Five women from Farmington participated in a sit-in Friday at the Portland office of Sen. Susan Collins.

Bearing flowers and petitions with a strong demand for an end to the war in Iraq, Eileen Kreutz, Eileen Liddy, Judy Rawlings, Lee Sharkey and Kristina Wolff presented questions and statements to the senator’s office representative, a release stated.

Statements on Post Traumatic Stress and its affect on women in the armed forces, sexual assault and trauma suffered by women in the military and testimony from a recent Women in Black international conference describing how the women of Iraq have been left subject to rape, physical abuse and homelessness were made by the women.

They also stressed the moral obligation of citizens to oppose unjust actions of their governments and noted the discrepancy between Collins’ critical statements about the war and her consistent record of voting for war funding.

The women then read a statement calling for the senator to vote to cut off funding for the war, and the names of soldiers and civilians from the United States, coalition partners and Iraqis who have lost their lives in the conflict.

The reading of names continued until 9 p.m. No arrests were made.

Collins’ spokesman Kevin Kelley said in a statement, “Sen. Collins believes the war in Iraq is the greatest challenge facing our country. She appreciates hearing the views of all Mainers on this important issue and staff in Sen. Collins’ Portland office was pleased to meet with the women for over an hour to discuss the war and its impact on Iraqi women and women in the U.S. military.”

A demonstration occurred outside the building beside a banner that read, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” a reference to a song by folk singer Pete Seeger that became an anthem of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s. Each demonstrator then carried flowers with messages of peace into Collins’ office in solidarity with the women protesters.