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Emergency Protest in Chicago to Stop the Bombing of Libya March 24, 2011 Report by Stefanie Fisher Photo by Ana Santoyo On March 24 in Chicago people came out on a below-freezing night to join a militant picket outside the downtown federal building to demand an end to the bombing of Libya. The emergency protest was initiated by the ANSWER Coalition. Protesters unfurled a large banner that read “Stop the War on Libya Now!” Dozens of placards demanded “Money for Jobs and School, Not for War on Libya!” and “U.S. Out of the Middle East!” The protest was joined by members of many Chicago-area anti-war groups and by members of the American Muslim Alliance. Hundreds of ANSWER Coalition statements, titled “This is not a war for democracy,” were passed out to people walking by the downtown action. Speaking at the protest, ANSWER Chicago coordinator John Beacham said, “This new war on Libya is not about democracy or humanitarian intervention. The bombs raining down on Libya are not saving lives, they are killing civilians and destroying whole sections of urban infrastructure … all so Washington and Wall Street, the occupiers of Iraq and Afghanistan, can attempt to enforce their will on the largest producer of oil in Africa. “The Pentagon is bombing Libya and backing the brutal crackdowns in Yemen and Bahrain in order to halt and reverse the revolutions happening in Tunisia and Egypt, and throughout the region. We oppose the U.S., French and British war against Libya because it is a savage attempt of the former colonizers of Libya and Africa to strike a blow against the new freedom struggle in the Arab world. We must stand up to Washington and say, ‘Hands off the People of the Middle East and Africa!’” INFORMATION: 773-463-0311