Witness Against War in the news

The anatomy of a march: Veterans for Peace event ends in arrests

Jeff Leys — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:59:39 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 31, 2008
By Jeff Severns Guntzel
Minnesota Independent

When Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin took the stage at the Veterans for Peace rally in front of the State Capitol building today, where hundreds of activists gathered before marching towards the Xcel Energy Center, she started with the string of weekend raids on her mind: “This is not the Midwestern welcome we expected!”

Her audience cheered — among them a vet hoisting a desert-camo anti-war flag:

A cadre of protesters were clad in orange jumpsuits meant to evoke those worn by prisoners at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison. The held black hoods in their hands and stuck signs to their backs — on each sign was printed the name, age and story of a living, breathing Guantanamo detainee:

CONTINUE READING the Story with photos at Minnesota Independent

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August 31, 2008
By Jeff Severns Guntzel
Minnesota Independent

Her audience cheered — among them a vet hoisting a desert-camo anti-war flag:

CONTINUE READING the Story with photos at Minnesota Independent

Veterans for Peace march ends in 9 arrests in civil disobedience at RNC

Jeff Leys — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:36:55 -0500

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Veterans for Peace march ends in 9 arrests in civil disobedience at RNC

Excerpt

August 31, 2008

(Noted: Veterans for Peace and CODEPINK organized this march. Dan Pearson and Josh Brollier, both Witness Against War participants, and Steve Clemens, a who traveled to Iraq in 2002 with Voices in the Wilderness, were arrested in this act of nonviolent civil disobedience)

View Fox-9 News Coverage

Nine Protesters Entering Restricted Area Arrested Sunday for Trespassing

A group of anti-war protesters went underneath a security barrier near the Xcel Center as an act of civil disobedience. Nine were arrested for trespassing.

Police in riot gear arrested nine people protesting at the Xcel Center Sunday, after they entered a restricted area secured by a fence. The protesters marched from the capitol to the Xcel Center, protesting the war in Iraq and the treatment of veterans coming home.

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August 31, 2008

View Fox-9 News Coverage

Nine Protesters Entering Restricted Area Arrested Sunday for Trespassing

A group of anti-war protesters went underneath a security barrier near the Xcel Center as an act of civil disobedience. Nine were arrested for trespassing.

Doug Holtz, a St. Paul police commander, said that nine people were arrested for trespassing after they passed a police roadblock into a restricted area. Eight of the nine have since been released.

They said they had planned ahead of time to cross the fence in an act of civil disobedience, and had announced their intent before the march. About 250 people watched the march.

“We are going to march into the arms of police. Whatever they are going to do is all right with us,” organizer David Harris said to the marchers before they entered the restricted zone. Harris was one of those arrested. He says the march wasn’t aimed towards Republicans, but “warmakers.”

The march was otherwise peaceful on its way from the state Capitol, organized by Veterans for Peace and peace group CodePink. As the march began, Harris read the names of soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq.

According to the Associated Press, among those arrested were: 72-year-old Jeanne Hynes, 78-year-old Betty McKenzie, 57-year-old Steve Clemens, David Harris, Duncan Hardee, and others not identified.

By 5 p.m. Sunday, eight of the nine arrested had been cited and released. The last, Duncan Hardee, is still in custody because he had no identification and Ramsey County authorities had to verify it.

The arrested can legally be held for 36 hours, not including the weekend or Labor Day holiday.

Friday night and Saturday morning, six members of the anarchist group the RNC Welcoming Committee were arrested after authorities found knives, axes, bomb-making materials and anti-war literature. It doesn’t appear that those six people arrested will be released in time to take part in the large protest planned for Monday, and are not required by law to be released until noon Wednesday.

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

A 500 Mile Walk to the RNC - KARE TV in the Twin Cities

Jeff Leys — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:58:41 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 29, 2008

Watch Video Report from KARE-11

The road to St. Paul and the Republican National Convention started more than a month ago for one anti-war group. Members have spent July and August walking here from Chicago.

After 49 days and more than 475 miles the Witness Against War marchers are still going strong.

Short Information Teaser

The August 29 news report from KARE 11 in Minneapplis - St. Paul

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August 29, 2008

Watch Video Report from KARE-11

The road to St. Paul and the Republican National Convention started more than a month ago for one anti-war group. Members have spent July and August walking here from Chicago.

