More than 70 join march in Boston to protest air strikes

Associated Press, 08/21/98

Protesters gathered on City Hall Plaza in Boston to air their views on the air strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan Friday. (Globe Staff Photo / Pam Berry)

BOSTON - Chanting cries for peace, more than 70 demonstrators gathered in front of the federal building on City Hall Plaza Friday to protest United States attacks on suspected terrorist sites in Sudan and Afghanistan.

The protest, organized by the Boston chapter of Mobilization for Survival, brought out young and old alike.

Nancy Alach, 42, of Cambridge marched with her 6-year-old son, Sascha. Both clutched toy dogs in a reference to the movie, "Wag the Dog,'' in which a president creates a military conflict to distract the country from a looming sex scandal.

"It's so clear to me that this is his way of dealing with the whole Monica Lewinsky thing,'' Alach said. "There's no part of me that can rationalize how you can think terrorism will end by dropping some bombs.''

"It's Christians targeting Muslims,'' said Paul Brallsford, an 82-year-old World War II veteran from Ipswich. Music from a band that happened to be playing nearby gave the protest a party-like atmosphere. Organizers wielding bullhorns led the crowd in rhythmic chants of, "Don't wag the dog!'' and "What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? Now!''

"Is this the message we want to show our children - that you deal with violence with more violence?'' asked Boston University senior Roni Krouzman, 21, one of many students in the crowd.