Missouri Peace Coalition holds rally at military base
Published Nov. 11, 2003
Drivers passing Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster on Sunday saw more than military vehicles near the entrance.
The Missouri Peace Coalition held an Armistice Day peace gathering outside the base to remind people of the original meaning of Armistice Day, now called Veterans Day, and to demand an end to the occupation in Iraq, Mid-Missouri Peaceworks Director Mark Haim said.
"We want to reclaim what was started as a peaceful holiday to mark the end of World War I but is now a celebration of military prowess instead of peace," he said.
About 60 people attended the event, Haim said.
"It was a high-energy event," he said. "We received positive feedback from passersby. We've received more than a few negative gestures in the past, but this year we received honks and peace signs."
Protests take place outside the base on a grassy area near the highway that is large enough to accommodate groups, Whiteman spokesman Maj. Don Langley said.
"We support their right to assemble," Langley said. "That's one of the reasons we have a military: to protect the rights of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly."
The Missouri Peace Coalition's gathering is an annual event for the group, Langley said.
"They come every year on the weekend before Veterans Day," he said. "They were very courteous and warned us ahead of time that they were coming."
Large banners featuring sayings such as "Bring Them Home" and "Turn it over to the UN" were on display at the gathering. There were also speakers, musicians and performances by the PeaceStreet Theater group.
"There was one creative sign that read 'liar, liar' and had a small pair of pants with red and orange crepe paper to show 'liar, liar, pants on fire,'" Haim said. "There were many really informed and articulate speakers."
The PeaceStreet Theater group performed a few sketches, PeaceStreet Theater participant Kim Dill said.
"One skit was reading letters from members of the military, family members of people in the military and veterans," said Dill, who is also associate director of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks. "We had another sketch with quotes from President Bush and revealed those quotes to be untrue from other news reports and his own quotes."
Junior Abe Haim spoke about globalization at the rally and said there was a stark difference between this year's rally and the rally in 2001 because there was more hostility two years ago.
"I was impressed by the support we received, even from people on the base," he said. "I think it shows that the tide is changing and people are supporting the movement for peace."
The Missouri Peace Coalition held its first Armistice Day peace gathering in 2001 when the B-2 Bomber planes housed at Whiteman were being used to bomb Afghanistan, Mark Haim said. Although the B-2s are not currently being used, the coalition gathered because they want to see the occupation of Iraq end and they would like the government to use more peaceful actions, he said.
"It's time that we recommit ourselves to the elimination of war as an instrument of international relations," he said.