Protests against the 2011 military intervention in Libya

Protest in Minneapolis in the United States on March 21, 2011 against the American military intervention in Libya

Beginning on March 19, 2011, and continuing through the 2011 military intervention in Libya, anti-war protests against military intervention in Libya were held in many cities worldwide.

March 2011

Brazil

• According to an article by Fabíola Ortiz on March 25 on the online magazine Upside Down World, two small protests were organized in Brazil against the decision of military intervention in Libya.

Chile

• In response to the US military intervention in Libya, a demonstration was held in Chile's capital Santiago on March 20 protesting the visit by Barack Obama. Left-wing political parties, professors, students, human rights activists, and other Chilean people participated in the demonstration.

Greece

• On March 20, about 5000 supporters of the Communist Party of Greece (ΚΚΕ), mainly high school and university students, protested outside the parliament building in central Athens against the government's support for the NATO-led intervention in Libya. They carried anti-government banners and placards that read "The imperialists out of Libya" and "US-EU-NATO kill people", shouted anti-intervention slogans and torched the flag of the European Union.

• On March 20, similar protest was held on the Crete. Communists marched to the Souda Bay naval base that provided command and logistics support to the NATO-led intervention. The protesters demanded the closure of the NATO base.

India

• On March 27, hundreds of Muslim demonstrators, led by the Aba-Saleh Society, held a protest march in the Indian city Lucknow. The protest rally started from Dargah Hazrat Abbas and ended at Roza-e-Kazmain. Speaker of the demonstration Maulana Ameer Haider addressed the crowd denouncing the United States-led military action in Libya and Saudi Arabia's involvement in Bahrain. The protesters chanted slogans against the US-led military forces and branded them as "killer of innocents".

Italy

• On March 26, Libyans residing in Rome, the capital of Italy, held a demonstration at the Republic Plaza in central Rome to protest against the military intervention. The demonstrators held placards, displayed the flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, shouted slogans and displayed picture of Muammar Gaddafi.

Mali

• On March 25, thousands of Malians demonstrated in Bamako, the capital of Mali, to protest against the NATO-led military operation in Libya. The crowd marched first to the French embassy and then to the embassy of the United States. Protesters shouted "Down with Sarkozy! Down with Obama!" The demonstration, organized by Islamic groups in the nation, brought traffic to a halt in Bamako city center.

Nicaragua

• From March 19 to March 24, three demonstrations were organized in Nicaragua to protest the military intervention. On the March 24 protest, which was the third protest since the beginning of the military operation in Libya, hundreds of supporters of president Daniel Ortega marched in Nicaragua's capital Managua. The rally, organized by Ortega's followers called Nicaraguan Solidarity Committee with Libya, started from the embassy of Libya and ended outside the headquarters of the United Nations Development Program. Leaders of the demonstration called the military intervention "imperialist military aggression backed by the UN." Protesters shouted "No war", "Yes to peace", displayed banners with pictures of Gaddafi, chanted slogans in support of Gadhafi, and attacked the United States.

Philippines

• On March 20, anti-war protest against NATO intervention in Libya was held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Protesters burned a replica of the flag of the United States.

• On March 21, the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) reported that peace organizations in the Philippines have joined Islamic protesters to condemn the UN-backed air strikes in Libya. Jolly Lais, spokesperson of the Muslim group Bangsamoro National Solidarity Movement (BANGSA) said, "This brazen military aggression betrays the double standard by which the United Nations uses". The left-wing political party Bayan Muna called the airstrikes "a brutal act of armed intervention against a sovereign nation."

• On March 25, Philippine Muslims protested the military action after Friday prayer at a mosque in Manila. The anti-war protesters displayed pro-Libya placards that read "Appeal to U.S. Save Humanity Stop Bombing to Libya".

Russia

• Russian youth groups the Nashi and the Stal demonstrated outside embassies of several western countries to protest the military intervention in Libya. They picketed in front of the British, French and American embassies and the NATO mission in Moscow. Oleg Sokolov, leader of the Stal, described the western intervention as "massacre" and said "it is clear that the West's real intention is not to bring democracy to Libya".

• Interfax reported the Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guard of United Russia), a pro-Kremlin youth group and the youth wing of the United Russia, have planned to picket embassies of the United States, Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France on March 23. Activists of the Molodaya Gvardiya took part in a flower-laying ceremony in front of the Libyan embassy in Moscow to commemorate the victims of the NATO attack in Libya.

Serbia

Protest in Belgrade on March 26, 2011 against the military intervention in Libya

• On March 20, an anti-intervention protest was held in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Protesters carried pictures of Muammar Gaddafi and Josip Broz Tito.

