Who We Are

Articles

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Downloads

Links

No Child Left Behind

Political Cartoons

Contact Us

Articles: War Protests: General

US anti-war grannies face justice

BBC NEWS

July 23, 2005

Elderly members of a US anti-war group called the "raging grannies of Tucson" are due in court following a protest at an Arizona military recruitment centre.
They have been accused of trespassing after entering the centre earlier this month, saying they wanted to enlist.

The group, mostly women in their 60s and 70s, said they wanted to go to Iraq so their grandchildren could come home.

An army spokeswoman says the protesters were not serious about enlisting and were harassing recruiters.

Nine people - five elderly activists and four journalists - are due to appear in court on Monday.

The Raging Grannies, who are associated with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, have held protests outside the Tucson recruitment centre every week for three years.

'Serious'

On 13 July the group decided to enter the premises.

We would like to replace our young who are in the firing line
Pat Birnie
Raging Grannies of Tucson
"We went in saying we were here to enlist, but they didn't believe us," Pat Birnie, a spokeswoman for the group, told the BBC News website.
"We read a statement, sang songs, and then we left."

Ms Birnie, 75, said the protesters were well outside the centre when police arrived and said they were trespassing, a criminal offence.

She said the charge was an "overreaction", and that the grannies had been serious about joining the army.

"We would like to replace our young who are in the firing line," Ms Birnie said.

Nancy Hutchinson, an Army spokeswoman in Arizona, told AP news agency that those opposed to the Iraq war should contact their legislators rather than bother recruiters.

"They need to direct their frustrations at people who have the power to change things," she said.

This archive consists of a topically organized selection of articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen material relevant to the work of Eugene, Oregon’s Committee for Countering Military Recruitment that we think may be of use to others individuals and groups with similar goals.

Because our web site is public, personal comments about the articles and (frequent) corrections of reporters’ errors are also not included. If an article interests you, we encourage you to return to the Counter-Recruitment List Serve and put the article’s headline into the search line, which should bring up (often wise and useful) commentary and corrections. If you do not belong to the List Serve, it can be found at counter-recruitment@yahoogroups.com   

 In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the articles on this site are posted without profit to those who have expressed prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposed.