Groups unite to protest Iraq war

Marge Mills stood on Boston Common yesterday to protest a war that her son, Siul, may soon be fighting.

As Mills gazed at a wallet-sized snapshot of her son, who enlisted in the Army without her permission, she said she and her husband drove to Boston from Northampton because they believe the war must end.

"We don't believe in any war but definitely not this war," Mills said. "There's no real reason for us to be there . . . or for anyone's son to be killed."

Mills was just one face in a large crowd that had gathered to oppose the war. Speakers at the rally, which also included a march through downtown streets, included historian Howard Zinn and Cindy Sheehan , the outspoken mother of a soldier killed in combat. Organizers estimated the turnout at 4,000 to 5,000.

Mills said she and her husband made the drive because "we are speaking out."

Angela Kelly, outreach coordinator for Massachusetts Peace Action, a non profit advocacy group, said about 60 organizations had come together to endorse the rally, including religious organizations, labor unions, college student groups, and anti war groups.

She said the march had attracted new supporters to the cause.

"A lot of folks joined on in Downtown Crossing," Kelly said. "It got the message out to a new community of people."

Kelly said many other people happened upon the rally when they came to the Common because of the balmy weather.

"It was a nice day and people just ended up staying," Kelly said. "It was a real coming-together from a broad and diverse range of organizations that are all working on a number of different peace and justice issues, but we're all united around one central demand to stop the war in Iraq right now."

President Bush has said that the war, which was four years old as of Monday, must be won, because Iraqis need help securing the country and becoming a democracy. He also said it would be disastrous for US security to leave now.

The crowd yesterday included college students, mothers, and children walking hand in hand . Some people carried homemade signs bearing messages like "Bring the troops home now," "Impeach Bush," and "Not my president."

Sheehan, internationally known for her 2005 demonstration outside President Bush's Texas ranch, was the main speaker at the rally. "I am not paying my taxes to the war machine. . . . We need to start a second American revolution," she said.

Zinn said the troops need to be pulled out of Iraq.

"There is only one timetable for withdrawal, and that is to get troops out as fast as ships and planes can carry them," Zinn said.

Braulio Soto , 18, a senior at The Engineering School at Hyde Park , was among the student protesters.

"They try to sugarcoat everything, with the offers of money and a college education: I want to know if I'm going to have to go to war and fight," Soto said.

Yesterday also marked the end of the nine-day-long Interfaith Walk for Climate Rescue , which organizers said was attended by about 1,400 people at its peak. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas , an organizer of the walk and priest associate at Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, said she was thrilled with the turnout.

Activists walked across the state to gain attention, completing the final leg of the walk in downtown Boston yesterday .

"I'm exhausted and I'm exhilarated," Bullitt-Jonas said. "We just walked in the streets all the way into Boston. . . . We created the biggest demonstration against global warming in US history."