Resistance to Sanctions Grows
by Marie Braun, WAMM
Local resistance to the sanctions against, and bombing of, Iraq is growing. On August 2, 2000, 250 Minnesotans stood on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge with signs protesting the UN/U.S. sanctions against Iraq. Twenty-three people also engaged in a three-day liquids-only fast in solidarity with the suffering children of Iraq. Fifty-three others fasted for one day, two days, or other periods of time.
Another 130 people gathered in the Lyndale Park Peace Garden on August 6 to commemorate two anniversaries: the 55-year anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which killed over 130,000 civilians, and the tenth anniversary of the sanctions against Iraq, which have resulted in the death of more than a million Iraqi civilians, 60 percent of whom were children. According to UNICEF, sanctions continue to kill 5,000 children a month.
Some of those fasting over the tenth anniversary of sanctions stayed on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge each of the three days, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with special gatherings three times a day. Guests at these gatherings were civic leaders, representatives of elected officials, and church officials, including Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including some Minnesotans, gathered in Washington, DC, over the same weekend to protest the sanctions and the ongoing bombing of Iraq. On August 7, chanting "Stop the sanctions now!" and carrying a water-purifying device forbidden for export to Iraq by U.S. policy, a large group demonstrated outside the White House. Eighty-three were arrested after they sat on the sidewalk and refused to move. Those arrested included Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit; Rev. John Dear, a Jesuit peace activist; and Rev. Jim Lawson Jr., a retired United Methodist pastor who had recently visited Iraq.
In Baghdad, Iraq, Minnesotans Lisa Gizzi of St. Paul and Mark McGuire of Winona joined two members of Chicago-based Voices in the Wilderness in a three-day fast to protest the effects of the sanctions. They are participating in the Summer 2000 Voices in Basra project, a two-month sojourn providing participants an opportunity to experience the daily life and hardships of the average Iraqi family.
The bad news is that more than 750 Iraqi children died during these five days of protest and commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the economic sanctions. The local mainstream media took little notice of their deaths or the growing local resistance to the sanctions and bombing of Iraq. But ongoing local resistance will increasingly affect public understanding and opinion about the disastrous effects of sanctions. Already, public opinion is influencing the Minnesota congressional delegation in their increasing opposition to sanctions.
Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Campaign to Lift Sanctions want to express our gratitude to all who participated in these activities and to all those who contributed time, energy, and money to make it possible to let the voices of the people be heard. We are making a difference and we will see the end of these deadly policies.