After 49 days and more than 475 miles the Witness Against War marchers are still going strong.

“Interacting with normal people. Getting our message across (is the important part),” marcher Paul Melling said.

“We believe passionately that there are alternatives. We could rely on negotiation and diplomacy,” marcher Kathy Kelly added.

Organized by a Voices For Creative Nonviolence, this group, which includes retired teachers, students and vets, is spreading its message of peace one step, one mile, one meeting at a time.

“There was this one woman. I’ll never forget what she said,” recalled marcher Alice Gerard. “I support what you’re doing. My son is in Iraq for the fifth time. I just want him to come home.”

“Nearly every stop of the way, we were able to connect with folks. And yeah, it’s encouraging to see all that’s going on in the tiny little communities through Wisconsin and Minnesota.

As they log miles down busy city streets and over country roads this group holds both Republicans and Democrats responsible for the war.

“Both parties need to be held accountable,” marcher Lauren Cannon said.

And, members say, they are calling on every person they encounter to be part of a solution.

“I wanted very much to make a statement about how each of us is responsible,” Kelly added.

“Take some responsibility upon ourselves and do what we can to bring about an end to this war in Iraq,” Pearson said.

It’s a message these marchers say they’ll keep delivering all the way to St. Paul.

Local activist makes 500-mile trek to oppose war in Iraq and Afghanistan

Jeff Leys — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 28, 2008
Clarksville, TN Online

Witness Against War is a 450-mile walk from Chicago to Saint Paul to challenge and non-violently resist our nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The campaign seeks to hold both major political parties, both Democrat and Republican, accountable and responsible for continuing and ending the Iraq war.

The journey began in the City of Chicago, site of the 1968 Democratic Party convention in the midst of the Vietnam War. The walk will conclude on August 31 in St. Paul — in time for the start of the 2008 Republican Party convention in the midst of the Iraq war.

Joshua Brollier joined the walk in Chicago on July 12th and has participated in awareness events and community forums along the route to St. Paul. The walkers will convene there on August 29th to march in step with the Veterans for Peace at the Republican National Convention protests.

CONTINUE READING AT CLARKSVILLE ON-LINE, INCLUDES PHOTOS

Short Information Teaser

Clarksville, TN article on participation of Joshua Brollier in Witness Against War.

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August 28, 2008
Clarksville, TN Online

CONTINUE READING AT CLARKSVILLE ON-LINE, INCLUDES PHOTOS

Peace activists march into Red Wing

voices — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:52:15 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

The Republican Eagle
By Mike Longaecker
August 25, 2008

Red Wing was a welcome sight Sunday for a group of peace activists.

Of course, their destination — St. Paul — may be even more so, once they’ve completed their mission. Members of the peace group Witness to War stopped here for a couple days in the midst of an approximately 500-mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul.

“It re-energized us,” Voices for Creative Nonviolence activist Joshua Brollier said Monday, recalling how local supporters joined up with the group as they passed into town.

Short Information Teaser

Red Wing, MN: News article in The Republican Eagle

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The Republican Eagle
By Mike Longaecker
August 25, 2008

Red Wing was a welcome sight Sunday for a group of peace activists.

“It re-energized us,” Voices for Creative Nonviolence activist Joshua Brollier said Monday, recalling how local supporters joined up with the group as they passed into town.

The group, which began its trek in mid-July, stops in cities to present is main message of nonviolent resistance to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The group on Monday took to the stage at Hobgoblin Music Loft, where several of the walkers explained why they undertook the effort.

The peace effort has a long history of marches and walks, Brollier said.

“We want to kind of follow in that tradition,” he said.

Others who have spent time in Iraq shared their stories.

Co-coordinator Kathy Kelly watched Iraqi children grind their teeth and lose their bladders as bombs fell all around them in 2003.

As a peace activist, Kelly was present in Iraq during the initial “shock and awe” campaign, which left parts of Baghdad blown to smithereens.

“We’ve seen the consequences of war,” Kelly said Monday in an interview with the R-E.

Witness Against War organizers note that the walk’s staging point in Chicago was also home to the historic riots that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Despite the mention, Kelly said the group has no intention of re-creating the violence that marred the convention.

