By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 24, 1991
The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03
Rain forced a peace activists rally into a Broad Street church Saturday, where they issued a call for American troops to be withdrawn from the Middle East. They urged that the money being used to maintain the troops be spent on domestic problems.
After the rally at Military Park in Newark was cut short, the crowd of about 250 went to the Presbyterian Church two blocks away for an interfaith service to memorialize all who died in the war.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims participated in the ecumenical service.
Lawrence Lamm, chairman of the New Jersey Rainbow Coalition, urged the audience to continue fighting for racial and economic justice.
“Many of you, I know, in recent weeks have been somewhat distraught, wondering how a country such as ours, where the people have such a high level of education and literacy, could blindly follow a foreign policy based on death and destruction. But I say, friends, that we must not despair, that we must in fact take our energy and our emotions and throw it into building a movement for peace and justice.”
The Rev. Robert Moore, director of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament, said he was not in support of the war to begin with and, now that the stated goal of removing Iraq from Kuwait has been achieved, it is time for Americans to come home. He said the tax dollars being spent to keep them there should be brought home, too.
“We should turn it over to the United Nations and the Arab League and other entities like that to try to resolve other problems and conflicts that are left,” he said.
Rep. Donald Payne, D-Newark, scheduled to address the gathering, was said to have a prior commitment and sent an aide instead.
Rick Thigpen, an aide to Payne, said the congressman has remained constant in his opposition to the war. Payne preferred economic sanctions, he said.
Mayor Sharpe James, who was to greet the participants on the steps of City Hall, also did not appear. Michael Immerso, one of the organizers of the rally, was unable to reach the mayor or any of his aides but said James probably assumed the rally was canceled because of the rain.
Keywords: PERSIAN GULF WAR; DEMONSTRATION
Caption: 1 – PHOTO – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD – Bryan Douglas of Franklin Park, left photo, scrubbing U.S. flag to symbolically cleanse it of Iraqi blood. 2 – PHOTO – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD – In top photo, activists listening to Lawrence Lamm, 3 – PHOTO – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD – right photo, state Rainbow Coalition chief.
ID: 17337289 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)
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