A Satyagraha in the USA? - follow-up

People's Weekly World - NATIONAL CLIPS: "WASHINGTON: Fasting to bring the troops home

Mahatma Gandhi perfected fasting as a protest tactic in the campaign to end British rule in India. Cesar Chavez followed Gandhi�s example in his drive to organize U.S. farm workers. And on July 4, U.S. peace activists began a fast in front of the White House, demanding an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The antiwar fast now has 3,547 participants. Musicians Willie Nelson and Michael Franti are fasting while they proceed with their summer performing schedule. Others, like actors Danny Glover, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, are fasting in their hometowns. Labor leader Dolores Huerta and author Alice Walker are part of a �rolling fast� as they crisscross the country.

Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) and Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) are fasting in solidarity. The Rev. Al Sharpton is fasting, as is the Rev. Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches.

Led by CodePink, activists plan to fast until Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace, and then take their protest to Crawford, Texas, where President Bush has his ranch. Their demand remains the same: bring the troops home.

In Washington, peace fasters lobbied Congress, urging money for human needs, not war. With the crucial November congressional elections on the horizon, fasters initiated a Voters for Peace drive, registering new voters and urging them to sign a pledge vowing only to vote for peace candidates. "