Area residents get set to join rally for peace

By: Jennifer Potash
   A peace train of sorts will wind its way to Washington on Saturday to join a national protest against a U.S. war with Iraq.
   The New Jersey Peace Coalition will send five buses of Princeton-area residents, said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Witherspoon Street-based Coalition for Peace Action.
   "It’s also connected with Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, as he was an individual who sought justice at home as well as nonviolence and peace abroad," the Rev. Moore said.
   The local caravan will join with 25 buses from other parts of the state and proceed to Washington, where protesters from more than 200 cities in 45 states are expected to attend the march, the Rev. Moore said.
   "It looks like we’ll have even more than the 200,000 people who came to the march in October," he said.
   The high level of interest from the region in the march came as a pleasant surprise, he said.
   The march is timely as the United Nations’ report on Iraq’s compliance with weapons inspectors is due Jan. 27 and President George W. Bush is slated to give the State of the Union address the next day, the Rev. Moore said.
   "The clock is winding down for people to express their opposition to this war," he said.
   Most of the seats on the bus are reserved, but those interested may call the Peace Coalition at (609) 924-5022 until 5:30 p.m. today or reserve a seat on the Web at www.peacecoalition.com until 4 p.m. The cost is $30.