“It’s our responsibility to galvanize the public opinion … into an experience that will reach elected officials and people aspiring toward elected office,” she said.

Their feet, however, won’t get immediate rest in St. Paul.

The group will join up with other activists marching from the Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, where this year’s Republican National Convention is being held.

Members of the group, which swells to about 40 people in stages, acknowledged that they have experienced resistance along the way. Their tack is to engage antagonists with gentle words, an approach Kelly said has changed some minds.

“Quite often, people go away feeling there’s more in common between us than what divides us,” she said.

Michael Bayly traveled from St. Paul for Monday’s presentation at Hobgoblin. Witness Against War members painted a much more detailed picture of the war in Iraq than he said he’s used to seeing in the mainstream media.

“It’s encouraging to see people take such a strong stand and make such sacrifices,” Bayly said.

The group leaves today for Diamond Bluff, and then on to Prescott, Wis.

Fort McCoy: Concerts and Patriotic Encounters

Jeff Leys — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:14:10 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Reflections on the August weekend at Fort McCoy

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August 25, 2008
By Gene Stoltzfus
Gene’s Blog

Route 21 from Tomah, Wisconsin west to Sparta goes through hilly corn fields and woods. After the tiny berg of Tunnel City the fields end and Fort McCoy begins. Eighty miles northwest of Madison this Fort is one of the few major army training bases in the Northern Midwest. The Gene Stoltzfusoops headed for Iraq and other combat zones. It also provides jobs for civilians.

On this Sunday in August with reporters and cameras looking on the base prepared for the visit of 50 peace walkers on Witness Against War pilgrimage from Chicago to St. Paul. Twelve walkers would seek to enter the base to talk with soldiers and officers about war and peace. I was one of the twelve. The 350 mile walk was organized by Chicago based Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

I joined the group at Tunnel City five miles east of the main entrance to Fort McCoy. State Route 21 was thick with security cars among army trucks, Hummers, SUVs and other vehicles, some out for a Sunday excursion and others basking in vacation days. Horn blowing and waves from people encouraged us. No harsh fists or crypto-patriotic shouts. By 11 am we reached the main entrance only to discover that it had been closed and, that persons seeking entrance must go on.

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August 25, 2008
By Gene Stoltzfus
Gene’s Blog

The night before an Alice Cooper heavy metal concert on the base was not only opened to the entire community, it also challenged the trees and animals of the surrounding forests. In thick darkness the rock concert sounds were antiphonally answered by coyote calls. On days or nights when rock concert sounds don’t invade, the seven tiny mock villages hidden in the base’s woods are used as training territory. In these simulated third world hamlets soldiers practice house raids, and surveillance or capture of hostile villagers who are thought to exist in distant lands. In communities along the Mississippi River people in need of employment are hired at $12 per hour to imitate enemy village life. We were not able to assess the risks for temporary employment of this sort. Retirement benefits are nonexistent because enemy village war game employees are considered temporary help.

Members of the Department of the Army Police, a civilian body now used for security duty that was once the responsibility of military police, greeted us and refused our polite requests for entry to Fort McCoy in order to complete our mission of dialogue. As I began the walk into the grand entry way where rock concert goers had travelled the previous night I could overhear police orders barked into tightly gripped two way radios. “Bring on the teams.” I assumed that they were not referring to Christian Peacemaker Teams but did not anticipate the twenty police deployed to meet our motley inter-generational group. For a moment I felt like I might be in a movie set. The late morning sun was perfect. Two very different forces were walking (marching might be a little strong) and something was about to happen. Even after we were stopped, frisked and placed in stiff plastic hand cuffs I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Everything seemed so choreographed.

Inside the security building I was interviewed, photographed, fingerprinted and ticketed. I would be informed when I had to appear in court, probably in Madison. The plastic cuffs bit into my arms but I managed to carry on reasonably human conversations with the officers. As my processing moved towards completion, I engaged the Sargent who commanded the unit, regarding strategies of security. I explained I had been working on security matters from a nonviolent point of view for many years. I also noted that no doubt his responsibilities came about because of advanced education, degrees and careful reflection on the theories of effective police work. I pressed him to talk about his own theory of security and asked if he believed that the best way to achieve security was by way of overwhelming force.

