Demonstration and Rally in Winnipeg Against the War and Occupation of Iraq

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On March 19, the second anniversary of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, over 400 people in Winnipeg joined the hundreds of thousands of others around the world who were protesting against the war and occupation of Iraq. They marched through the streets of the city denouncing the occupation, calling on the U.S. to withdraw and supporting the right of the Iraqi people to determine their own future. Many passers-by honked their horns or shouted support for the demonstration as it passed by.

After the march people gathered at a downtown church to hear from several speakers who have spent time in Iraq during and after the invasion. Following opening remarks by Dr. Ghassan Joundi of the Manitoba Islamic Association, Lisa Martens and David Pankratz spoke about the realities of war and occupation they saw during their time in the country working with the Mennonite Central Committee. Martens was in Baghdad during the U.S. assault on the city and Pankratz arrived in the country after President Bush had declared “major combat over”. Dr. Assil Khelil, an Iraqi woman who visited Iraq after the recent election, also presented her impressions of life under occupation.

The speakers all described the realities of the occupation for the Iraqi people. They spoke of the humiliation and brutality people are subject to on a daily basis at the hands of the occupiers as well as the destruction of the country and the blatant corruption of the occupying regime. They stressed the profound anti-American sentiment that has developed amongst the people and their broad-based resistance in response to their treatment by the occupiers and the enormous destruction of their country. They all agreed that in order for the country to recover it is absolutely essential that Iraq be back in the hands of the Iraqi people who are quite capable of and want to rebuild the country themselves, free of foreign interference. The presentations were followed by lively discussion. The Winnipeg Labour Choir, singer Pat Krawec and the 1919 Insurrectionary Orchestra also performed during the afternoon.

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