Washington Antiwar Rally Rained Out

WASHINGTON, D.C.--A steady rain yesterday forced the postponement until today of the rally and march on the White House scheduled as the first action of the Nixon Eviction antiwar protest.

Rennie Davis, a spokesman for the People's Coalition for Peace and Justice (PCPJ)--the group sponsoring the Nixon Eviction--said yesterday he expects there will be "massive civil disobedience at the White House" today.

The protesters plan to assemble on the Washington Monument Grounds at noon today to hear a filmed message made last week from representatives of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam (PRG) at the Paris Peace Talks. The message is expected to reiterate the Seven Point Peace Plan proposed by the PRG in July.

At the end of the message, the PCJP call for protestors to telephone the PRG representatives in Paris and and march to the White House to "escort President Nixon or his representative to the phone to set the date for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Indochina."

"If Nixon will set a date and recognize the principle of self-determination for the Vietnamese people," Davis said, "a ceasefire could begin tomorrow."

The Metropolitan Police have granted a permit for the rally on the Monument Grounds, but have denied the protestors a permit for the march on the White House.

PCPJ--which also sponsored the Mayday protest here last spring in which 13,000 people were arrested--said in a news release Sunday that they have no intention of disrupting traffic or creating situations which could lead to violent clashes between police and protestors.

However, PCPJ does expect mass arrests today when the protestors march on the White House as planned in defiance of the permit denial.

Although the Metropolitan Police say they expect tomorrow's activities to be "nothing like Mayday," 2000 members of the D.C. national guard have been called up for training exercises at the D.C. Armory and 5100 Metropolitan Police have been place on alert status, with days off and leaves cancelled.

A rally originally scheduled to be held on the Monument Grounds yesterday was forced indoors to the All Souls Church here by the ceaseless downpour. About 500 wet demonstrators filled the church--located about three miles from the Monument Grounds--to hear antiwar speakers and make plans for the next day's protests.

Rev. Hosea Williams, program director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, hoped to boost the morale of the demonstrators by calling on them to "adopt the spirit of the Chinese people." Williams, who recently returned from a trip to People's Republic of China, said concerning President's Nixon's proposed trip to China. "Nixon will not be able to trick the Chinese people the way that he has tricked the American people."

Williams entreated the audience, "to keep the revolutionary spirit alive," and to engage in a nationwide boycott of turkeys and Christmas gifts in an attempt to force the government to change its economic and foreign policies.

Dr. Benjamin Spock also spoke at the rally and urged the crowd "to work both within and without the electoral system."

At the conclusion of the rally, the demonstrators heard a video tape speech by Bobby Seal, chairman of the Black Panther Party, after which a dinner of Vietnamese food was served.

After the meal, the group met in small workshops to discuss future antiwar activities and plans for today's demonstration.