'U' student arrested in protest of U.N.

By Marta Brill

Daily Staff Reporter

When Rackham student Stephanie Lindemann left Ann Arbor last week to participate in a protest at the United Nations in New York, Lindemann said she was ready to take action despite any negative consequences.

Lindemann was one of 86 protesters arrested at Monday's demonstration at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations where activists protested the U. N. sanctions on Iraq.

"We wanted to make a statement," Lindemann said, adding that she strongly believed it was time to take action in lifting the U.N. sanctions and was "willing to be arrested or even go to jail for that."

Protesters started their march at St. Patrick's Cathedral and made their way through the city toward the U.N., said William Youmans, an LSA junior.

On the steps of the U.S. Mission to the U.N., protesters sang the words, "Wake up, the children are dying" and held pictures of Iraqi children, Lindemann said.

When protesters refused police requests to move from the steps, they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. A summons to appear in court has been scheduled for March.

More than 200 people attended the protest against the current U.S. sanctions in Iraq, including 10 University students. The rally coincided with the ninth anniversary of the Al-Amiriya bomb shelter attack during the Gulf War, where the activist contend 300 Iraqi civilians were killed.

Monday's protest also marked the end of a 28-day fast by members of Voices in the Wilderness, a national organization dedicated to ending the sanctions, said Kathy Kelly, the group's coordinator.

Youmans said action such as the protest is necessary to spark public discourse about the sanctions. The sanctions limit food, medicines and supplies that the U.S. government considers to be potential components for chemical weapons.

It is uplifting to see people dedicated to changing public policy, Youmans said.

"We can't understate the significance of hearing voices that aren't heard in the mainstream media," he said.

Youmans said the recent resignations of U.N. officials such as Hans von Sponeck, the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, indicates his disapproval of U.S. actions.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a written statement that "the U.N. was doing its best to implement the humanitarian program for Iraq and to improve its effectiveness in alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people.

"The council itself realizes the sanctions are a blunt instrument, and that is the reason why they established the oil-for-food scheme to get assistance tot he Iraqi people. I hope in time Iraq will cooperate with the Council, and implement its resolutions so that the sanctions will be lifted," Annan said.

Besides the 10 students who attended the protest, the University has had several ties to the movement to lift the sanctions on Iraq. A national conference on the subject was held here in October, and the Michigan Student Assembly was the first student government in the nation to condemn the sanctions, Youmans said.

"People look upon Michigan as a model for political activism," Youmans said.

Kelly also said the University played a role in bring the sanctions to the public's view.

"There were people from all over the country, but we felt very connected and grateful to the Ann Arbor people," Kelly said.