Peace and Justice Works
  Iraq Affinity Group
  PO Box 42456
  Portland, OR 97242
  (503) 236-3065 (Office)
  pjw@pjw.info
  http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html

News Item/Community Calendar Announcement

For Immediate Release                  August 20, 2004

Event: Rally and March for Peace & Justice: End the Wars and Occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the West Bank / Gaza!
Date: Sunday, October 3, 2004
Time: 2:00 PM
Place: North Park Blocks, NW Everett Street & NW 8th Avenue, downtown Portland

     Contacts:
     Dan Handelman, Peace & Justice Works (503) 236-3065
     William Seaman, Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC), www.pprc-news.org

Rally and March for Peace & Justice: End the Wars and Occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the West Bank / Gaza!

Local peace and social action organizations will hold a rally and march at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 3rd, starting at the North Park Blocks, NW Everett Street & NW 8th Avenue, downtown Portland. The rally and march will be fully permitted by the City of Portland, participation is free and open to everyone. For more information, please call Portland Peaceful Response Coalition at (503) 344-5078 or Peace & Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group at (503) 236-3065.

"As the country approaches the November elections, we want to place these important issues squarely before our community," said William Seaman, a volunteer with Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, one of the co-sponsors for the rally and march. "We are calling on all candidates for public office to take a strong and clear stand against war and against occupation." Seaman said that the issues of peace, social and global justice, civil rights, democracy and human needs would be the themes of the October 3rd gathering. "This rally and march will give voice to the people who knew these wars and occupations were a bad idea from the start, the people who did not suffer a 'failure of intelligence', the people who stood by the truth when it was fashionable to sound the steady drumbeat for war," said Seaman.

The main theme for the October 3rd event is "Rally and March for Peace & Justice!" Subthemes for the day are:

- End the Wars and Occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the West Bank/Gaza!
- Fund Health Care, Jobs, Housing and Education, Not War!
- Defend Civil Liberties and Democracy: Equal Rights for All!

"As in the past, the themes highlight links between local and global issues affected by the U.S.' permanent war economy and military-based foreign policy," said Mikel Clayhold, another volunteer helping to organize the march.

Organizations interested in becoming involved may contact Peace and Justice Works (PJW) at (503) 236-3065 or the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC) at (503) 344-5078.

A partial list of co-sponsors of the October 3rd event include Peace & Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group (503-236-3065), Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (www.pprc-news.org, 503-344- 5078), Women in Black, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Portland Labor for Peace and Justice, Portland Catholic Worker, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Living Earth, Portland Solidarity (portlandsolidarity@post.com), Love Makes a Family, Peace Justice and Environment Committee of the Portland Mennonite Church, Oregon PeaceWorks (503-585-2767- Salem), East Timor Action Network/Portland, Portland Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights, Peace Action Group of the First Unitarian Church, Jews for Global Justice (503-299-4772), St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, War Resisters League- Portland (503-238-0605) and North Coast Peace Coalition.

A partial list of endorsers include the Board of Peace and Social Concerns of Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, Veterans for Peace - Chapter 72 (VFPchapter72.org), Northwest Veterans for Peace, PSU Progressive Student Union, PSU Green Party, Friends of Sabeel-North America, and Portland Radical Cheerleaders Local #2.

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Page updated September 28, 2004