On Saturday October 26, there were large scale protests in many parts of the
country. It was perhaps the biggest national level mobilization in
decades. The
date had been declared as a day for protest by a national coalition called
"Not
In Our Name"--a loose network of social justice groups, academics,
environmentalists, intellectuals, anarchists, womens groups and many others.

In Minneapolis, a small city in midwest USA, it was a terribly chilly
afternoon;
and yet, many thousands gathered to protest the war. It also happened to be
the
day after Senator Paul Wellstone (the only person to vote against the war
proposal in the senate, despite the possibility of this vote affecting his
political future) of Minnesota was killed in a plane crash. The protestors
mourned their senator; but they were there to protest the war, and they did
it in strength and with conviction, like their Senator.

Over 10,000 people had gathered, according to a conservative estimate. There
were slogans and banners. My 4 1/2 year old daughters' favourite slogan was
"1,2,3,4, -- we don't want a corporate war....5,6,7,8 we will not co-operate".
There were others like "we don't want an oil war, we want peace, we want
jobs, we want houses, we want schools, we don't want an oil war!!". My
favourite banner said, "Bush, which part of 'thou shall not kill' are you
unable to read?"

In other cities (both in the east and west coasts) the protests were bigger
still.

In Washington DC, over 100,000 people protested the war. In San Fransico,
tens
of thousands of protesters marched down Market Street in a major demonstration
against President Bush's policy on Iraq. It was the largest peace rally police
and protesters could remember since the Vietnam War, according to the San
Francisco Chronicle. In San Franscisco, the march was organised by Act
Now to Stop War and End Racism.

The national media did not cover the events in any detail. In Minneapolis,
the
local. StarTribune combined the Washington and Minneapolis rallies under a
single headline that read "Rallies Remember Wellstone".

Shiney Varghese,
Minneapolis.