AUGUSTA - A crowd estimated at 2,500 by organizers marched through a steady, cold rain on Saturday to rally against war.

Jan Janville of Appleton waterproofs a sign for Bruce Cole before the start of Saturday's peace march in Augusta. Similar demonstrations were held elsewhere in the state and the nation, including Washington. (Staff photo by Jill Brady)

They carried soggy signs with slogans such as "War is Terrorism," "No Blood for Oil," "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" and "They're selling war - we're not buying."

The demonstrators marched from the Buker School to a spot between the State House and the statue of Samantha Smith, the Manchester girl known as an advocate for world peace. The protest mirrored similar rallies across the nation and overseas, including one that protesters said drew 100,000 people in Washington, D.C.

"I want to thank George W. Bush for getting us all out here today - for waking up the American people," said Louise Diamond, co-founder of a Washington, D.C., group that works to resolve ethnic and regional conflicts around the world. "We're addicted to violence as a way of life, as a culture. We need to say yes to walking the peace path, instead of the warpath."

Dud Hendrick, a Naval Academy graduate and Vietnam veteran who is now a board member of the Maine Chapter of Veterans For Peace, criticized Bush for pursuing what he said is a doctrine of making pre-emptive military strikes anywhere Bush sees a threat.

"As a veteran, I'm asking you to do all you can to ensure your sons and daughters do not serve in this war," Hendrick said.

Sara Hodgkins, center, of West Gardiner walks with her daughter Anna, 5, and Carol Brewster of Manchester at Saturday's peace march in Augusta. Organizers said that in light of the rain, they were pleased with the strong turnout, a crowd they estimated at 2,500. (Staff photo by Jill Brady)

Tom Jackson, an activist and filmmaker who produced "Greetings from Missile Street," a documentary showing Iraqi citizens struggling to survive under economic sanctions, said modern warfare has the heaviest impact on children.

"The children of Iraq and Afghanistan have just as much value as ours do here in the United States," Jackson said. He said people should consider not paying federal taxes so their money can't be used to support war.

Police made one arrest, but said the event overall went smoothly.

"It really went well - everybody was pretty well behaved," said Augusta Police Lt. Keith Brann. "One arrest for a crowd that large is pretty good. They're good people. They were easy to work with."

The arrest occurred on State Street, as a group of 60 to 70 protesters left the rally and marched in the middle of the street, Brann said. State Street, which had been closed to traffic for the march, had been reopened by then, so police told the crowd to move to the sidewalk.

David Webb, 29, of Rockland refused and was arrested on a charge of failure to disperse.

The crowd included participants of many ages. Young people sporting dreadlocks marched alongside leather-clad Vietnam veterans and bespectacled senior citizens. Several participants pounded on drums and chanted antiwar slogans as they marched.

© 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

Published on Saturday, October 26, 2002 by the Associated Press
Peace Demonstrators Defy Rain at Maine's Capitol
by Francis X. Quinn

AUGUSTA - Organizers of an anti-war protest at the Maine Capitol complex Saturday said their effort demonstrated the possibilities of negotiation.

Protesters march in the rain, in protest of a possible war with Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

"These people had differences," said Greg Field, executive director of Peace Action Maine, gesturing toward a rain-drenched crowd variously estimated to include 1,000 to 3,000 people.

Signs bobbing above umbrellas carried messages such as "Diplomacy not War" to "War is Terrorism."

Some marchers departed soon after reaching the Capitol without staying for the rally, making estimates of the number of participants highly uncertain.

Field said a unifying theme was the desirability of nations' agreeing to "work through the U.N." and that protesters shared a belief that unilateral military action against Iraq was unwarranted.

"A pre-emptive strike is wrong," he said. "There is not an imminent threat."

After marching to the State House from a nearby school, demonstrators gathered near a statue of Samantha Smith, the Maine schoolgirl who was internationally known for her advocacy of peace.

Joining intermittently in songs performed by a string of musicians, protesters applauded anti-war speeches.

"I think the overarching issue is the war," said Veterans for Peace activist Dud Hendrick, adding that an additional concern of demonstrators was "the endless war on terrorism."

The Augusta rally coincided with similar gatherings elsewhere in the state, around the nation and overseas.

In Concord, N.H., about 80 peace activists gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Church while dozens more withstood driving rain outside the State House to protest possible U.S. attacks on Iraq. "This War is Wrong!" was a common message on signs, stickers and buttons at the rallies, which were organized by Peace Response New Hampshire.

About 1,000 Vermonters marched through Montpelier under snow, sleet and rain Saturday to rally for peace. They listened as one speaker after another stood at a podium on the granite steps of the State House to call for an end to U.S. aggression.

Organizers in Maine were exultant at the size of the crowd and Field said he was sure the turnout had been held down by the inclement weather because some planning to attend had notified others they had changed their minds.

Police reported one arrest on a misdemeanor charge of failure to disperse.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press

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