In our conversation I reminded him that we are in fact both concerned about the security of the human family and even in his text books there were various theories that suggested minimal and even no use of force. Discussing security with a Sargent who commands police for the Department of the Army while in hand cuffs may be a little disjunctive but I think we had a tiny but worth while two way conversation. Judging from the honks and waves of support from soldiers outside the base I suspect the reception inside beyond the guard post might have been even more cordial than the arresting greeting from police on that August day.

After two hours of processing we were driven several miles beyond the base and released. Finally I felt like I had departed the movie set for good. Every one had been polite, too nice. What was achieved? Perhaps local people who have long held uneasiness about the cultural, economic and military influence of the base were encouraged - at least they said they were. Folks in surrounding towns thanked us for joining with local people in the witness. And for me there was an added personal dimension.

On many occasions in Iraq I spent hours in homes that had been the object of US army raids. Was Fort McCoy one of the places where army recruits learned to turn over furniture, threaten families in the middle of the night and cart off young men and husbands for long hours of interrogation at Abu Gharib? Would Wisconsin tolerate this behavior in the homes of its own residents? Could our nation survive such a primitive strategy? Coming here this Sabbath day to pray and to shine the light on military tactics abroad was one more response to those Iraq home visits.

I was tempted to seek temporary employment in those mock villages of the forest where I could feel the energy of a practice raid first hand. I know the participating soldiers come from orderly villages and farms like those we passed in our walk. I know they were not trained to do house raids in their homes, churches or high schools. What would the people at the English Lutheran Church in La Crosse think if they saw the overturned furniture, devastated families and trashed homes created by Wisconsin citizens? Does the Governor understand the thin veneer of pseudo-patriotism and public policy that allows him to send his own citizens off to distant lands to do house raids?.

Now tell me, those American flags pasted so prominently on police uniforms, what exactly do they mean? In times like this I get confused My mind is teased with questions about patriotism. Who is the patriot, the one wearing the flag or the unarmed detained walker here in the heartland?

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Walking with War On Our Mind

Jeff Leys — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:45:33 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Gene Stoltzfus reflects on his participation in Witness Against War.

Excerpt

August 22, 2008
Gene StoltzfusGene Stoltzfus

Note: Until 2004, was the Director of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a program of Brethren, Mennonite and Friends churches and other affiliated organizations that places teams in high conflict zones

Last week for eight days I joined a walk from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota, a seven week trek that will culminate at the Republican National Convention in the opening days of September. Our numbers varied from fifty participants to ten as we wound our way along highways, town boulevards and bicycle paths in south central Wisconsin towards and along the Mississippi River. A core group of ten nonviolent practitioners at Voices for Creative Nonviolence began in January to organize foot soldiers like me for this dialogue of the village For years I have wanted to learn how walks of this nature unfold. Travel by foot brought me closer to the feel of Gandhi’s freedom walks and Jesus journey with his handful of disciples through the towns of Palestine.

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August 22, 2008
Gene StoltzfusGene Stoltzfus

I had allowed my mind to be tricked into thinking such experiments hold little promise for engaging fast track civilization . Occasional evening gatherings along the way reminded me of how encouraging a walk can be for local people. A bicycle and trailer provided replacement water that the summer heat soaked from our bodies. Walkers learned to massage sore muscles and treat oncoming blisters. I was enormously thankful that I had prepared by practising with a walk of several miles on alternating days for a month. From those prep times I learned that after mile five I encounter a boundary created somewhere in my body memory that sends sore signals to my hips. But, I also learned that I could press through those physical barriers and that by the following morning the miracle of renewal had occurred because my body felt relaxed.

Local news outlets prepared people for our coming with generous helpings of announcements, pictures and stories. “We have been expecting you”, a coffee shop hostess said as I awaited an ice coffee, my luxury for that day. Her face radiated a backyard or supper table conversation about those walkers coming through and what they are walking for. Her questions about the mechanics of walking great distance and themes of peace displayed genuine curiosity. My mind and spirit still has callouses from earlier and shorter walks that I helped plan where I heard angry shouts, “Get a job”, or was given mean gestures and hand signal with the raised middle finger shouting at me. I didn’t experience any of this in south central Wisconsin. Horns and waves of support were frequent.

