[Washington, DC] At least 25 Vermonters joined an antiwar rally and march in the nation's capitol today, Saturday the 5th of June. More than 12,000 people took part in a rally's at the Vietnam Veteran' Memorial Wall where many nationally known speakers argued against the war in Yugoslavia and its occupation by US/NATO. This mobilization to end the war was organized by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark's International Action Center.

     After two hours of speakers who condemned the bombing of civilians in Kosovo and Serbia, the assembled company marched past the Lincoln Memorial and across the bridge to Virginia and the Pentagon--the institutional center of the war machine of the Empire. The Virginia Country authorities denied a permit to march in the highway to the Pentagon, in an apparent effort to discourage people who are fearful of arrest from taking part in the march. But, people were not deterred from exercising their freedom of association and the right of public assembly and protest.

     The marchers received strong support from passersby who honked their horns, shouted encouragement and gave the "v" peace signs and raised clenched fists in support. People carried signs reading, "Indict Clinton and Albright as War-criminals" and "NATO = Nazi-American Terrorist Organization." Among the marchers were both Kosova Albanians and Serbs who support a multi-cultural Yugoslavia.

     At the Pentagon a second rally took place lasting until 5:00 PM.

     Ramsey Clark spoke about the illegal and immoral nature of this attack, along with 80 year old Dave Dellinger, a Peacham, Vermont resident and long time peace and anti-imperialist activist, who was one of the celebrated defendants in the Chicago Eight Trial after the 1968 Democratic Convention . Just a few weeks ago, Dellinger had had taken part in a sit-in at the office of Bernie Sanders, Vermont "independent" pro-war Congressmen. At that time Sanders had 15 of his constituents arrested without speaking with them only 30 minutes after his office closing time.

     Rev. Lucius Walker from Pastors for Peace connected the vicious bombing of Yugoslavia to the 38 year old blockade of Cuba and the 9 year old blockade of food and medicine to Iraq that has taken the lives of 1.7 million Iraqis, a third of them children.

     Other speakers noted the illegal use of force by the US-led NATO alliance, the environmental catastrophe of using depleted uranium ammunition and the immorality bombing of civilians--even if apologies are made after each massacre. Pam Africa from the MOVE collective condemned the increasing police violence in the US against its own residents and connected it to the terrorizing and killing of Yugoslavian civilians.