D.C. Area Residents Opposed to Af-Pak War Hold Sunday Rally | Press Release

On the heels of a Congressional vote for more war funds, passed at the behest of the White House, local peace and justice activists will hold a Sunday afternoon rally calling for an end to continual war and occupation of Afghanistan, and drone bombings of Pakistan.

Following a House of Representatives vote Thursday approving $96.7 billion in additional war funding, local activists organized an anti-war rally to be held Sunday, 1:30 PM in Lafayette Park. Among the speakers are Ray McGovern, a former senior CIA analyst; Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace and Global Exchange; and Erik Leaver a senior policy analyst with the Institute for Policy studies.

“We want to say that we are opposed to unending war and military occupation,” Benjamin said. “We are outraged that our tax dollars are being spent on death and destruction rather than humanitarian assistance.”

The rally will be the first in a series of public demonstrations intended to educate the public about the unending war and occupation of Afghanistan, which has resulted in 679 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan, and 3.7 million Afghan refugees have fleeing their nation. Activists also hope to draw attention to the fact that unmanned drone bombings in Pakistan have led to hundreds of civilian deaths, and that 71,755 private contractors, motivated by profit, are stationed in Afghanistan.

The Senate is expected to vote on a similar military supplemental next week.

“In this country, we need to start investing in decent education and comprehensive health care for all; continual occupations and bombings of civilian populations are not in our interest,” said Pete Perry, a D.C. native. “We will continue speaking out and holding demonstrations, until those on the Hill and in the White House understand that war is obsolete.”

Contact: Pete Perry, (202) 631-0974, http://beltwaybeast.blogspot.com/