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CALL TO ACTION
About 25 people turned out at the corner of Fourth and Main streets downtown Monday evening (Feb. 5) for a candlelight vigil and informational protest (pictured above) called by the Chico Peace and Justice Center. Their goal was to gather support for U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a Hawaiian whose court martial for refusing to deploy to Iraq began that day at Fort Lewis, in Washington state. “I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression,” Watada has stated. Last year he twice sought to resign his commission but was denied. Under international law, he believes, he has no choice but to refuse to participate in an illegal war. Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment, faces up to four years of imprisonment.
Photo By Desiree Cousineau
