Iraq War Anniversary Candlelight Vigil in Bloomington

Friends and neighbors are invited to participate in a SILENT, candlelight vigil to show that citizens in hundreds of hometowns oppose the Iraq war. Meet on Sunday, March 19 at 7 p.m., on the actual anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Gather on the sidewalk on the south side of the Monroe County Courthouse, and bring a candle or small flashlight. The message to be conveyed is "NOT ONE MORE DEATH, NOT ONE MORE DOLLAR".

After 3 years of sustained war and occupation costing $250 BILLION dollars and thousands of lives lost, the U.S. sits at a crossroads.
Peace in Iraq will only be achieved through diplomacy and a serious effort at reconstructing Iraq's infrastructure.

National peace and justice organizatons are urging local people to hold events throughout the country between March 15 and 22. In the Bloomington area, local sponsors of the candlelight vigil are Congregations For Peace, and the Bloomington branch of the Womens'
International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). A letter to Congress prepared by the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), calling on Congress to stop the occupation in Iraq by stopping the war's funding, will be available for signatures.

Today, March 15, from 4 to 6 p.m. the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition, and the IU campus 'Students Against the Occupation of Iraq' will meet at the Sample Gates at Kirkwood and Indiana Ave for speakers, an End The War demonstration and action, and a march to the Courthouse, to dramatize the impact of the war on the people of Iraq and to opposei it.

Everyone is welcome to participate in either or both events.

the event on Sunday - I know some of the folks organizing it ... very good people - when they have planned such events in the past, they have been well attended - I encourage anyone in the b-ton area who is nearby Sunday night to go down, and find some like-minded folks.

If any other DUers plan to make it, let me know. I'd like to meet you.

It was a bit chilly, but there were about a hundred of us around the courthouse square last night. There were mostly supportive honks from drivers-by, but I believe I did get the bird at one point. Met some great people. Glad I went.

I used to attend a Wednesday 5 pm vigil on the court house during the build-up and early days of the war. Generally fairly small but for awhile upwards of a fifty to sixty folks would show up - all ages - all interesting. Good people.