JANA SUMMERS Frank Sarjanovic protests the
bombing of Afghanistan at the Fedral building in Westwood Monday
night.
By Matt Goulding
Daily Bruin Reporter
In the wake of the U.S.-led war against terrorism, nearly 50
members of the newly-created Student Coalition Against War marched
from Westwood Plaza to the Westwood Federal Building on Monday
night to protest bombings in Afghanistan.
“We are against any type of military action and military
intervention because the people who suffer are never the government
targeted; it’s the people in the villages, it’s the
women and children,” said T.J. Ghose, a public policy
doctoral student who helped organize the event.
Since Sunday, the United States has launched two sustained
attacks against suspected terrorist camps and Taliban military
sites in Afghanistan.
Ghose said the group called for an emergency rally due to the
seriousness of the bombings.
Beginning as a small group on campus, the crowd marched down
Westwood Boulevard, waving signs like “Honk for Peace”
at the oncoming traffic and chanting anti-war slogans to
pedestrians and business patrons.
Approximately 100 protesters from the Los Angeles area welcomed
the group of students as they arrived at the Federal Building.
Monday marked the second straight day anti-war protesters gathered
at the site.
One sentiment resonated between the groups present at the
protest: violent retaliation to the tragedies of Sept. 11 will only
punish the innocent citizens of Afghanistan.
“We believed what happened on the 11th was a crime, and we
should go after the criminals responsible,” said Don White, a
member of the L.A.-based Coalition for World Peace. “But
vengeance and attacking civilian populations is not
justice.”
White and members of SCAW used megaphones and a public
announcement system to lead chants like “One, two, three,
four, we don’t want your racist war!”
Many community members joined in on the effort, passing out food
and information to participants. Alexandra Paul, better known as
Steph from “Baywatch,” handed out vegan cookies to
hungry protesters.
“The rally was really energized with the arrival of the 50
students from UCLA,” White said. “We are delighted to
see them taking an active part in this protest.”
For group leaders like Ghose, student grassroot movements are
essential for change in critical times.
“If the U.S. foreign policy will be changed, if this war
has to be stopped, it’s going to start with the
students,” Ghose said. “Without students, there is no
hope.”
Formed shortly after the collapse of the World Trade Center
towers, SCAW is comprised of 400 students, many from other campus
groups like Students for Equal Rights and Justice and the
International Socialist Organization, Ghose said.
The anti-war coalition relies on three points of unity for their
formation: ending the war, stopping attacks on civil liberties, and
stifling all racist backlash against Arabs and Muslims.
While members agree there needs to be justice for the Sept. 11
attacks, SCAW has not taken an official stance on alternative
resolutions to violent retaliation in Afghanistan. The variety of
groups represented in SCAW has made this a difficult task, Ghose
said.
Other members, like co-organizer Behzad Raghian, a fourth-year
political science student, said students need a forum to discuss
possible alternatives to the war on terrorism.
“People need to discuss the anger that feeds into
terrorism in order to combat it,” Raghian said. “War is
something politicians result to when the political process fails.
It’s politics by force.”
With reports from Daily Bruin wire
services.