Peace, Troop Support Groups Plan Rallies, a Bake-Off

As the threat of war nears, both peace groups and support groups for soldiers stationed in the Persian Gulf are stepping up their activities in San Diego.

Events range from appearances by Country Joe McDonald, a ‘60s singer and peace activist, to flashlight vigils and a cookie bake-off for troops.

Increased activities began Friday as the U.N. Security Council’s Tuesday deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait approaches. At Rep. Bill Lowery’s (R-San Diego) downtown office, a group of church and community leaders gathered to make a plea for Congress to support a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

The group included representatives from the Catholic Diocese, Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Escondido, and the San Diego Ecumenical Conference.

“From the standpoint of African Americans, war in the Middle East would destroy valuable resources needed for rebuilding America,” said Greg Akilli of the African American Organizing Project.

The group appealed to Lowery to vote against any congressional resolution calling for immediate action in the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, the second Operation Cookie Bake-Off gets under way today at the USO Service Center, 443 E. Harbor Drive. The marathon cookie bake-off, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is sponsored by the Naval Hospital San Diego Spouse Support Group on behalf of U.S. troops.

Last November, the group sent about 6,000 cookies to the men and women stationed in the Middle East to show their support for the troops, spokeswoman Adeline Ferguson said.

The support group is soliciting help from the community in baking the cookies, wrapping them for mailing, donating ingredients or providing funds to offset shipping costs.

The Crisis Foster Pet Care program is seeking temporary foster homes to take care of pets while their owners--Navy and Marine personnel--are deployed.

“No one wants to lose their pet permanently while they are in Saudi Arabia,” said a spokeswoman for the North County Humane Society, which is sponsoring the program.

In a full page ad in the San Diego edition of The Times Friday, the Coalition for Peace in the Middle East asked county residents to join in a vigil at the Lily Pond at Balboa Park scheduled for 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday until further notice.

The group, which includes the Alliance for Survival, the Green Party Organizing Committee, and Writers and Artists for Peace, also plans speeches and a candlelight and flashlight march on Monday starting at 5 p.m. at the Federal Building downtown.

Country Joe McDonald, formerly of the Country Joe and the Fish band and a peace and veterans rights activist, will sing and then will lead the march and a rally that follows at 7 p.m. at the Federal Building.

Other planned events include:

* All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla will hold a marathon peace prayer vigil that begins after 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday. The vigil will end with prayer services on Monday at 7 p.m.

* The first of about 60 trees for peace to be planted in California parks this year will be planted at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Kensington Park next to the Kensington Library, 4121 Adams Ave. The tree will be planted by the Sri Chinmoy Centre Centre, a peace and meditation organization in San Diego’s Normal Heights. The group said “the ceremony is not meant as a protest but as an occasion to inspire citizens to contemplate and aspire toward peace both in their own lives and on the world front.”

* A town meeting on “The Crisis in the Persian Gulf” will be held at UC San Diego at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Robinson Building Complex Auditorium. The panel of speakers includes Middle East experts, a retired U.S. Air Force general, and a former U.S. ambassador to Jordan. The meeting is sponsored by UCSD’s Program in International and Security Affairs and the Division of Social Sciences. Parking permits can be purchased for $1 at the Gilman and Northview Drive entrances to the campus.