ANTIWAR RALLY OCCURS ON MARCH 24, UPCOMING THIRD ANNUAL MIDWEST PEACE AND JUSTICE SUMMIT, APRIL 13-14
It was a combination party and antiwar rally the drew 200 or so mostly youthful participants who gathered in downtown Indianapolis at Monument Circle, the major public gathering place there, on Saturday afternoon, March 24, to commemorate and protest four years of war in Iraq. Speakers were interspersed in between live music, music that ranged from original antiwar punk rock to Bob Dylan, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and a cappella songs for peace. A highlight of the afternoon’s events was the reading of the names of the 75 soldiers from Indiana who have so far died in Iraq, the reading of each name followed by the ringing of a bell.
Three kiosks highlighted how much the U.S. was spending for the military as opposed to other countries (the U.S. is first, at $552 billion, China a very distant second at $62.5 billion, the United Kingdom third at $51.1 billion, all the way down to Canada at $10.9 billion), the number of Iraqi casualties, and the severe costs of the war in human and monetary terms to U.S Iraqi War veterans themselves. Three sign-on boards were part of the kiosks, where activists themselves could write their own messages on the following: “What Is Peace?” “What Do You Want to Say to the Iraqi People?” and “What Do You Want to Say to the U.S. Government?” One person had written on the placard addressed to the Iraqi people, “Stop insulting Mussolini and Hitler by comparing them to Bush and Cheney!”
The rally was organized by students from the University of Valparaiso, in the southern part of Indiana, and had been in planning since November, 2006. March 24 was chosen because the students involved would then be back from spring break. Outreach to 13 other Indiana colleges and universities, from major state universities such as Indiana University-Bloomington, Purdue University, and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI); small private colleges in the state such as Hanover College, Manchester College, and Butler University; Catholic colleges from Notre Dame to lesser-known ones such as Marian College in Indianapolis; and even community colleges such as the branches of the Ivy Tech state system, was effected, with participation from several of them at the rally. Noticeably missing from the attendees, however, were the major old-line peace groups in Indianapolis such as the Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center (IPJC), although individuals from the IPJC, DSA and other groups were there.
The memorial that comprises Monument Circle is a memorial to U.S. war veterans from the Civil War through World War I, and even though it is generally regarded in Indianapolis as the premier forum for “free speech” in Indianapolis, use of this site requires, first, a $250 application fee, then, the posting of a $2,500 bond to cover up to a million dollars in liability. However, veterans’ groups are exempt from these fees for use of Monument Circle, and #49, Central Indiana Veterans for Peace eagerly volunteered to be co-sponsor. Harold Donle, Communications Director for #49 and a Vietnam veteran, said that Veterans for Peace would gladly co-sponsor rallies for other antiwar and progressive groups on Monument Circle, so that they would not have to pay the fees involved.
Indianapolis organizers for the antiwar rally also included students and professors from IUPUI who’ve also been involved in organizing the Third Annual Midwest Peace and Justice Summit, which will be held Friday and Saturday, April 13-14, on the IUPUI campus. Keynote speaker for Friday evening, April 13, will be Cindy Sheehan, and keynote speaker for Saturday will be James Yee, the U.S. Army Muslim chaplain accused of aiding terrorism, then acquitted and given an honorable discharge, who is now demanding an apology from the U.S. government. During the Summit, there will be numerous groups tabling, speakers and panel discussions, workshops, and even free food! More info, along with an IUPUI campus map, is available on the Midwest Peace and Justice Summit’s Web site, http://www.mpjs.org.
