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A12 protesters arrested { April 12 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2554843http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2554843
Several Arrested in U.S. Anti-War Protest
Sat April 12, 2003 06:57 PM ET
By Niala Boodhoo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of people protesting U.S. military presence in Iraq demonstrated in the streets of Washington on Saturday in a march that ended with police scuffling with protesters.
The demonstrators, wearing T-shirts like one that read "I see all the dead Iraqi children. Boy, do I feel safe," and carrying signs saying "Fight the new colonialism!" also condemned the way U.S. media covers the war.
The march at first appeared peaceful, but the demonstrators were led through the streets near the White House by scores of police and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
Security is especially tight in Washington this weekend as the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are being held in the capital. Anti-globalization protests which have traditionally drawn protesters like anarchists, some of whom joined Saturday's protests, were also planned for Sunday.
Police at one point used their batons to hit several protesters who pushed and shoved back. Three people were arrested, two for assaulting police officers, D.C. Police Sgt. Joe Gentile said, adding the scuffles began after some demonstrators threw stones at police officers.
Organizers appealed to the crowd to provide records of the incidents of what they called "police brutality."
"People started yelling and running back toward me and I could see police pepper spraying people," said freelance reporter Will Potter, adding police came up behind him and started hitting him in the back.
"We were getting pushed between two sets of cops swinging batons," he said.
Earlier, thousands others had gathered blocks away for the "Rally for America" near the U.S. Capitol to support U.S. troops deployed in the Middle East. The flag-waving group listened to speakers and country music and brought supplies to be donated to the U.S. military.
JESUS AND WAR
There was the occasional confrontation between the two groups, including between one anti-war protester carrying a sign which said: "What would Jesus Say?" to which Eugene Clarke, a Marine, retorted, "Jesus is happy Iraq is free."
As Saddam Hussein's government disintegrated and talk continued on rebuilding Iraq, anti-war demonstrators around the world have changed their focus to lobby against further U.S. military presence in the country and against the media.
On Saturday thousands of peace campaigners filled the streets of cities like London, Berlin and Dhaka, Bangladesh, saying the United States had set a dangerous precedent of pre-emption.
In San Francisco, more than 1,000 demonstrators huddled peacefully under umbrellas in a steady rain in front of City Hall to protest a U.S. "occupation" of Iraq, then marched to a nearby park for another anti-war rally.
In Washington, demonstrators also focused on the mass media, saying they weren't truthfully depicting the war to the American public.
One protester, wearing a T-shirt that read "Faux News," joined the thousands who stopped outside The Washington Post to chant "Washington Post! Tell the Truth!"
The march targeted News Corp.'s Fox News, The Washington Post and The New York Times .
"It's not about reporting the news anymore, it's about being patriotic," said Peter Sullivan, an Ohio college student who came to Washington for the rally. (Additional reporting by Leonard Anderson in San Francisco)
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