Detroit, MI – Despite the chilly weather, over 50 people came to Hart Plaza to protest Trump’s wars and his agenda in commemoration of Human Rights Day, December 13.
As part of the rally, Daanyal Syed of Detroit Anti-War Committee stated, “This administration is bloodthirsty and looking to both plunder Venezuela for its oil and gold and use our tax dollars to stimulate the war economy. We know this because the very same war profiteers who profit off war with Venezuela have already made and continue to make millions off the genocide of Palestinians, the horrifying conditions in Sudan, in the Philippines, and across the world wherever the U.S. intervenes.”
Syed went on to condemn the people in power who the Trump administration’s war mongering and war profiteering, saying, that the mayor to city council are “complicit in the rights violations committed daily and funded with our tax dollars” due to their refusal to pass Detroit Anti-War’s divestment resolution.
Rue Rodriguez, speaking on behalf of the immigrant rights organization Detroit Community Action Committee, told the crowd, “It is the U.S. who forces people to flee their homelands and migrate here in the first place. The oppressive policies of the U.S. on the people of Venezuela have led to mass displacement, forcing people to flee their homelands due to mass destruction, bombings and sanctions.”
It is the United States that creates the conditions for people to leave their homes, and when they come to the U.S., they are terrorized even further.
Rodriguez called upon local politicians to take action against Trump and his agenda, stating the city government “would rather lie down and play nice with people who seek to tear our communities apart.” She ended her speech by calling to make Detroit a sanctuary city, which would enable Detroiters to fight back against Trump’s terroristic use of ICE against our communities.
Jo Pico of Freedom Road Socialist Organization ended the rally with, “The truth is that we are the only ones who will organize to end human rights violations once and for all. Furthermore, I know we can and will tear down the terrible system of imperialism because we have already proven that we are the ones capable of leading the fight against Trump while our politicians time and again are only capable of capitulating to him.”
After finishing the rally, the protesters took the street, marching up Woodward Avenue and around Campus Martius Park. As shoppers looked on, the marchers chanted “Trump wants war, Trump wants oil. Hands off Venezuelan soil!” and hoisted signs with demands like “From Caracas to Jenin, stop the U.S. war machine.”
People chanted loudly and angrily. Detroit made it clear that they continue to fight against Trump and his administration’s gross human rights violations. More than that, the community will continue to fight the city government, to make it protect the city from Trump and his agenda.
Organized in conjunction with the Anti-War Action Network’s Week of Action, the groups behind this action include Detroit Anti-War Committee, Engineers Against Apartheid, CodePink – Detroit, Detroit Community Action Committee, Anakbayan – Metro Detroit, Detroit Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Macomb Defenders Rising, Wayne State Students for a Democratic Society, Palestinian Youth Movement, DROP Trump Coalition, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
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