PROTEST BIOWEAPONS RESEARCH AT UIC
1:00 PM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20
900 S. Ashland, in the Molecular Biology Research Building (MBRB)
First Floor, Auditorium
West Side of Building Entrance by the sculpture

On Thursday, an informational meeting will be held at UIC about a new program on campus that involves making ciprofloxacin-resistant anthrax. The program, funded by a 15.7 million dollar NIH award, professes to be for developing “life-saving” new drugs against antibiotic-resistant anthrax. The NIH awarded UIC researchers in the MBRB, based on a grant proposal they submitted that demonstrated they already have created new antibiotic-resistant strains!

--UIC is not a military establishment and, therefore, is neither an appropriate place for bioweapons research nor can it accommodate the kind of security needed for such research.
--The development of ciprofloxacin-resistant anthrax defies the 1972 International Biological Weapons Convention, the 1925 Geneva Protocol and is rejected by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
--Ciprofloxacin is now effective against anthrax strains known to exist. It is unethical to develop new strains resistant to the current therapy even on the pretext that new drugs must be developed to anticipate an enemy also developing antibiotic-resistant strains. We must remember that the only deaths due to weaponized anthrax in this country came from a U.S. strain developed in the Dugway Proving Grounds, a “secure” military facility.
--Faculty, staff and students have never been informed about the bioweapons research on campus.
--There are no safety plans in place at UIC in case of theft, accidental release or attack.
-- Last March, a Wisconsin man was arrested on the UIC campus in connection with multiple thefts on campus, and was found to be living in a steam tunnel under the Education, Communication and Social Work Building, and in possession of a quarter pound of cyanide powder which he stored in CTA cabinets in the Blue Line one block from the Federal Building.
--The undergraduate school of social work was quietly axed at the same time UIC is publicly celebrating its new bioweapons research award. Has the mission of the University of Illinois changed?

THE INFORMATIONAL MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!

See below for a statement and call to mobilize from the Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism:

Weapons of Mass Destruction Found…and Created...in Chicago

Some researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago boast that they have created a new strain of deadly anthrax, and are touting their creation as a “contribution” to Bush’s “War on Terrorism.” For this they have been rewarded with a $15.7 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

At its worst, the government-sponsored development of a new strain of anthrax represents a dangerous escalation which could help fuel a biological warfare arms race. At the very least, this development of another deadly strain of the disease which terrorized postal workers and others in 2001, is the height of irresponsibility. The source of the previous anthrax scare was a highly-guarded, U.S. government facility out west.

By contrast, the UIC’s “research” was conducted at a virtually unguarded building at the Chicago campus, itself in the middle of a major population center. That the University would allow and encourage such conduct is an arrogant affront to the health and safety concerns of UIC students, faculty and staff, let alone the rest of the city.

Creators of the new anthrax bioweapon will hold a public meeting at this Thursday at 1 pm in the Molecular Biology Research Building auditorium in an attempt to explain away their misconduct. Whether part of the UIC community or not, all who oppose this should attend this meeting to protest. 1 pm, 900 S. Ashland, in the Molecular Biology Research Building (MBRB), First Floor, Auditorium, (West Side of Building Entrance by the sculpture).