BRAMA, February 16, 2003, 1:00 am ET
Hundreds of thousands march on the United Nations to protest Bush policy
— by Max Pyziur
New York, Feb. 15 — Despite the icy weather on Saturday February 15th hundreds of thousands of
people gathered around the area of the United Nations in New York City to
protest the Bush administration's proposed war against Iraq. The main
stage was at the intersection of 1st Avenue and 51st Street, just to the
north of the U.N.'s environs. However, easily stretching fifteen blocks to
the north, all of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Lexington Avenues were packed with
protesters.
By 12:30pm, a half hour after the scheduled start of the protest, NY police
had blocked off all cross streets between these avenues as well as subway
stations in attempts to control the demonstrators. Nevertheless,
listening to police communiques, frustration was being expressed by
dispatchers at the unexpectedly huge turnout. Riot gear-clad patrolman in
many instances gave up restraining the crowds at major intersections.
Traffic was paralyzed for hours as people spilled from the sidewalks into
the streets.
The marchers were generally well behaved. Some chanted, others sang.
Those who were too far away (like most) listened to radios which were
carrying live broadcasts of the proceedings at the main staging area where
Bishop Desmond Tutu, singers Richie Havens, Pete Seeger and Harry
Belafonte, actress Susan Sarandon and others inveighed against the
unrelenting recklessness of the Bush administration. Though many of the
demonstrators were from the area, determination and principle brought many
from faraway places such as Eugene, Oregon and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
©BRAMA.com, 2/15/03
Anti-war protesters march up 3rd Avenue
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Brama's UN correspondent Hanya Krill reported from the main stage, "In
addition to US media, there was a noticeable presence of foreign press
along with protesters from around the country and the world. Desmond
Tutu's speech was one of the strongest of the afternoon. He rallied the
crowds all the way up the canyon of 1st Avenue invoking past successes of
ending apartheid in South Africa." Singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte
railed against the U.S. government's record of deliberately
misleading the public in critical situations.
At one Starbucks coffee shop on East 52nd street all of the patrons were
demonstrators. Many gathered around one person's radio which was tuned to
broadcasts of the main speakers. At one point the store's manager came by
asking that the radio be turned off; the patrons refused where the manager
threatened to get the police. When the patrons did not give in the
manager walked out into the street to find a patrolman. When a patrolman
finally showed up the manager explained to him his issue. Rather than
walk over to the table, the patrolman threw up his hands in frustration,
pulled his earmuffs back on and walked back out into
the cold.
The pro-war contingent congregated to stage its own demonstration on the other side of Manhattan.
About one thousand demonstrators gathered on the southwest side of Central Park, some holding
signs "Bomb Iraq."
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