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Finding strength in faith; hoping for peace
By Eileen E. Flynn

American-Statesman Staff

Monday, October 29, 2001

Hundreds of Texans demonstrating for peace demanded that the U.S. government abandon what they called an unjust crusade against Muslims and Arabs that is punishing innocent civilians in Afghanistan.

Protesters from groups around the state, including the newly formed Austin Against War, marched from Republic Park on Fourth Street to the Federal Building plaza on Eighth Street, where they urged the government to end military strikes and to pursue those responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks through the courts.

"We feel a bombing campaign is not really justified with such a small group of terrorists," said Tristan Mendoza, a spokesman for Texans United Against War.

Although protesters did not attempt to justify the attacks in New York and Washington, Joan Supan, an activist from Dallas, urged the government to reconsider foreign policy that she said may have "fueled the fires of aggression" toward the United States and to "look for solutions to unrest in the Middle East."

Nick Vogel, a member of Austin Against War, decried the military strikes in Afghanistan as inhumane. What troubles him, he said, is "the fact that innocent citizens of Afghanistan are dying."

"The group running Afghanistan is a bunch of thugs that we gave guns and money to," he said, referring to the Taliban. "That's the people we're after, but that's not the people getting hurt."

Vogel disputed the notion that the Sept. 11 attacks were an act of war. Rather, they were a crime against humanity, he said, and he suggested that the route to justice lies in the courts of the United Nations.

About 10 counterdemonstrators stood across the street, holding signs that read "Honk for Patriotism" and "Too Late for Peace."

Mary Thompson of Lakeway said she wasn't trying to trample on the protesters' First Amendment rights; she just wanted them to "realize if Americans hadn't fought and died, they would not have that right."

War protesters said their rights are in jeopardy under the recent Patriot Act, which gives law enforcement officials greater surveillance authority to pursue suspected terrorists and allows more information sharing between intelligence and criminal agencies. Many at the rally argued that the law erodes civil liberties and will result in increased racial profiling of Muslims and Arabs.

"The war isn't over until . . . the Patriot Act has been repealed," Houston activist Lucha Rodriguez shouted to a cheering crowd.

Also Sunday, a meditation walk took place late in the afternoon at the Capitol between the south steps and the south gate. In the slow, silent walk, more than 100 people stepped in time to their breathing while contemplating peace and the people killed in both the United States and Afghanistan.

The march was a cooperative effort among the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Austin Zen Center, Plum Blossam Sangha and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

"(Walking) is a better forum for the public," said John Dinsmore of the Zen Center. "They see something moving."

You may contact Eileen E. Flynn at eflynn@statesman.com or 445-3851. American-Statesman staff writer Janet Jacobs contributed to this report.

Here's the Austin American Statesman's take on the whole thing.....