Anti-war and anti-capitalism activists gathered in D.C. this weekend, kicking off a wave of protests before the presidential election.
On Saturday morning, hundreds attended an anti-war protest at Arlington National Cemetery and the ellipse behind the White House. Hundreds of protesters proceeded from the cemetery, past the Lincoln Memorial and to the White House, carrying 1,000 mock coffins. The majority of the coffins were covered in black shrouds to represent the Iraqis who have been killed in the war, but 100 were covered in American flags to represent dead American soldiers.
Several groups coordinated the event, including the Iraq Pledge of Resistance, Peace Now, Catholic Worker groups, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans for Peace.
The opening ceremony at Arlington included a speech by Mahatma Ghandi's grandson, Arun Ghandi. The protesters, clad in black, then travelled quietly across the Arlington Memorial Bridge toward the White House.
About 25 counter-protesters, led by the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic, were gathered just before the bridge. They held a large sign that said, "Go to Hell Traitors: You Dishonor Our Dead on Hallowed Ground."
"Some people were quite angry, but some were supportive," said Ana Valladares. Valladares was one of about 15 AU students who marched with the College Democrats in the event.
Valladares says she was surprised by the large amount of international media coverage the event got. She was interviewed by a Spanish news channel.
War veterans and families of soldiers who have died in the Iraq war spoke at the ceremony at the Ellipse. They read poems and spoke about experiences at war, lost loved ones or their worries about soldiers currently in Iraq.
The mood was solemn, Valladares said, but she was disturbed by some comments by fellow protesters. She left after hearing some people make violent remarks directed at the president.
"If you're going to be pro-peace, you have to be pro-peace period," she said.
Several protesters were arrested after trying to enter a restricted area to deliver a list of people killed in the war to the White House in a planned act of civil disobedience.
Earlier, on Friday afternoon, protesters set up camp in a small park outside the International Monetary Fund. They held a vigil until 6 p.m. Saturday evening. Volunteers came in shifts throughout the night, staying for two- to four-hour periods. About a dozen volunteers would participate in the vigil at once.
Ash Abili, a Washington Semester student originally from Nigeria, spent Friday outside the IMF, taking only a short break to attend class. He is an intern with the 50 Years is Enough Network, a group that coordinated the vigil. The network is dedicated to reforming IMF and World Bank policy toward Nigeria and other countries that owe money to them.
"We believe these countries' debt is unsustainable," Abili said. "You could put it into such good uses instead, like building roads or schools."
Police officers outnumbered the protesters and were gathered on every street corner around the park. Many streets downtown were closed to traffic, and police escorted buses carrying IMF and World Bank delegates, slowing other drivers.
