A protest at the rock on Farm Lane on Monday sought to increase awareness of the current bloodshed in Libya.
On Feb. 15, Libyan anti-government protests turned violent. The International Federation for Human Rights estimates the current death toll is between 300 and 400 people.
Muataz Boker, a Libyan obtaining his master’s degree in electrical engineering at MSU, said the protest began as a spontaneous show of unity with Libyans. Monday morning, Boker called other Libyans he knew in the area. By the afternoon, a group of about 20 were at the rock on Farm Lane, holding signs and chanting loudly near the sidewalk. The group also spray painted the rock and the snow around it with messages against Muammar Gaddafi,
the current president of Libya.
“We want the world to know what our people are suffering,” Boker said. “We want democracy. We want our universal rights. The tyrant is killing (Libyans) by the masses.”
Boker said the protest was a way of raising awareness of events occurring on the other side of the world.
The students will protest again from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday at the rock on Farm Lane.
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