This report was originally posted on the website of the Los Angeles ANSWER Coallition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) of which Party for Socialism and Liberation is a member.
On Saturday, June 18, a vibrant, multinational crowd of over 200 people
packed into the Los Angeles meeting of the “Eyewitness Libya” national
speaking tour, featuring former congresswoman and presidential
candidate, Cynthia McKinney. McKinney returned to the United States from
Libya only hours before the event began.
The successful meeting,
organized by the ANSWER Coalition in Los Angeles and held at Immanuel
Presbyterian Church, also featured speeches by Akbar Muhammad, Nation of
Islam; Mike Prysner, Iraq war veteran, co-founder of March Forward! and
ANSWER organizer, and Dedon Kamathi, KPFK Pacifica radio host of
“Freedom Now.”
ANSWER Coalition organizer Peta Lindsay emceed and
opened the event: “ANSWER is proud to be hosting this speaking tour in
many cities around the country. We are committed to organizing,
spreading the word and taking to the streets to fight back against
U.S./NATO intervention in Libya, as long as the bombing continues and
until the right to self-determination for the people of Libya is
upheld.”
In a rousing speech, Akbar Muhammad of the Nation of
Islam highlighted the destructive nature of the U.S./NATO mission
targeting Libya. He spoke of the need to unite the African continent and
pointed out that the war on Libya is doing the opposite. Muhammad said:
“The dollars going to this war come directly out of our communities.
And, as the polls now show, the reality is that most people in the
United States do not want war with Libya.”
Radio host Dedon
Kamathi spoke about his eyewitness experiences in Libya and urged
solidarity with the people struggling to survive as NATO bombs drop
around them each day.
Iraq war veteran Mike Prysner discussed the
false “humanitarian” motives behind the war on Libya and what U.S.
activists can do to stop it. Prysner said: “We must explain to our
friends, neighbors, co-workers, that this war, which we never had any
say in starting, is being waged with our money, with the great wealth
that could be used for our jobs, our communities, our schools. We must
use their blatant hypocrisy to expose the U.S. government and build a
movement that will stop this war machine in its tracks once and for
all.”
Keynote speaker Cynthia McKinney opened powerfully,
recounting why she became an activist: “My father always talked with me
about people who lived their lives without purpose. I didn’t want to be
one of those people. I wanted to tell the truth and be on the side of
the people demanding justice.”
Receiving several standing
ovations as she spoke, McKinney discussed what she saw in her two recent
delegations to Libya in great detail. She recounted meeting with
teachers, students and university professors. McKinney also spoke about
hearing dozens of NATO bombs falling around Tripoli, Libya’s capital,
each day. “As the bombs fell, each time buildings shook violently.
Tripoli is under heavy aerial bombardment in all areas, in civilian
areas,” she said.
McKinney presented a new video with analysis and first-hand footage from Libya taken during the NATO bombing.
A
lively question and answer session followed with more questions about
what McKinney witnessed in Libya and whether she would return. To the
latter question, McKinney said: “Yes, I will try to return after this
tour. The truth needs to be told.”
The Los Angeles event was a
major success and a step toward building more support for the struggle
to stop the war on Libya. Each speaker at the event expressed their
thanks to ANSWER for its steadfast anti-war work and for organizing the
tour.
The national tour includes upcoming stops in San Francisco,
Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City and Syracuse, N.Y. McKinney
will speak at all the events, and Akbar Muhammad will continue on the
tour. Other featured speakers include former U.S. Attorney General
Ramsey Clark and Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER
Coalition.
