| Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism | MR Online

Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest U.S. militarism

Originally published: Al Mayadeen on March 18, 2023 by Agencies (more by Al Mayadeen)  | (Posted Mar 20, 2023)
Human Rights, Movements, Protest, WarAmericas, United StatesNewswire

Sources reported on Saturday that a peaceful demonstration is taking place in Washington DC to protest against military support for Ukraine and U.S. militarism in general.

Protesters were seen in the city center holding banners reading “Feed the People, Not the Pentagon,” “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine,” and “Disband NATO.”

They were also seen carrying coffins wrapped in the flags of countries that were invaded by the U.S. over the past 20 years.

Some of the demands brought forth by demonstrators included cutting funding and halting the delivery of weapons to Kiev’s forces, as well as putting an end to “militarism and sanctions” in affected countries such as Syria, and avoiding escalations with China.

Organizers said that the peace demonstration aims to warn people of a “global war,” while also raising public awareness of “the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad.”

The rally further coincides with the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, organizers noted.

For several decades, the U.S. has waged wars on several countries such as Vietnam, DPRK, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Under the Bush administration, it is estimated that over 3 million Iraqi civilians died when the U.S. invaded Iraq.

As for the Obama administration, an estimated 13,072 drone strikes were authorized just in Afghanistan alone, leading to thousands of deaths.

Despite all these war crimes carried out across the Middle East and Africa, the two former U.S. Presidents, Bush, and Obama, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair, got nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yesterday, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II announced that it issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the ICC’s decision to “arrest” Putin was legally irrelevant to Russia, whilst Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also condemned the decision, saying the formulation of an “arrest warrant” issued against the Russian head of State is unacceptable, that Russia does not recognize ICC jurisdiction, and any of its decisions are null and void from the legal point of view.

“We consider the very formulation of the question outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the legal point of view,” Peskov said.

Since its inception, the ICC has always been biased as far as the investigation of crimes and the prosecution of individuals is concerned.

The West has orchestrated wars all across the Global South that have caused millions of children to go hungry, malnourished, displaced, and even killed, including in Yemen where the U.S.-led blockade has caused over two million children to suffer from acute malnutrition.

Yet, these issues have never been taken into consideration at the Hague-based ICC.

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