For Immediate Release

September 21, 2007

Contact: Divya Vasudevan

(312)-822-0505; dvasudevan (at) mkcpr.com


Chicagoans Launch Fall Surge
Against War in Iraq

Demonstrators gather in Federal Plaza
to initiate Chicago’s part in nationwide
Fall Campaign to stop the war


Chicago, il - Area peacemakers, elected officials, faith groups and community leaders gathered at noon today in Federal Plaza at a ‘Die-In’ representing the estimated 100 Iraqis that are killed each day as a result of the U.S. war and occupation. The ‘Die-In’ is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and is a part of the nationwide Iraq Moratoriums, which will continue and intensify every 3rd Friday until the war ends. Approximately 60 protestors wrapped themselves in white body bags and laid outstretched in the plaza center as the names of Iraqi victims were recited one by one in a solemn fashion. AFSC volunteers moved about the demonstrators and carefully placed a bright red carnation on each outstretched body. Passersby slowed to watch, hold signs and take pictures.


"We’re here to represent the human cost of the war to Iraqis," said Michael McConnell, regional director of the AFSC, a Quaker peace and humanitarian organization. "The latest in-country poll shows that over 1 million Iraqis have died in this war, which is more than anyone in our administration or Congress is willing to admit."


At the press release which followed the event, Chicago Aldermen Joe Moore and Ricardo Munoz voiced their opposition to the Iraq war. Other speakers included William McNary of Citizen Action Illinois, Ra Chaka of the African American Alliance for Peace and Justice, Carl Davidson of Chicagoans Against War and Injustice (CAWI), and Catherine Buntin of the North Shore Interfaith Peace Initiative. Moore emphasized the financial impact of the war on Chicagoans, reminding those gathered that Chicago taxpayers have already spent 4.7 billion tax dollars on the war effort – money which "could be spent to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods." McNary joined in Moore’s assertions in stating that "the cost of human lives, as well as our moral standing in the world, is incalculable."

This event is part of a larger national campaign to stop the war in Iraq called by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and CAWI. The ‘Die-In’ and press conference here is the kick-off for a longer fall campaign culminating in a mass mobilization in Chicago on October 27, 2007, drawing people from Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota and Kentucky. Davidson, co-founder of CAWI, asserted that today’s demonstration and the one to occur in October represent the "anti-war majority, and are expressions of popular power that cannot be ignored."

In Chicago alone, over 110 local religious and community groups have already voiced their support. Chicago is only one of ten urban centers designated by UFPJ for regional mass actions. Other cities taking action include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Orlando, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.