By tenting in parks, staying with local people or camping in places like the English Lutheran Church (La Crosse) our group enjoyed glorious hospitality, mixed with moments of joy, engaging discussion and occasional times of uncertainty as rain threatened or the distance for the day remained unclear. Little things caught my attention like the amount of oncoming traffic, the quality of the shoulder on the road, water supply, and even the sign that I carried which grew sticky from sweat. Wisely, in this journey the organizers had easy to read, firm but respectful signs printed ahead of time thereby avoiding confusion of purpose that can sometimes divide participants.

Earlier walkers had met with the Wisconsin’s Governor’s staff to challenge his support for another deployment of the Wisconsin National Guard. The news coverage of the event helped to remind citizens of Wisconsin that the culture of hospitality and decency so apparent in Wisconsin’s community life is not visible in the deployments to Iraq. By praying, singing, or crossing lines into restricted areas at Fort McCoy, the reality of this nation at war and the power of confrontational witness became visible and sometimes even supported by soldiers.

In my days with the pilgrimage I encountered several veterans and their supporters who are still fighting the Viet Nam war or its contemporary surrogate, Iraq. Their words betray inward wounds that have held so much power over our body politic. Jim Nelson of Onalaska, Wis. reminded me of images I awaken in some of them when I walk. On August 15 he wrote the following letter to the La Cross Tribune which on the previous day had placed a prominent photo and article about our journey on its front page. His letter helps us remember a slice of American mythology.

LEFTIST WING-NUTS AND HIPPIE LOONIES

“Resurging from the Canadian woodwork and hippie havens around the United States, we find old hippies out recruiting young, like minded liberal loonies to provide front page nostalgia for their left-wing ravings once again offered up by the left-wing media as heroes for a cause. To address the peace walk, let’s all admit that no one “likes” war. Especially our men and women in uniform. They all too often pay the ultimate price.

Our military men and women have volunteered for very dangerous and often times, thankless job. They follow orders. Saying that soldiers have made the statement “the war is a bunch of crap” obviously is not a majority opinion. The mission, goals and objectives may be honorable and achieveable.

There were “peaceniks” around in the 1930 and early 1940s. Had they prevailed, we would be speaking German or Japanese rather than English, which should be our undisputed national language.

Western Wisconsin is an area that houses a small nest of radicals who will attempt to disrupt any event they disagree with. The old hippies and flower children have a refuge in our media.

Be prepared for the left-wing nut cases and their symbol “footprint” to disrupt the Republican Convention in Minneapolis. Their history tells us that violence is part of their strategy of dissent, so much for peace. Here we go again.”

Lest I become too innoculated with the kindness and niceness that surrounds us in our Wisocnsin village culture this letter reminds me that there is still miles of walking in store before the completion of a party platform for the age of righteousness.

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Peace activists march into Red Wing

Jeff Leys — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:01:01 -0500

Project

WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 25, 2008

Mike Longaecker
The Red Wing Republican Eagle

Red Wing was a welcome sight Sunday for a group of peace activists.

“It re-energized us,” Voices for Creative Nonviolence activist Joshua Brollier said Monday, recalling how local supporters joined up with the group as they passed into town.

Short Information Teaser

News report from Red Wing, MN

Body

August 25, 2008

Mike Longaecker
The Red Wing Republican Eagle

Red Wing was a welcome sight Sunday for a group of peace activists.

“It re-energized us,” Voices for Creative Nonviolence activist Joshua Brollier said Monday, recalling how local supporters joined up with the group as they passed into town.

The group, which began its trek in mid-July, stops in cities to present is main message of nonviolent resistance to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The group on Monday took to the stage at Hobgoblin Music Loft, where several of the walkers explained why they undertook the effort.

The peace effort has a long history of marches and walks, Brollier said.

“We want to kind of follow in that tradition,” he said.

Others who have spent time in Iraq shared their stories.

Co-coordinator Kathy Kelly watched Iraqi children grind their teeth and lose their bladders as bombs fell all around them in 2003.

As a peace activist, Kelly was present in Iraq during the initial “shock and awe” campaign, which left parts of Baghdad blown to smithereens.

“We’ve seen the consequences of war,” Kelly said Monday in an interview with the R-E.

Witness Against War organizers note that the walk’s staging point in Chicago was also home to the historic riots that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Despite the mention, Kelly said the group has no intention of re-creating the violence that marred the convention.

