Thaindian News

Washington, March 27 (IANS) A number of protesters Saturday gathered outside the White House to raise concern against the US military operation in Libya, calling on Washington to stop meddling in the North African country.

Carrying signs reading - “$ for Jobs and Schools, not War on Libya,” “Stop US French and British War on Libya” - dozens of protesters lined outside the White House, Xinhua reported.

The protesters also cautioned US authorities against the intervention becoming a protracted engagement like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Expressing opposition to the military intervention, which entered its second week with US and coalition military enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya by bombing government targets, the protesters were shouting: “We’ve seen this war before, same story different war.”

Brian Becker, national director of the ANSWER coalition, an anti-war umbrella group, said they were protesting the bombing of Libya, and “people are doing this all over the US, Los Angeles, San Francisco.”

“US 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,” said Becker.

Betsy Harmon, an activist with DC 9/11 Truth Organisation. Harmon said that “it’s a lie that we are bombing Libya for humanitarian purposes, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Libya has oil” that the US “wants to control,” said Harmon, who carried a sign that says “Libya (War) is about Oil, not Human Rights.