Buddhist Peace Fellowship Activists Among Those Arrested in Iraq War Protest

November 17, 2005

Source: The Buddhist Channel

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=2,1948,0,0,1,0

On November 17, 2005 The Buddhist Channel reported, "Anti-war activists from around the country are traveling to DC this week to take part in a historic trial, which will begin on November 16, 2005, of those arrested at the White House on September 26, 2005. The 104 defendants face charges of up to 6 months in jail and 0 fines. They went to the White House to request a meeting with President Bush or his representative, were denied that meeting, refused to leave the premises and were removed by the police. This was the largest mass civil resistance in DC in over a decade. The event was organized by United for Peace and Justice, nationwide coalition of more than 1,000 peace groups. Two groups, Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq and Military Families Speak Out, were in the forefront of the September action, which was carried out in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., as a moral witness and in obedience of higher laws than the law that restricts demonstrating without a permit at the White House. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), a nonprofit organization comprised of Buddhists and others seeking peaceful means to end the war, also formed an 'affinity group' to take part in the nonviolent direct action at the gates of the White House. Twelve of the group’s members were arrested, including John Barber of Boca Raton, Florida."