5th-Anniversary Iraq Protests in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and DC

Brooklyn for Peace (formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace) send us information about the following events marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq:

To mark the disastrous effects of five years of war ­on this country, on Iraq, and specifically in our own neighborhoods, ­Brooklynites will hold several local actions and join a city-wide protest in Manhattan, as well as a national action in Washington, DC.

Brooklyn events
Two local actions will be held March 19, the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq:

Press Conference & Brooklyn Says No to War March and Vigil, co-sponsored by Brooklyn For Peace and MoveOn.
5:30 PM: press conference at Grand Army Plaza, with speakers from Brooklyn for Peace and MoveOn.
6:00: march down Flatbush Avenue to the military recruiting station at 41 Flatbush Ave. (Livingston St.).
7:00: brief program. Iraq war vets and members of military families will speak. The protest will close with a candlelight vigil.

Protest at Congressmember Vito Fossella’s office. At 12:00 noon, Peace Action Bay Ridge will sponsor a protest at Fossella’s Bay Ridge office (8505 4th Ave., at 85th St.) to express his constituents’ opposition to his position as the only Brooklyn Representative to support President Bush’s war policy. Representatives from military families, Brooklyn For Peace, Peace Action Bay Ridge, and Bay Ridge Interfaith Coalition will speak.

On Thursday, March 20, Fort Greene Peace will hold a Speakout against War at Tillie’s cafe, 284 DeKalb Ave. (at Vanderbilt), at 8:00 PM. Everyone is invited to share poetry, rap, comments, music at the open mic. Free admission, no cover.

Citywide protest
On Saturday, March 22, Brooklynites will cross the river to join a citywide River-to-River Human Chain, spanning 14th Street in Manhattan from 1st Ave. to 11th Ave. Dozens of participating groups will send members who, along with thousands of other individuals, will line the street to call on Congress to end funding for the war and bring the troops home.

The Human Chain will begin at 12:00 noon and end at 2:00 PM as protesters converge for a commemoration march around Union Square.

For more info: www.brooklynpeace.org/events/index.html or
http://events.unitedforpeace.org/5yearstoomany/events/show/3307

National civil disobedience

Five Brooklynites will also participate in a day of creative nonviolent action and civil disobedience in Washington, D.C., on March 19. They will join over 250 people from every state in the union for such actions as a “March of the Dead” by activists in death masks, moving through the city in small groups, or a “Green Zone” created on K Street among the lobbyists’ offices.

For more info: http://5yearstoomany.org/article.php?id=60 .

Brooklyn for Peace (formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace) is a local peace and social justice not-for-profit.