City takes stand against bombings

by Ed Felien

The demonstration to protest the war against terrorism drew almost 600 protesters Mon., Oct. 8, in front of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. There were old, familiar faces, but most of the faces were very young.
They were quite vocal and clear in their belief that the Bush administration and the U.S. government is not the proper authority to arrest Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
The demonstrators marched for an hour, and then, some spoke.
Alan Dale, an anti-war activist, said the military reaction by Bush is a war he’s been wanting to wage all along. The U.S. government pressured Pakistan as early as January of this year to allow the United States to establish military bases there. The struggle is over oil in the Caspian Sea and control of routes to move that oil.
“Many people are afraid today, and they know the world’s a scary place. The only guarantee of safety is to build a movement of peace and justice. We cannot let the big corporations determine our future. We have to control our own future,” Dale said.
April Knutson, of Women Against Military Madness, asked, “Who benefits from this war? The arms makers!” She read the closing sentence from a letter from Mumia Abu Jamal from death row, “War is indeed hell for some, and for others it is a big and burgeoning business.”
Soraya Amra of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (MN Chapter) asked the crowd to mourn—for the 6,000 killed on Sept. 11 and for the innocent Afghans.
Almost as soon as she began saying, “We will not be silenced by violence,” Maria Anderson, from Students Against War, was interrupted by a man who lunged at the microphone and shouted, “They’re trying to kill you.” He was intercepted by security guards and police who were protecting the Federal Courthouse from the demonstrators. He broke away and ran off.
The interruption didn’t slow Anderson for even a moment. “We are a huge group. We will get larger. Call your relatives. Tell them this is a message from our hearts. Stand up for what you know is right! Educate yourselves and your family. We will not be silenced by violence,” she said.
Thistle Parker-Hartog of the Anti-War Committee was the last to speak.
“Last night, when I heard the news that my country had launched missles and bombs against the people of Afghanistan, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with horror at the barbarity that says that killing and destruction is the way to justice. Overwhelmed with sadness for the people of Afghanistan and the Middle East who are having their lives shattered, their homes destroyed, their friends and relatives murdered, and their hope and security dashed by my country’s misguided bravado. And overwhelmed by the seemingly impossible task before us to educate and to stop this horrible war machine which is our country’s face to the outside world. But we can and we must rise above even our grief to act in the cause of peace, justice and solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world.
“People always want simple answers. We have been led to believe that Osama bin Laden is solely responsible for terrorism around the world. And we have been led to believe that the destruction of Afghanistan and its ruling party will produce bin Laden into our hands. And once we have destroyed this terrorist, we have been led to believe that we can all go home safely to our beds with a job well done.
“But there are no simple answers. The causes of terrorism are complex and have a lot to do with past and present U. S. and western foreign policies. There is no single leader of a coordinated network of terrorist organizations around the world. Lynching bin Laden and destroying the people of Afghanistan will not make us more secure. If anything, the actions of our government are putting us all in danger. Where U.S. actions annihilate and horrify, more and more will rise up against injustice with violence. The United States claims it is justified in its actions because the Taliban did not respond to our ultimatum, but ultimatums and revenge and anger only fuel the vicious cycle of violence. Bombing and destruction will do nothing but cause suffering and create the very menace we claim to be obliterating.
“The Star-Tribune claimed today that 94 percent of Americans support the airstrike. That’s not what I believe when I look out on this large crowd. However, though 94 percent of Americans may have swallowed the propaganda, I do not believe that the majority of our fellow residents and citizens of the United States support what is actually happening in our name. We are being sold propaganda and simple answers. The Bush administration is claiming that only Taliban military sites were targeted. As we recall, that is what they were saying over 10 years ago about ‘smart’ bombs in Iraq. And we all know the civilian casualties that resulted from that supposed precision targeting. I don’t believe that our fellow Americans would support the attacks if they knew the truth, if they saw the suffering of the Afghans hit by our weaponry, if they felt the fear in the hearts of an Afghan child watching a plane go overhead, if they understood the oppression of peoples around the world due to our foreign policy. It is our job to show people that truth. It is our job to write letters to the editor, to contact our politicians, to talk with friends and co-workers, to keep coming back out on the streets time and time again until this hypocritical, inhuman, audacious, and terrible atrocity is stopped.”
On Sat., Oct. 27 there will be a rally and march, “Say No to War! Say Yes to Global Justice!” held in conjunction with similar rallies and marches throughout the world. For information regarding location and other details, call 612-872-0944.