Minneapolis, MN – The organizers of a weekly peace vigil on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge are urging people to attend the Wednesday, June 18 vigil as an initial way of speaking out against a new U.S. war on Iraq.

The vigil, organized under the call, “No New U.S. war in Iraq!” will be held June 18 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River.

Signs and banners protesting a new war are being prepared to use at the vigil, which will be seen by thousands of people during rush hour traffic. The End War Committee of Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign sponsor the weekly peace vigil.

The Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC), an umbrella group of anti-war and peace groups, has endorsed the call for people to join others at the June 18 vigil. The Anti-War Committee is urging people to attend.

MPAC issued a statement that says in part, “It has become increasingly likely that the U.S. government will launch a new military intervention in Iraq. It is urgent that anti-war forces mobilize to tell the Obama administration that the people of this country oppose a new war in Iraq.”

The MPAC statement continues, “It was the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq that destroyed the country and brought about the current crisis. There is nothing the Pentagon can do with more air strikes and destruction to undo that or to bring about peace now. The people of Iraq must determine their own future.”

Area organizers plan additional activities against a new U.S. war in Iraq in the days ahead and are committed to organizing emergency protests if the U.S. starts bombing Iraq.

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