Despite temperatures in the single digits Saturday, at least 1,000 people gathered on Library Mall to rally against a war with Iraq and to protest sanctions placed on Iraq by the United States.
The \Mass Peace Picket,"" as it was named, coincided with protests and rallies all around the world. Stop the War!, the student/youth caucus of the Madison Area Peace Coalition sent over 100 people from Madison to participate in a demonstration in New York City and 100 people to a statewide peace rally in Wausau.
The mass of people in Madison separated into four groups picketing around the Kohl Center as people arrived at the UW-Madison men's basketball game. Organizers said they hoped to gain coverage of the protest on the nationally televised Badger game. Picketers wanted to ensure that people were not confused about their opposition to war, not basketball, so they waved signs saying ""Shoot Hoops, Not Troops"".
""Peace is patriotic, too, and when peace is patriotic war is treason,"" one man yelled from the front of the crowd.
Everything about the event rallied around peace. Organizers said their intention was not to block traffic or disturb those going to the game, but to create more awareness.
""I'm out here today because not only do I find it ridiculous that American kids are killing to pay for school, but the unnecessary slaughtering of Iraqi citizens is as disgusting as our refusing Iraqi civilians basic necessities, such as food and medicine. The war will only exacerbate problems in the region,"" Rosemary Carroll, a UW-Madison sophomore, said.
After the game, picketers returned to Library Mall for a Peace Carnival. People playing drums and dancing occupied the area for a couple hours after the picket. There was a booth set up reading ""ask anything"" surrounded by pictures of Iraqi civilians and literature against war. Though there were no scheduled speakers, a few from the crowd decided to get up and speak out.
""The Iraqi people have suffered enough and this war is not in the best interest of the people of the United States either,"" Mohammed Abed said.
Peace activists also set up a camp on Library Mall Saturday morning that was meant to symbolize a refugee camp.
""The whole point of this camp is to highlight the humanitarian crisis that will happen if the U.S. invades Iraq,"" Josh Healey, a UW-Madison freshman, said.
UW Police threatened the group, which does not have a permit for their activities, with arrest Sunday. Subsequently the group moved the camp onto city property. Representatives from the Madison Police Department said, barring any complaints, they do not intend to bother the group.
Organizes said they plan to stay there indefinitely.
