|
New York-The city's largest anti-war demonstration to date took place on
Oct. 7. Called "N.Y. in Our Name," it was not large enough, however,
to
prevent the bombs from falling on Afghanistan at that very moment. About
12,000 people met in Union Square for a prayer service, a rally, and a
march to Times Square.
The demonstration was organized by one of the two large anti-war
coalitions. The coalition, which is still unnamed, has been functioning
through very active working groups on education, labor, etc. Even with very
general principles, its inclusion of a condemnation of terrorism proved so
abhorrent to the person who printed the flyer for the demonstration that he
removed it. So much for democracy!
The coalition is so diverse that the last two meetings of the whole
literally fell apart. When its Sept. 25 meeting of 400 people tried to
agree on a concrete demand for "justice," the meeting got so bogged
down
that it ended up adjourning without another date to meet.
Some there wanted to define "justice" as bringing the perpetrators
of the
attacks before an international criminal tribunal, others wanted to apply
that demand to all perpetrators of "crimes against humanity,"
including the
U.S. for its activities in Iraq and Palestine, while still others claimed
that the word "justice" should not be used at all because U.S. justice
means injustice to people of color.
When fewer people attended another meeting Oct. 16, debate resumed on
whether to call for a "fair and independent international tribunal to
apprehend and try those responsible for the Sept. 11 attack." The meeting
degenerated into chaos and was adjourned without taking up anything else.
It is unclear whether the whole group will meet again, or how the working
groups will operate without a parent body.
-N.Y. N&L Local member
Return to top
| 
