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PRESS RELEASE
Iraq Peace Action Coalition
June 30, 2005
175 join Minneapolis anti-war protest
Over 175 people joined a rush hour protest in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday June 30.
The Iraq Peace Action Coalition (IPAC), an organization made up of Twin Cities area peace and justice groups initiated the event under the call of "End the war in Iraq - End the Occupation - Bring the Troops Home Now!"
The response from people passing through the busy downtown intersection was overwhelmingly positive to the anti-war message.
The event was called to mark the one-year anniversary of the so-called "hand off" of sovereignty in Iraq. U.S. troops continue the occupation, the war casualties continue to grow, and the Bush Administration can offer only more lies to justify the war.
A statement issued by organizers says in part, "On Tuesday, June 28 President Bush took to the airwaves to try and win support for the war in Iraq. All Bush could do in his speech is repeat the disproved claims that there is a link between the events of September 11, 2001 and Iraq. We know there was no link and that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Bush justification for the war in Iraq continues to be lies and inventions."
"The majority of Americans want the war to end and the troops to be withdrawn. The majority of Iraqis want the foreign troops out of their country," the statement continues.
Speakers at the Thursday rally included Keith Ellison, Minnesota State Representative and Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American who lived in the Twin Cities for many years before returning to Iraq in the fall of 2004. Arwyn spoke as a representative of Youth Against War and Racism.
Also at the Thursday protest everyone was urged to attend a national march in Washington DC against the war on Saturday, September 24. Plans are being made by many in the Twin Cities to attend the national protest.
– Alan Dale, for IPAC
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