U.S. anti-war activists said Sunday they plan to protest on the sidelines of the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year's day, calling for an end to the Iraq war and the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
A group call itself the White Rose Coalition said its members would demonstrate in front of the TV camera platforms from 6 a.m. on New Year's Day, two hours before the famous annual holiday event begins.
Organizers plan to start demonstrating during pre-parade telecasts, according to Peter Thottam, the coalition's spokesman.
"Everything we are doing is strictly within our First Amendment rights, and we do not want to interrupt anyone's enjoyment of the parade," he said. "We have made it clear to every participant that we want to be respectful."
"We are a decentralized group simply trying to get our message out through the mainstream media blockade, especially about the impeachment of the president of the United States," said Thottam, a lawyer and former political candidate for the Green Party.
The White Rose Coalition, which takes its name after a short-lived resistance movement to Nazi power in Munich in 1942, said on its website that activists will unfurl a banner and demonstrate as the Port of Los Angeles float passes by the grandstands on Colorado Boulevard at about 9 a.m.
According to Tottham, California peace activist Cindy Sheehan reportedly will also attend.
The spokesman said that protest organizers have been promised by police and Tournament of Roses officials that they will not be arrested if they do not hold up signs as to block other persons' views.
About 1 million people from across the United States are expected to attend the 119th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which will be broadcast live by major U.S. television networks and watched by millions of people around the world.
Source: Xinhua
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