• On March 26, a second anti-intervention protests was held in the center of Belgrade at the Republic Square by Libyan students studying in Serbia and a Libyan-Serbian friendship organization. Protesters carried the flag of Libya and pictures of Gaddafi.

• On March 27, a third anti-intervention protest was held in Belgrade. About two hundred people, including Libyan students and expats, demonstrated at the Manjež park. The protesters chanted slogans like "Support from Serbia", "A true friend of Serbia and Libya", "Libya and Serbia", "NATO killers", displayed photos of Gaddafi, and carried placards opposing NATO.

Spain

• On March 20, 400 people protested in Barcelona against the NATO intervention choiring "support to the Libyan people, nor NATO or Gaddafi" and "no more blood for oil". One of the organizers of the protest Pere Ortega believed the military intervention will make Gaddafi's posture stronger. The protesters carried banners that read "Nor tyrannies or occupations. Solidarity with the people in struggle".

• On March 24, several dozens of people protested in Murcia under the banner "Yesterday Iraq, today Libya. No to humanitarian imperialism", exhorting to put an end to the allied intervention and Gadafi's repression. The protesters shouted "No more blood for oil" and "Stop the war".

• On March 26, thousands of people rallied in Madrid, the capital of Spain. The march was organized by human rights groups and other social organizations under the banner "For the emancipation of the Arab nations: neither dictators nor imperialists". On the same day, an anti-war demonstration calling on governments to stop the air attack on Libya was held in front of the Rota Naval Base.

Sri Lanka

• Trade unions in Sri Lanka from across the political spectrum have voiced their opposition to the military intervention in Libya. On March 21, Sri Lankan trade union leader and the governor of the Western Province Alavi Mowlana said on a media briefing in Colombo that Sri Lankan trade unions will organize protests in the country's largest city demanding the United States and the Western nations to stop the military intervention. He said anti-imperialist organizations in Sri Lanka will organize the initial protest campaign against the United States-led military intervention at the Colombo Grand Mosque on March 25.

• On March 24, protests against the NATO-led air attacks were organized by political parties allied to Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Approximately 500 supporters of the National Freedom Front (NFF) participated in the demonstrations. Protester chanted anti-Western slogans, slogans against the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, waved placards and burned used tyres outside the United Nations (UN) office in Colombo. According to BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka Elmo Fernando, the demonstrators shouted slogans urging Ban Ki-moon to quit his post and "go home", and described the military intervention in Libya as war crimes. National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and MP Wimal Weerawansa, who's party organized the protest, said, "We are against the biased behaviour of the UN on Libya in favour of the US and Britain. The people of Libya should decide how to resolve their own internal problems." Banners that read "We condemn killing innocent civilians in Libya" and "Banki Moon go to hell" were seen in the demonstration. Protesters burned effigy of US president Barack Obama and beat it with shoes. Some of the protesters described Barack Obama as "murderer".

• On March 25, hundreds of Sri Lankan Muslims protested in Colombo. The demonstrators marched from the Jummah Mosque in Kollupitiya to the embassy of the United States on Galle Road in Colombo. Protesters held placards supporting Muammar Gaddafi and burned effigies of Barack Obama.

Turkey

• Approximately 100 people, mostly members of the Labor Party (EMEP), demonstrated on March 20 outside the French Consulate General in Istanbul protesting against France, the US and other western countries. They shouted slogans like "Get out of Libya" and "Libyan people are not alone".

• On March 21, members of a left-wing Turkish political party protested outside the French embassy in Turkey's capital Ankara. The demonstrators held banner that read "Murderer France, get out of Libya!"

United Kingdom

• On March 20, anti-war protesters demonstrated outside London's Downing Street waving placards that stated "The lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan have not been learnt". Groups that organized the protest included the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Stop the War Coalition (StWC). Labour member of parliament Jeremy Corbyn and vice-president of the StWC, George Galloway, took part in the protest. According to Corbyn, "This war is about oil, control and a message to the rest of the world and region that we can do it if we want to." Kate Hudson, chair of CND, called the military intervention "utterly reprehensible". Galloway described the intervention as "imperialist war-making." On the other hand, anti-Gaddafi protesters in London opposed the anti-intervention protesters.

• On March 21, approximately 150 people demonstrated in London in support of Gaddafi and protesting against the UK's intervention in Libya.

United States

Main article: US domestic reactions to the 2011 military intervention in Libya

March 19

• On March 19, a demonstration in Times Square, New York City, that was originally meant to protest the Iraq War turned into a protest against the military intervention in Libya. U. S. Representative Charles B. Rangel joined the protesters and expressed anger over the fact that the Congress was not consulted before the military strikes. Nearly 80 people attended the demonstration.

• Eric Ruder and Sam Bernstein of the SocialistWorker.org, published by the International Socialist Organization (ISO), reported anti-war protesters in Seattle, who gathered to protest the Iraq War on March 19, displayed signs that read, "U.S./UN/NATO--Hands off Libya!".

• On March 19, the anti-war group Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) organized a protest in Boston claiming the United States and the United Nations attacked Libya for oil.

• Hundreds of people demonstrated on Chicago's Michigan Avenue on March 19. Protesters distributed anti-war leaflets and shouting "We need money for jobs, not the war. We need money for schools, not the war. We need money for health care, not the war". Several speakers of the protest, that was originally held to mark the eighth anniversary of the Iraq War, condemned military action against Libya. Protesters chanted "No UN, no Qaddafi, let the people rule Benghazi!"

• The Workers World, published by the Marxist–Leninist Workers World Party (WWP), reported around 1500 protesters rallied at Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. on March 19 and demanded an end to the military operation in Libya along with the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Protests in San Francisco marked both the first day of the US-led air strike in Libya and the eighth anniversary of the Iraq War. According to the Workers World, hundreds of protesters marched in Saint Paul, Minnesota shouting "Do not expand wars against Libya!"

• A.N.S.W.E.R Conference showing systematic false reporting of NATO media about rebel activity and NATO bombing of Libya (reports from investigation groups in Libya)

March 20

• The Workers World reported, thousands of anti-war protesters, led by the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.), demonstrated in Los Angeles on March 20. According to the Workers World, "Libya was clearly on the minds of everyone there and news of the criminal attack electrified the demonstration."

March 21

Demonstrators in Minneapolis, Minnesota show placards on March 21, 2011 to protest the military intervention in Libya by the United States

• On March 21, anti-war protest was held in Minneapolis. Nearly 75 members of a local anti-war group called the Anti-War Committee (AWC) demonstrated outside the Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis. A protest, organized by Dustin Krutsinger, was held by students at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Sign reading "Obama No 'Change' From Bush" was seen in the demonstration. In Memphis, Tennessee, an anti-war protest was held where sign which read "Instead of War Invest in People" was seen.

• The Workers World reported, the International Action Center (IAC) organized a demonstration at the Westwood in Los Angeles Federal Building on March 20 to demand an end to the US, French and British attack on Libya. According to the Workers World, members of the BAYAN-USA, the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party — GC, Unión del Barrio and the Anti-Racist Action (ARA) also participated in the demonstration.

• In Philadelphia, a protest was held by the Philadelphia Against War on March 21. Demonstrators gathered outside the Philadelphia City Hall and denounced the US/NATO military intervention in Libya. Protesters held signs that read "Not another U.S. war for oil" and "Stop U.S. attacks on Arab and African people". The Workers World reported the protest was endorsed by the Brandywine Peace Community and the International Action Center (IAC).

• According to the Workers World, the International Action Center (IAC) organized a picket line on March 21 in the Times Square, New York City to protest the coalition air attack in Libya.

March 23

• According to the Liberation, a newspaper published by the Marxist-Leninist Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), protests were held at Austin, Texas and outside the New Federal Building in San Francisco. In the San Francisco protest, speakers included Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition, who claimed the US attack Libya for its oil reserves, an Iraq War veteran, a representative of the Code Pink, Richard Becker of the ANSWER Coalition, and Saul Kanowitz of the PSL. Protesters chanted "Humanitarian aid, it’s a lie, bombs fall and people die!"

March 26

• On March 26, an anti-war demonstration, organized by the ANSWER Coalition, was held outside the White House in the Washington, D.C. Protesters carried placards that read "$ for Jobs and Schools, not War on Libya" and "Stop U.S. French and British War on Libya". Brian Becker, national director of the ANSWER Coalition, said, "United States has no right to bomb Libya. It has no right to pretend it's a champion of freedom and democracy. Only Libya can determine its destiny". According to the PSL's newspaper Liberation, the demonstration was attended by activists from different cities across the country, and by progressive organizations such as the FMLN-DC (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front). Protesters in the demonstration chanted "War in Libya—We say NO! U.S. intervention has got to go!"

April 2011

Australia

• A demonstration was held outside the US consulate in Sydney to protest against the Australian Government's involvement in military operation in Libya. The protesters slammed the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 and said that true democracy cannot be implemented from the outside. The demonstrators called for an end to the attack on Libya. Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger was present in the demonstration and addressed the crowd.