“It’s our responsibility to galvanize the public opinion … into an experience that will reach elected officials and people aspiring toward elected office,” she said.

Their feet, however, won’t get immediate rest in St. Paul.

The group will join up with other activists marching from the Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, where this year’s Republican National Convention is being held.

“Quite often, people go away feeling there’s more in common between us than what divides us,” she said.

“It’s encouraging to see people take such a strong stand and make such sacrifices,” Bayly said.

The group leaves today for Diamond Bluff, and then on to Prescott, Wis.

Local Peace Activist Participates in 500 Mile Walk - Clarksville, TN

Jeff Leys — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Project

WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 26, 2008
The Leaf Chronicle

Witness Against War is a 500-mile walk from Chicago to Saint Paul to challenge and non-violently resist our nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The campaign seeks to hold both major political parties - Democrat and Republican - accountable and responsible for continuing and ending the Iraq war.

Joshua Brollier joined the walk in Chicago on July 12 and has participated in awareness events and community forums along the route to St. Paul. The walkers will convene there on August 29 to march in step with the Veterans for Peace at the Republican National Convention protests.

Short Information Teaser

Article on Joshua Brollier's participation in Witness Against War

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August 26, 2008
The Leaf Chronicle

“I am excited to walk with a group, Voices for Creative Non-Violence, that has had a almost constant presence on the ground in Iraq during the sanctions, during the shock and awe bombings, and throughout the current phase of the war.”

The group engaged in a non-violent act of civil disobedience at Fort McCoy to dramatize the upcoming deployment of the 32nd Brigade Combat Team, a division of the Wisconsin National Guard.

“We hoped to speak with the soldiers about their right to refuse illegal orders, but we were denied entry to the base,” said Brollier. “That’s alright though; we have had the opportunity to have many other meaningful conversations with soldiers along the way.”

Witness Against War has benefited from a vast range of experienced peace activists and hopes to build opposition to the war through face-to-face encounters with people in urban and rural areas.

“Growing up near Fort Campbell, I saw first-hand the strain of separation that repeated deployments cause to families. I have also seen the cost of these wars while working with refugees from Afghanistan. It’s time for these occupations to end.”

Activists take a walk to make a point -- Wabasha, MN

Jeff Leys — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 25, 2008

By Dawn Schuett
Rochester Post-Bulletin

WABASHA — For one group of activists, getting to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention is a slow journey and one that’s bringing them to southeast Minnesota. Every mile is an opportunity to deliver their message to passing motorists or curious bystanders. Each stop is a moment to explain their viewpoints.

“It’s a chance to meet people right in their front yard,” said Marie Kovecsi, a teacher from Winona who is participating this week in Witness Against War, a 450-mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul.

Short Information Teaser

News report from Wabasha, MN

Body

August 25, 2008

By Dawn Schuett
Rochester Post-Bulletin

Organized by the Chicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the walk is a campaign to “challenge and nonviolently resist the war and occupation of Iraq,” said Dan Pearson, co-coordinator of the anti-war group. Voices for Creative Nonviolence supports a complete and immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. It’s also calling for the full funding of the highest quality health care, housing and education for U.S. veterans and full funding by the U.S. for the reconstruction of Iraq.

The walk began July 12 and has followed a route through Wisconsin to La Crosse and north along the Mississippi River. On Aug. 10, the group was protesting at the Fort McCoy military base near Sparta, Wis., when 13 participants were arrested for trespassing. All were later released from custody. The number of walkers varies from day to day depending on how many locals join in temporarily.

The group stopped in Winona earlier this week before continuing along the river on the Wisconsin side. Nine walkers made it to Nelson, Wis., on Thursday and in the evening, participants joined the River Cities Alliance for Peace for a public discussion at Eagle’s Nest Coffee House in Wabasha. A similar program is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at Hobgoblin Music in Red Wing.

Pearson said the group has encountered a few individuals who don’t agree with its message but “it’s very clear at this point that the tide of public opinion has turned against the war.”

Kovecsi feels so strongly about the issue that she had to walk with the group if only for a few days.

“I knew it was something I wanted to be involved with,” she said.

Dawn Schuett covers news in Goodhue and Wabasha counties. If you have news tips or story ideas, call her at 281-7487.