St. Paul, MN – About 25 people joined a peace vigil on Wednesday, April 18 in the Twin Cities to speak out against the U.S. attacks on Syria carried out last Friday evening.

The vigil was held on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul from 5 to 6 p.m. The vigil is held weekly and is sponsored by the End War Committee of Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign.

The organizers focus on various issues each week and adapt the event to major news developments.

The April 18 event was organized under the call of “No U.S. War in Syria – No More U.S. Bombings – Troops Out Now.”

In addition to the recent airstrikes, the U.S. has over 2000 troops in Syria and carries out regular air and drone attacks using the pretext of fighting the Islamic State. The escalation of strikes against Syrian targets could lead to possible confrontation with Russia.

A statement by organizers notes, “Last Friday the Trump administration launched air strikes against Syria government facilities. These strikes, carried out in response to allegations of Syria chemical weapons use, only make the world a more dangerous place.

“U.S. military intervention is not intended to help people, or to resolve internal conflicts of nations in a humanitarian manner. U.S. intervention only serves the interests of the U.S. elite, who care nothing of Syrian people or the people of the Middle East,” the statement added.

The statement continues, “The U.S. government has carried out an endless series of wars and intervention for many years in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. This new escalation will only lead to more dead, injured and displaced.”

#SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #TwinCitiesPeaceCampaign #EndWarCommittee

St. Paul, MN – Over 30 people joined an evening peace vigil in the Twin Cities on Dec. 20 to speak out against the danger of a new U.S. war in Korea and to call for an end to the series of U.S. wars and military interventions.

The peace vigil was held on the Lake Street/Marshall Ave Bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Many people driving by during the busy rush hour honked their car horns in solidarity with the anti-war message.

Those attending braved very cold temperatures to be part of the anti-war event.

The organizers of the vigil, the End War Committee of Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign, had issued the call for the event.

Co-sponsors included Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Saint Paul Eastside Neighbors for Peace, Veterans for Peace and others.

The event came on the same day that the London Telegraph newspaper reported, “The U.S. is considering a pre-emptive strike against North Korea,” and that “the Pentagon is trying to find options that would allow them to punch the North Koreans in the nose, get their attention and show that we’re serious,” according to what a former U.S. security official told the paper.

A statement issued by organizers said, “The war crisis in Korea demands an anti-war response, the Dec. 20 vigil is intended to keep anti-war sentiment visible.”

#SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #TwinCitiesPeaceCampaign #WAMM

Minneapolis, MN – On one of the first warm spring afternoons here, over 50 people joined an anti-war protest on April 2 to demonstrate against the U.S. war on Libya.

The protest lined the sidewalks at one of the major intersections in Minneapolis with signs and banners against the newest U.S. war in the Middle East.

Protesters’ signs read, “U.S. hands off Libya,” “Foreclose the war, not people’s homes,” and “Say no to U.S. war against Libya.”

For over an hour participants chanted anti-war slogans and held signs as thousands of people went by in cars, buses and the light rail train.

Many people showed support for the anti-war message by waving, honking horns and joining the protest.

Two TV stations reported the event on evening newscasts.

A statement issued by organizers says in part, “Eight years after the start of the war in Iraq, the U.S. has launched a new war in the Middle East, this time against Libya. This is not a ‘humanitarian intervention.’ This is a war launched to try to control the oil resources of the region. The big powers intervene for their own economic interests, not for the interests of the people.”

The statement continues, “We need funds for jobs, education, the environment, housing and human needs, not a new war in the Middle East.”

Meredith Aby, of the Anti-War Committee, told the crowd, “This is not ‘change we can believe in.’ This is the Bush doctrine version 2.0. This was an unprovoked attack on the Libyan government because the U.S. wants a regime change. But Obama doesn’t have the right to decide for the Libyan people who their leader is or what they do with their oil. Those questions are for the Libyan people to answer and them alone.”

Aby, one of anti-war leaders raided by the FBI September 24, 2010, also urged participants to sign the pledge to resist Grand jury and FBI repression.

The Saturday protest was sponsored by Anti-War Committee, Emergency Committee to Stop U.S. War in Libya, Military Families Speak Out, Students for a Democratic Society (U of MN), Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness and others.

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