Isle groups ready
beefs for Bush
Full day for Bush visit
'Mother Chang' to 'say hi'
Lingle to lobby for Akaka bill
Presidential stopover, vacation spot
Various groups and individuals plan to protest policies of President Bush when he stops on Oahu tomorrow.
Among them are anti-war and anti-military groups, Hawaiian sovereignty groups, Planned Parenthood, Howard Dean for president supporters, and, possibly, labor, women's rights and gay rights groups.
Protesters plan to line the Kalia Road entrance to the Hilton Hawaiian Village at 4:30 p.m., where Bush is to attend a Republican Party fund-raiser. Some protesters plan to walk on sidewalks from nearby Ala Moana Park, but there is no formal march planned.
Even if Bush is brought into the hotel by a back way and doesn't see the protest, some protesters said they hope that people attending the fund-raiser will see how many local residents are dissatisfied with the president.
"I think everybody should be down there, putting out their own concerns -- whether it's rights groups, civil liberties groups, gays, women -- they're all being attacked by this administration," said Carolyn Hadfield, a member of the anti-war group Not In Our Name.
"We're not a bunch of radical people," said Anne Keala Kelly, with Demilitarize Hawaii/Aloha Aina. "We're very educated. We're akamai people."
Kyle Kajihiro, Hawaii program director for the American Friends Service Committee, said he hopes one message that gets through to Bush is that some Hawaii residents "won't play a part in this military expansion that's going on globally."
"The course they're leading the United States into is a dangerous one and it's wrong," Kajihiro said. "Escalating war around the world will only escalate more violence and more insecurity for the people of the world as well as in the U.S."
"Planned Parenthood would like to be there to let the president know he shouldn't sign the late-term abortion bill," said Annelle Amaral, Planned Parenthood director of public affairs.
Liz Rees, a member of anti-war group Refuse and Resist, said, "Hopefully it'll be a good crowd, representing a lot of the community. We're hoping for a lot of kinds of groups coming together."
Ikaika Hussey, a delegate to Native Hawaiian Convention, noted that "Clearly, there is more than one group of people that are frustrated with the administration. The policies of the administration are hostile to a lot of different groups -- women, small business owners, environmentalists, indigenous people, indigenous nations."
Sebastian Blanco, a University of Hawaii graduate student and member of the anti-war group Not In Our Name, who plans to protest, said, "I just feel that there are so few chances to protest directly to the person that I feel is responsible for so much damage in the world -- I can't throw away the chance to do it."
