US war families plan Jordan border vigil, ship aid to Fallujah

Relatives of US soldiers killed in Iraq and members of anti-war organizations announced plans in Amman on 30 December to hold a candlelit gathering at the Jordan-Iraq border in protest against American military involvement.

Representatives of Families for Peace, Code Pink and Global Exchange told reporters the groups had already delivered $600,000 in humanitarian supplies to residents of Fallujah displaced by the November US-led assault on the city.

Fernando Suarez del Solar, a Mexican-born California resident, said his son Lance Corporal Victor Gonzalez, known as Jesus, was killed on 13 October by a US cluster munition, not enemy fire as the government had told his family. He and his wife Rosa appealed to Washington to end US military operations in Iraq.

The coalition plans a New Year's Eve vigil at United Nations headquarters in Amman, then travels to the border crossing on 1 January for a second gathering.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in December 2004, in its own words.