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CHICAGO: 2,000 PROTESTERS SAY NO TO WAR !

More than 2000 protesters held a peace vigil and procession down Michigan Avenue Sunday. The tone was somber. The crowd represented all generations and economic strata but many were older & well-heeled.
Protesters put names on the line
Marchers sign anti-war pledges
By Kevin Lynch
Tribune staff reporter

December 16, 2002

Hundreds of demonstrators protesting the threat of a war in Iraq on Sunday dropped
signed pledges of resistance into collection plates at St. James Episcopal Cathedral.

As many as 1,000 people vowed to oppose publicly a pre-emptive military strike in Iraq,
said Jennifer Bing-Canar, program director for American Friends Service Committee.

The interfaith protest organized by the Quaker group drew an estimated 2,000 people and
representatives of more than 30 Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist and other religious
groups.

"I'm used to seeing maybe one school bus full of kids at these events, but today we're
seeing not only people of all faiths, but people of all generations," Bing-Canar said.

"There is definitely a growing number of people who are starting to get nervous about the
Bush administration's stance on Iraq."

Cardinal Francis George of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and about a dozen
others from the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago attended the
service at St. James, 65 E. Huron St.

After the service, about a thousand demonstrators lit candles and joined several hundred
others, who waited outside. They marched down Michigan Avenue for a rally at Pioneer
Court.

"Almighty and ever-loving God, give us the courage to be peacemakers," said George,
during the standing-room service.

Other leaders read from a letter released by the council last month in which most of its
members urged President Bush to avoid war.

"We still lack compelling evidence that Iraq is planning to launch an attack," said Rev.
Demetri Kantzavelos, of the Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago, reading from the letter.
The letter marked the first time the council has made a unified public statement on a
national issue since it was formed in 1984.

On Sunday, demonstrators signed enough anti-war pledges to fill 10 large baskets, said
Bing-Canar. Her group had already collected 5,000 pledges, she said.

The forms, collected along with cash donations, contained two pledges demonstrators
could sign: one allowing their names to be used publicly as opponents of a possible war,
and a second promising to take part in civil disobedience if the U.S. invades Iraq.

For many at the demonstration, even the possibility of war with Iraq presented a much
clearer call to protest than the war in Afghanistan or the Persian Gulf war of 1991.

Dr. Lora Chamberlain of Bucktown said she did not agree with the way the war in
Afghanistan was carried out, but she "wasn't moved to protest against it" because she
believed the Taliban and Al Qaeda were legitimate targets.

But seeing no imminent threat from Iraq, Chamberlain said she'll continue to protest and
vowed to move to Canada if the U.S. invades Iraq.

"Afghanistan was the limit for me. I can't tolerate any more collateral damage,"
Chamberlain said. "I just don't want my tax dollars going toward a war that has no basis
in justice."



www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0212160129dec16,1,2537146.story=
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