Hundreds
protest to defend Lebanon and Palestine
August 13, 2006
Carol
Schiffler
Lake
Eola Park in Orlando was the site of Florida's statewide rally in
support of the people of Middle Eastern countries currently under
brutal assault and/or occupation by the United States, Israel and other
nations with colonial aspirations in the region.
About 400 energized participants from at least 15 different groups
attended the lakeside rally and the march that followed.
According to some participants, with the sole exception of the
Immigrant Rights protest on May Day, this was the largest Orlando event
they could remember. People from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale,
Naples,
Sarasota, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg and elsewhere came to voice
their opposition to the continued savaging of the Arab and Muslim
world. Speakers echoed that sentiment with one voice, clearly stating,
“If supporting those struggling to protect their family and
friends,
who are being slaughtered by guns, tanks and bombs every day, is
“terrorism”, then I guess we support terrorism.
U.S. and Israel: Cease
fire NOW!!!” And as one sign so eloquently expressed,
“In Lebanon Every
Day is Sept. 11th”.
It is difficult to understand the mentality of those who use the
argument “we are fighting them over there so that we
don’t have to
fight them over here” and “how would you feel if
they attacked your
family” as some sort of justification for our Middle Eastern
opportunism. It is difficult to understand because it is an argument,
which totally contradicts reality. And the reality is that is exactly
what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Lebanon, Palestine,
Iraq and (if the current U.S. government’s saber-rattling is
any
indication) Syria and Iran. U.S. and Israel are giving people
no
choice but to fight on their own soil. One sign captured this notion:
“Self Defense? Israel tells Lebanese citizens to flee, bombs
them as
they do while it cuts off all roads & other means of escape. Is
it
OK for Hizbollah to bomb Haifa, if they first tell civilians to
leave?”
The same situation is true, of course, in the U.S./Iraq conflict.
Speaker Sheridan Murphy from A.I.M. drove this point home during his
talk which focused on urging the American people to look at the reality
of the situation instead of engaging in wild conspiracy theories about,
what the U.S. propaganda machine has now termed “Islamic
fascists.”
The rally and march were followed by a short breakaway march by the
anarchist bloc who ventured into downtown Orlando where many were just
beginning to filter into local stores, restaurants and bars. Marchers
chanted, “you’re shopping, you’re
shopping…while the bombs are
dropping!”
St. Pete for Peace would like to thank all the co-organizers, sponsors
and participants in the Orlando August 12 event for their support and
efforts to create both a powerful event and a better world. We would
especially like to thank the Arab and Muslim communities whose courage
and resistance in the face of intense oppression and persecution is an
inspiration to us all.
We would also like to invite those who truly desire change to help make
that change possible by participating in future peace and social
justice events. If you oppose U.S. imperialism abroad and repression at
home, now is the time to speak up. As the old saying goes,
“If not you,
who? If not now, when?”
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The
event
was co-organized by A.N.S.W.E.R
Florida, St.
Pete for Peace,
and the Muslim
Student Association
Florida Council.
OTHER FLORIDA GROUPS
ORGANIZING/ENDORSING:
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Click
on photo to
enlarge
Photos: Kathleen Mannion, Bob Van Wyk, Carol and Don Schiffler, Mark
Duff and Serge Kostin
OTHER Orlando PHOTOS
RECAP OF THE 30,000
PERSON RALLY AT
THE WHITE HOUSE
OTHER ST. PETE FOR PEACE
ACTIONS
AND PHOTOS
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E-mail: info@stpeteforpeace.org
