Iran Protest results in union with members of a different cause – Iran, Philippines and Russia

Over 600 protesters gathered at Market and Powell in San Francisco on Saturday, Feb 4, to voice their discontent over a possible U.S. war with Iran.

Activists began the rally with speeches, and then led a march down Market Street toward the UN Plaza. Final speeches at the plaza ended the rally, but not before it found members of a different cause.

The anti-Iran war march was followed by citizens marching in protest to U.S. occupation of the Philippines, calling for the removal of troops from the Southeast Asian republic. Members of both movements were able to speak out against what they see as a pattern of unwarranted and unnecessary U.S. over-seas occupations.

Famed whistle-blower, Daniel Ellsberg, was among the speakers who started off the rally. Ellsberg is famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers, which was a document that exposed information regarding high-ranking members of the U.S. government and their knowledge that Viet Nam was an unwinnable war.

As Ellsberg began his speech, shouts of “You love Communism! You love abortion!” and “Communism kills! You are murderers before God!” from an anti-abortion protest group could be heard, and grew louder as Ellsberg continued his speech.

The next speaker was activist Cindy Sheehan, 2008 Congressional candidate and mother of an Iraq War soldier killed in combat.

“We’re tired of having our brothers and sisters, the 99 percent around the world, suffering at the hands of the one percent. Go if you want to and vote your brains out but real change comes here in the streets,” Sheehan said.

The genesis for the possible-war-with-Iran protest comes from recent sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program by the United States and their allies as well as threats of military action against the Middle Eastern country.

The sanctions allow U.S. banks to freeze any and all of Iran’s assets that the banks possess, while the threats have mostly stemmed from U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta’s press comments stating there is a “strong possibility” there will be air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel this Spring.    

At the U.N. Plaza, Iran War protestors converged with another group calling for U.S. troop removal in the Philippines. According to CommonDreams.org, the U.S. has occupied the Philippines since the Philippine-American War ending in 1902 and occupation continued until 1991.

In 2003 President Bush called for U.S. troop deployment in the Philippines, directly violating a part of the Philippine constitution which states “foreign military bases, troops, or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate.”

One Filipino activist expressed his frustration. “Why continue military aid to the Philippines when there are still occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan?”

An Iran native and U.S. resident gave his insight regarding U.S. military interest in Iran. “When the Shah was kicked out, so were the big oil companies. There are no Chevrons or Exxon Mobils in Iran. That’s why they want to go to war,” he said.

Iraq War veteran Gene Schmidt later spoke.  He emphasized what he felt was a total lack of assistance by the U.S. government for war veterans.

“I have not received my discharge papers or any other kind of help from our government.” Schmidt said.

The final speaker was Omar Ali, a member of the group “Youth and Student Answer,” who spoke of his recent participation of protests in Egypt.

“Tehrir [Square] is a battlefield,” Ali said. “Tear gas has been falling constantly for the last five days. The Egyptian people love social justice, but Egyptians have been living for under $2 per day for over ten years now.”

To finish his speech and the rally, Ali gave an excited shout, “No regime change! Long live Iran!”