Voices in the Wilderness, an organization to end the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq, came to speak at the University of Memphis Thursday.
As part of its Mirror of Truth tour, the group campaigns to oppose the Bush administration’s pushes for war with Iraq.
There were no representatives presenting opposing viewpoints.
Ceylon Mooney, a volunteer for VW, outlined his organization’s argument against sanctions and war against Iraq.
“None of the arguments the Bush administration has for the sanctions or war holds any water,” Mooney said.
The main reason the Bush administration gives to support regime change in Iraq is countries store weapons of mass destruction, said Mooney.
But the argument is not credible because there are other countries in the world that have them, Mooney said.
“It can’t be that Iraq has the most UN violations,” Mooney said. “Or it can’t be that (Iraq) has ties to al Qaeda because Iraq is a secular state.
“The only reason that I can see is the Bush administration’s concert over oil and a dictatorship that is not a United States ally,” he added.
Michael Miles, a VW volunteer, said The American people “are more resourceful,” drawing a reference to the civil rights movement here in Memphis and the non-violence movement like the ones in the 1960s. Miles said he urges people to use that means of protest.
But by going to war, Miles added, the government tells us that non-violence does not work.
Anna Mullins, a junior English and political science major and volunteer at the Midsouth Peace and Justice Center, said she thinks that most students walking around campus are apathetic to the plight of peace activists.
“I think that people, if asked about Iraq, would not be able to tell you why there could be a war,” she said.
“Basically the government has seen that the public does not like Hussein, and they have capitalized on it,” she said.
Shanon Fowler, sophomore sociology major, said he thinks that most Memphians are either pro-war or don’t care.
“I think people must get informed, stop listening to others, like the media and the government, and form their own opinion,” he said.
