Grand Rapids, MI says ‘Hands off Iran!’
Grand Rapids, MI – On Sunday, March 1 people rallied in downtown Grand Rapids to oppose the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR) called the rally to voice public outrage about the U.S. and Israel killing hundreds of people and the illegal assassination of the head of state.
PSGR joined dozens of cities across the U.S. protesting the strikes on Iran.
The protesters chanted demands like “No war with Iran!” and “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere!”
Julliette Kibby, an organizer with PSGR, told the crowd, “We have seen these same tactics used time and time again across the world. Publicly the U.S. says that they are doing this war to take down a government that they claim denies people rights by the suppression of protesters. Last time I checked we had a racist armed police force and ICE with no rules and total impunity roaming our streets, murdering protesters, and hiding greater atrocities within their detention centers.”
Owen Frassetto, an organizer with the Progressive Student Union at GVSU stated: “Students have historically sat at the heart of the anti-war movement. Whether it be Vietnam, Iraq, Palestine, Venezuela or Iran. While oppressed peoples around the world fought to free themselves from U.S. domination, students here have always landed real blows against the war machine and have turned the tide of public opinion against every single rich man’s war!”
Eduardo Montiel with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization led the group in chants of “International solidarity” and stated, “That’s why we need to stand up and fight right now! The Trump administration has been speedrunning through the policy goals of the rich – destabilizing Venezuela to steal their oil, starving Cuba, continuing the genocide in Palestine and now overthrowing the rightful government of Iran.”
On Tuesday March 3 at 5 p.m. at Monument Park on the corner of Division and Fulton, the group will be protesting the recent U.S. escalations and sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela, and now Iran.