Antiwar protest attracts 600

KENNEBUNKPORT - Separated from Walker's Point by security barricades and a light fog over the cove, about 600 protesters on Saturday called for an immediate end to the Iraq war.

The rally near the Bush family compound followed a slow, 90-minute march through the town center. It coincided with President Bush's first trip here in two years.

Bush arrived on Thursday and met privately that day with families of five service members from Maine who died in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon. Several family members later described the meetings as emotional.

On Saturday, the marchers passed by St. Ann's Church on Ocean Avenue, where the president planned to attend the wedding of a relative later on Saturday. He is expected to depart today.

"Cut the funding for the war, bring our troops home now," the protesters chanted at the Secret Service checkpoint, about a half-mile from the compound. The march and another rally afterward were peaceful. Police made no arrests.

"Enough is enough," said Jack Bussell of Portland, a member of Maine Veterans for Peace, which organized the protest. "This is an illegal war. The point was weapons of mass destruction, which weren't there. The connections to terrorism weren't there."

Carrying banners and handwritten signs, the crowd began to gather on Saturday morning at the Consolidated School near downtown. "It's time to speak up against this war," said Pat Clark, 60, of Biddeford, who said this was her first involvement in a political protest. Before the march, she stood with her three grandsons.

"It's time to think about how to get out of Iraq without losing face, and without losing thousands of more lives," she said. The march started just before noon, led by a Veterans For Peace banner and a giant bass drum. It caught the attention of residents and summer visitors, who lined the streets downtown and the vast lawns of Ocean Avenue.

The onlookers reflected divisions in the country: some flashed peace signs and applauded; others turned their thumbs down and shouted support for President Bush.

"Who do these guys think we're fighting?" said Tony Spizzirri, a U.S. Special Forces veteran from Arundel. He stood at the corner of Maine and Spring streets, wearing an American flag t-shirt and shaking his head. "I thought we were fighting terrorists. Do they want them to come over here?"

Activity in Dock Square came to a standstill when marchers came through. Robert Hedlund, a Republican state senator from Massachusetts, observed the scene from his bicycle. It was around 12:30 p.m., and Hedlund still had a few hours before he needed to get dressed for the wedding. His cousin, Jennifer Bertocchi, was marrying Walker Stapleton, the president's second cousin. Hedlund said he had attended a private dinner for both families on Friday night.

Although he is a Republican, Hedlund opposes the war. He agreed with a pre-march speech by organizer Bruce Gagnon, who said war will continue as long as weapons are a top U.S. export.

"Obviously I don't like the tone of the placards, personalizing this," Hedlund said. "But I thought Bruce's comments were fair and pretty much right on. I think America is better served with a non-interventionist foreign policy."

Alison Bouchard disagreed. The mother of three waited for the march to pass at Dock Square, so she could tell protesters they have it wrong. "Sometimes you have to fight for the right thing, when no one else will," said Bouchard, of York. "We are doing the right thing in Iraq, and the president doesn't take any of his decisions lightly."

Protests have become tradition in Kennebunkport and on the scenic road to Walker's Point, long a symbol of the Bush family's legacy.

Saturday's crowd was the largest in the past six years, said Kennebunkport Police Chief Joe Bruni. He has handled security during Bush family visits, in conjunction with the Secret Service, since 1981. Bruni agreed with organizers' estimate of 600 marchers."Our whole idea here is to provide a forum for them to express their views. But it's a balancing act to keep the way of living for residents," said Bruni, who walked near the front for much of the four-mile trek.

Twenty of the 24 Kennebunkport police officers were on duty Saturday afternoon, along with five officers from Kennebunk.

Marchers reached the guarded checkpoint on Ocean Avenue around 1:30 p.m. They gathered near the barricade, behind which were stationed four black sport utility vehicles and about a dozen Secret Service agents.

For the next 10 minutes, the marchers waved their signs and chanted slogans in the direction of the Bush compound, shrouded in the distance by a light fog. Leaders of the procession then turned back toward town, where onlookers once again watched them pass.

Staff writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at: tmaxwell@pressherald.com

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