Protest organizations traveled to D.C. this weekend with a new purpose than originally planned: speak out against war.
Several groups shifted their messages from anti-capitalist to anti-war after the International Monetary Fund and World Bank postponed meetings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday because of security concerns surrounding the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks on America. The groups shifted to an anti-war cause to urge the country not to strike back with force in retaliation to the attacks.
“Priorities have changed,” said Emily Kramer, a student from the New School University in New York.
The International Action Center brought a newly-formed coalition called International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) to protest U.S. military retaliation to the terrorist attacks.
Some activists kept their course despite a national focus on terrorism.
D.C. resident Alex Wolf was handing out newspapers to support the communist Progressive Labor Party.
Wolf said he was demonstrating to educate about the “evils of capitalism.” Originally planning to protest at the IMF and World Bank meetings, Wolf said his mission had not changed and he was still opposing “terrorism perpetrated by capitalists all over the world.”
Others said they did not plan to protest until after the Sept. 11 attacks, when demonstrators and organizations began focusing on preventing violence and racism.
Sorur Amighi, an Iranian teacher from New York, did not originally plan to get involved. Holding a banner reading “Palestinian Right of Return” Saturday she said she came to D.C. to protest the “possibility of war” and attacks on Arab-Americans after U.S. intelligence officials reported suspected terrorists are of Arab descent.
“I was not going to come in for the IMF and World Bank protests, but after what happened on Sept. 11, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” New York resident Jenny Jeddry said.
Sam Yellen, a member of the New Jersey Independents, said the causes are related.
“It is the IMF and the World Bank that are causing the malcontent in the world,” he said. “This is causing other countries to turn against the U.S. and the Western powers.”
-Joseph Pollak contributed to this report.
