administrator, Oregon South for Barack Obama. Supporters of Hillary Clinton and Ralph Nader are welcome as well.

The Medford rally, in solidarity with many peace events across the nation in mid-March, marks the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003. The US invaded Iraq despite the lack of any provocation by Iraq and because of lies told by the Bush Administration about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which Saddam Hussein‚s regime no longer maintained. President Bush and VP Cheney also lied to the American people by claiming that there was a link between the al-Qaida criminals who launched the 9/11/01 attacks, and Iraq, when they knew there was no link.

After the crowd gathers in the park, CPJ will lead a colorful march through downtown Medford, covering a couple of miles, east on Main Street, south on Riverside Avenue, west on 10th Street, north on Central Avenue, west on 8th Street back to Alba Park. The crowd will be carrying handmade signs and banners, advocating an end to the Iraq occupation.

The Rogue Valley Peace Choir will perform and most of the speeches will be delivered in the park at the gazebo in Alba Park after the march through downtown has concluded.

Co-sponsoring groups include: Peace House; Veterans for Peace of Grants Pass; Socialist Action; So. Oregon Jobs with Justice; Applegate Citizens for Political Change; Rogue Valley UU Fellowship, Social Action Committee; UNETE; Oregon Action; Social Justice Alliance; Medford Congregational United Church of Christ; CodePINK; Collateral Repair Project; Medford Women in Black; Women‚s International League for Peace and Freedom-Ashland Branch; UU of Grants Pass, Social Action Committee

For more information, contact: Allen Hallmark, 541-855-2312, Hal Anthony, 541-476-4156, or Wes Brain, 482-6988. This news release was sent to you by Allen Hallmark of Sams Valley, Oregon, 541-855-2312.

Citizens For Peace And Justice website
http://www.medfordcpj.org/

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"Five Years Is Too Many" Rally - Marking the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War