Peace activists rally for anti-war protest

Burbank Neighbors for Peace and Justice joined other groups to march

and rally in Los Angeles today to protest the war in Iraq.

Protesters will meet at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and

Broadway and march to the Federal Building, where several speakers,

including Ron Kovic, whose autobiography, “Born on the Fourth of

July” became an Academy Award-winning movie, will rally.

“We do it primarily to educate people and let them know that war

never solved anything,” said Anna May Nelson, a member of the Burbank

group. “It’s only destroying the planet that we live on besides the

horror of the pain and suffering caused.”

The group holds own peace vigils every Friday at the corner of

Palm Avenue and San Fernando Boulevard.

“We’re trying to raise the consciousness of the people and inform

them of things that are not normally talked about in the regular

media,” said Bill Nelson, Anna May Nelson’s son, who is also a member

of the group.

The group screens a film once a month in the recreation room in

McCambridge Park, that deals with topics such as the war in Iraq,

different forms of energy consumption or weapons that use uranium.

“We’ve tried to show documentaries that aren’t shown on

television,” said Anna May Nelson. “It’s so people can see all sides

of the story so they can make informed decisions.”

The group was founded in January 2003 in response to the pending

invasion of Iraq.