WORCESTER – Local activists gathered in the rain on Thursday outside the offices of Rep. Jim McGovern as part of a national standout for peace in Ukraine.
The Worcester-based Center for Nonviolent Solutions coordinated the event. Members of the Worcester Catholic Worker House and the New England Peace Pagoda also took part.
For over an hour, demonstrators stood on the sidewalk outside McGovern’s offices with banners and signs. Passing motorists occasionally greeted the event with honks of support.
Attendees delivered McGovern’s staff a letter signed by 20 peace activists from across central and western Massachusetts, urging him to use his position in Congress to promote peace talks between the two sides rather than allow the United States to send further arms to Ukraine.
“Negotiate. Negotiate. Negotiate. Our request may sound like a broken record to some, but negotiations are how all wars ultimately end. The US needs to push hard for this. The recent decision to send tanks to Ukraine is moving this conflict in the wrong direction,” said Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, the event coordinator.
Similar events took place outside the offices of at least five members of congress from Massachusetts on Thursday. The demonstrations are part of a coordinated series of standouts organized by Mass Peace Action, which is part of the Peace in Ukraine Coalition.
“We stand here today in solidarity with the many voices in Europe opposed to flooding Ukraine with weapons. Many fear that sending tanks will not bring the war to a quick conclusion, but broaden its scope.” Duffy said.
According to American military estimates, at least 100,000 have died since the Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