Ghana

• On April 5, a group called Friends Against Western Forces in Libya held a demonstration in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to protest against the western interference in Libya. The protesters described the western military action in Libya as an attempt to colonize the country and an attack on Islam. The demonstrators, who rallied through some of the main streets of Accra, started the march from Kawukudi through the Kanda Overpass and the French Embassy in the city. The protesters carried placards and shouted "death to the West". Alhaji Rahman, a leading figure of the group, presented a petition to the French Embassy calling for an immediate halt to the west's bombing in Libya.

India

• Libyan students studying in the Indian city Allahabad along with other people held a protest on April 4. The protesters claimed NATO forces are killing innocent civilians in Libya, and foreign nations have targeted the country for its oil.

• On April 3, hundreds of Muslims participated, at the call of Imam-e-Juma and Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, in a protest rally in Lucknow against NATO interference in Libya and Saudi Arabia's involvement in Bahrain. Imam of Tile Wali Masjid Maulana Fazlur Rehman Waizi condemned the US action in Libya and called for an immediate withdrawal of NATO forces.

Protest in Minnesota, United States on April 2, 2011 against the US military intervention in Libya.

Italy

• On April 2, associations, political parties and hundreds of pacifists demonstrated at Piazza Navona in Rome to protest against the NATO intervention. The protesters quoted from Nelson Mandela, Bertolt Brecht and Albert Einstein, displayed banner that read "humanitarian wars do not exist", and waved rainbow-colored anti-war flags. Organizers of the protest rally included Emergency, an NGO founded by Gino Strada. The demonstration rally was attended by musicians such as Andrea Rivers, Assalti Frontali, Frankie Hi-Nrg mc etc.

Serbia

• On April 9, the Serbian Radical Party organized a meeting in Belgrade protesting against the NATO intervention in Libya. On the meeting, a letter was read from Vojislav Šešelj, the party's leader.

Spain

• On April 3, around 1500 people from 30 social organizations and political parties demonstrated in the streets of Seville against the war in Libya. The protesters read a manifest entitled "No to war. Not in our name. Solidarity with the peoples", which salutes "the mobilization of the Arab and North-African peoples for social rights and democratic liberties", condemns "the violent repression from the governments to peaceful demonstrations" and criticizes the corporate media, because of "the absolutely intentional use of information relating to Libya's conflict, getting things out of context and shamelessly manipulating the facts, with the aim to imposing in the West a distorted vision of that country, leaving the ideological grounds well prepared to justify the intervention". They also condemn the participation of Spain in the war, and criticize the double standards of the countries who attack Libya with the excuse of the defense of the human rights of the Libyans, when "they had never support the defense of human rights of peoples subject to genocide recognized by the UN, as the clear examples of the Sahrawi and Palestinian peoples".

• On April 9, more than 200 persons protested in Madrid against the war in Libya, under the banner "No to imperialist war. For the sovereignty of the peoples. No to NATO, bases out.", demanding the government the withdraw of Spanish troops in the "Odissey of the Dawn" operation, shouting "Imperialism is terrorism", "Zapatero killer" or "NATO no, Libya yes".

United States

Main article: US domestic reactions to the 2011 military intervention in Libya

• On April 2, a protest was organized in Minnesota, Minneapolis by the Anti-War Committee (AWC), Emergency Committee to Stop U.S. War in Libya, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), Students for a Democratic Society (U of MN), Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness and other organizations, and was attended by more than fifty protesters. The demonstrators shouted anti-war slogans and displayed signs that read "U.S. hands off Libya," "Foreclose the war, not people’s homes," and "Say no to U.S. war against Libya." A statement issued by organizers said, "Eight years after the start of the war in Iraq, the U.S. has launched a new war in the Middle East, this time against Libya. This is not a 'humanitarian intervention.' This is a war launched to try to control the oil resources of the region." Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee (AWC) told the crowd, "Obama doesn’t have the right to decide for the Libyan people who their leader is or what they do with their oil. Those questions are for the Libyan people to answer and them alone."

July 2011

Libya

• On 1 July 2011, one million Libyan civilians marched in Tripoli to show their support for Gaddafi and the Jamahiriya and their condemnation against the anti-Gaddafi forces, NATO, and Nicolas Sarkozy. The mainstream Western media has been criticized for "mismanaged facts, poor journalism and bias" for not reporting Gaddafi's majority support among the Libyan public.

See also

• Protests against the Iraq War
• Protests against the Vietnam War
• Protests against the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

External links

• Pictures of the protests in Sri Lanka