Southern Illinois Peace Coalition protests U.S. involvement in war on Yemen
February 6, 2021
On Saturday, Feb. 5, the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois held their Monthly Peace and Justice Vigil at the corner of W. Main St. and Illinois Ave. in Carbondale.
In celebration of Biden’s announcement to end the U.S. support of the Saudi war in Yemen during his Feb. 4 foreign policy speech, the Peace Coalition decided to dedicate their vigil this month to support the end of the war in Yemen.
“We just choose different issues that are timely and we do know that it’s very concerning what has been happening in Yemen. It is one of the biggest humanitarian disasters,” Georgeann Hartzog, the event organizer said.
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Yemen has become a middle ground that has experienced devastation in wake of the multiple struggles for power.
“The U.S. has been providing arms and intelligence to the Saudis and the UAE in their bombing campaign. Yemen is a very complex place and feeding the war there is the worst thing that could possibly happen. We set the topic of the vigil to be “stop selling arms to the Saudis and the UAE,” Hartzog said.
With the blockade on Yemen, it is difficult to get humanitarian aid into the country to begin with. It is because of this, that Hartzog said the U.S. needs to hold the sale of weapons and planes to the Saudi and the UAE.
By changing the designation of the Houthis, aid will be more likely to reach the Yemeni people.
“It hasn’t been completely canceled, so we need to make sure that happens and that we really do change our policy and get some aid into the Yemeni people and allow them to resume life in their country on their own,” Hartzog said. “Hopefully things will happen, but we want to keep the pressure on so that they do.”
Photo Editor Leah Sutton can be reached at [email protected]
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