The Public Comment portion of the City Council meeting on March 11th was a lengthy one. Forty-one community members spoke in support of the City of Duluth passing a ceasefire resolution in Gaza.
Perhaps the most prevalent question about Duluth supporting a ceasefire on the other side of the world... why is this a local issue? "A lot of the speakers actually addressed this," says Duluth City Council Member Azrin Awal. "If the federal government is not listening to its residents... then that responsibility falls on the local government." With help from other council members and many community groups, Awal has drafted a ceasefire resolution that is slated to be on the agenda for the March 25th council meeting.
Duluth would be far from the first city in Minnesota to draft a resolution of this nature. Hastings was the first city to voice their support, and Minneapolis was soon to follow. The most recent addition to the list is St. Paul. "We are seeing a growing list of cities in Minnesota calling for this ceasefire," says Awal. "At the end of the day this is a symbolic resolution." Awal goes on to say that though the resolution does not change policy, it does send a message to state and national leaders.
The ceasefire resolution is now public and can be viewed on the City of Duluth website.
You can hear Community Connection every Tuesday and Thursday at 8am on Northland Morning. This edition of Community Connection is made possible in part by Lakewalk Surgery Center.
