Bombing of Afghanistan, media ‘distortion’ criticized In the first peace demonstration of its kind on Kaua’i since the Sept. 11 terrorists’ attacks, 15 islanders yesterday called for a halt of the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan and denounced America’s news media
Bombing of Afghanistan, media ‘distortion’ criticized
In the first peace demonstration of its kind on Kaua’i since the Sept. 11 terrorists’ attacks, 15 islanders yesterday called for a halt of the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan and denounced America’s news media for “distorting” facts about the war.
Demonstrators said the gathering in front of the state office building in Lihu’e was aimed at encouraging Kauaians to lobby Hawai’i lawmakers to ask the Bush administration to stop the bombing.
Escalation of the bombing and the use of more U.S.-led ground troops could drag the world into a world war, some demonstrators warned.
The protestors conceded the movement for peace is unpopular because of the thousands of people killed in the terrorists’ hijackings of airliners and attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. But the peace movement will grow, as it did in the Vietnam War, as more people begin to question their government’s actions, said demonstrator Michael Daly.
“The peace movement is in its early stages, and you have to give it time,” Daly said. “I believe there is a strong undercurrent in the community that is questioning the war.”
More people also haven’t spoken out in favor of a peaceful solution out of respect for the terrorists’ victims , Daly added.
The bombing has failed to drive the Taliban regime from power and has forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Afghanis from their homeland, said Seth LaRosa, 27, of Kalaheo.
Many are homeless, starved and unprepared for upcoming severe winter conditions, LaRosa said, adding, “Stop the bombing. You have to consider peace.”
Daly said justice must prevail in the aftermath of Sept. 11, but bombing Afghanistan is not the answer.
“The bombing is only furthering injustice,” he said. “This is a time of reflection and restraint, not retaliation.”
The United States is obliged to take action, but raining bombs on Afghanistan is not necessarily the answer, said Natalie Urminska, 22, of Kalaheo.
“The situation is complicated, and it is important to figure out what is going on before Americans can understand the issue and history” of America’s involvement in the Middle East and make “sound judgments on where their government is going with this,” she said.
Hoku Gordines of Kalaheo said President Bush is violating a mandate of the United Nations by not considering a peaceful solution sought by Afghanistan.
The Taliban regime has said terrorism leader Osama bin Laden could be turned over if the United States can furnish evidence he was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Bush has said the time for negotiations is past.
Gordines disagrees, asking, “What do you get from not considering peace?”
Sophia Rainbow, 47, of Kapa’a, who said she is a former journalist who worked in Russia, declared that the majority of “common people want to live in peace and harmony” and that war has evolved because of the ambitions of capitalistic nations.
Craig Allmendinger, 27, of O’mao said “People are sick of war” and that Afghanis will face more misery and death if the bombing continues.
Holding her eight-week-old-daughter, Sophia, Allison Rofe, 23, of Kalaheo, said the bombing will lead to senseless killing.
“I don’t agree with what our government is doing,” Rofe said. “I think we are being lied to.”
She said she was demonstrating to “make people understand that there is another viewpoint.”
Nicole Johnson, a 25-year-old filmmaker from Boston, Mass., said the U.S. media is marshaling information that “pushes for war.”
“The media is supporting the war because it is part of corporate America,” she said.
Peace rallies have been held in Boston since Sept. 11, but they have been largely ignored by mainstream media organizations, Johnson claimed.
Allmendinger said the U.S. media has “portrayed inaccurate statistics” and presented information about Afghanistan that have Americans “reacting with fear” and supporting continued bombing of that country.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
