Anti-War Ireland Condemns Collective Punishment in Fallujah / Condemns US Onslaught

by Anti-War Ireland Thu Apr 08, 2004 23:34 irishanti-war at excite dot com 087 2134160, or 087 1258325

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Thursday, 08 April 2004


ANTI-WAR IRELAND CONDEMNS COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT OF IRAQI CIVILIANS IN FALUJA
Anti-War Ireland, a recently-formed broad-based coalition of anti-war
groups, today condemned the onslaught of Faluja by U.S. Occupation troops as
collective punishment.

Caoimhe Butterly, Anti-War Ireland PRO said:

Reports that Occupation troops are refusing entry of aid trucks carrying vitally-needed food, medicine and water into Faluja,
coupled with testimonies on Arabic news networks that ambulances and
civilian cars are being fired upon, would indicate that Occupation troops
are again acting in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The siege of Faluja which began shortly after the killing and mutilation of four U.S. mercenaries (employees of a N.C. security firm, Blackwater Security Consulting), has contributed to the recent death toll of over 400
Iraqis and at least 35 Occupation troops as fighting continues across Najav,
Karbala, Ramadi, Kut, Baghdad, etc. The uprisings, which began on Sunday,
follow in the wake of the death of twenty unarmed protestors, killed when
Spanish troops opened fire on a demonstration in Najav.

Anti-War Ireland echoes the calls of Iraqis who stress that such brutality
and collective punishments will only result in an intensification of prolonged violence. Numerous non-violent demonstrations have been staged across Iraq demanding an end to the bombardment of Faluja and a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, Mustafa Abd Al-Hamid has threatened to withdraw
from the council unless Occupation troops end the bloodshed . While condemning the killing of the four U.S. mercenaries a member of the Committee of Religious Clerics stated that U.S. troops “ are doing the same by mutilating residential neighbourhoods” and that the present siege “ only brings hatred and enmity…they killed the elderly praying at the mosques, as
well as women and children. This is indiscriminate killing.”

Anti-War Ireland calls upon Irish civil society and politicians to be voices
of courage and conscience in condemning the actions of the U.S.-led
Occupation troops in Iraq. Anti- War Ireland will continue organising, along
with numerous other anti-war groups such as AMBUSH2004 and the I.AW.M. to
ensure that the upcoming visit of George W. Bush is not ‘business as usual’
and to highlight the Irish government’s complicity, through the use of
Shannon, with the U.S. war machine.

For more information please contact:
Caoimhe Butterly (087-213-4160)

by Fintan Lane - Convenor, Anti-War Ireland Fri Apr 09, 2004 01:12 irishanti-war at excite dot com 087 1258325

Incidentally, Anti-War Ireland hopes to have its own website up and running soon, and it will contain regular updates on US military doings at Shannon, as well as feature articles, discussion threads, news, events, and so on.

Watch this space.

by Apollyon Fri Apr 09, 2004 01:35

I'm going to print this bullshit out and wipe my ass with it. Why do so-called peace camapigners always side with the thugs and the terrorists?

by Northern Eye Fri Apr 09, 2004 01:45

We're not. We're siding with the Iraqi Resistence.

You're gonna wipe your butt with bullshit you say? Does that not defeat the whole purpose of butt-wiping in the first place?

by Tim Fri Apr 09, 2004 17:05

Iraq can end up going to hell in a handbasket if the US and it's allies do not respect the people of Iraq.

It's bad enough that the US supported Saddam through the bad years,just to deal with Iran, the 1991 war, followed by ten years of sanctions, with no concern for the people. On top of all of that, to invade, and occupy the country and kill thousands of its people on the basis of lies is a disaster for everyone (except the US oil companies).

Anyone watching CNN yesterday might have picked up a few interesting soundbites.

General Sanchez addressed the media in the Coalition Provisional Authority HQ, he didn't talk about trouble across the country, he talked about engagements across the battlespace.

This is how the military rulers of Iraq see the country? A year into the occupation, there have been no elections, little electricity,mass unemployment and disillusionment with the US promise to bring stability,security and democracy.

Dead civilians are 'collateral damage' and the country is a 'battlespace' - not people's homes, hospitals and schools,but simply a place for the military to fire missiles and bullets to flex its power and project the authority of a criminal president.

It was exactly a year today that the statue of scumbag Hussein was pulled down in Faridos square in Bagdhad, and Iraqis still have not had the chance to vote for their representatives, still do not have 24 hour supply of electricity, safety on the streets at night, or the safety to protest against the occupation. Today the US military sealed off the square and, through loudspeakers announced that it was a sealed military zone.

There will be no public assembly in the square today. Just military personnel with guns and others tearing down pictures of Al Sadr and banners protesting the occupation.

It's clear that Iraqis do not want a US occupation, but it's not safe to protest in Iraq as some trigger happy marine may kill you.
There have been regular protests in Iraq that don't get much news coverage, and yesterday was the first time I saw an interview with someone from the Iraqi women's movement, which gets little coverage presumably because they don't use RPGs and Kalashnikovs.

Again this contributes to the shallow picture of Iraqis as insurgents or cheering pro-Americans. There is little recognition that these are millions of people with lives, opinions, and concerns and methods of acting, some peaceful, some reasonable.

The people, and women in particular are not safe on the streets at night. Perhaps they should move to the Oil fields, where the Military have ensured total security for Bush's no.1 priority.

Thousands are unemployed in Iraq, even though there is much work to be done to rebuild the country. This will be done by US multi-nationals and paid for with Oil that belongs to the people.

and in related news...

Was anyone watching Bob Kerry talking to Condaleeza Rice during the 9/11 commissioner hearing yesterday? A bit of a loon. He started off by saying he was in favour of the Iraq war, but then said that the current military tactics were wrong and risked losing the whole thing, ( so far ,somewhat reasonable for a pro-war politician) then he said that the problem was not terrorism, but radical islam and that terrorism was 'just a tactic' of radical muslims.

So, even if radical muslims tried to oppose US policy through economic boycotts, they'd still be the enemy?

But the prize has to go to Rumsfeld,master of understatement in the face of brutal bloodshed.
'This is just a moment in Iraq's path to democracy. There will be more moments, some good and some less good'

Iraqis want real control of their own lives and their country
If the whitehouse and Pentagon sees them as troublemakers,insurgents in a battle space then that's what it will descend into.
With politicians this detached from reality, things are not looking good for Iraqis.

by Deirdre Clancy Fri Apr 09, 2004 17:18

Gosh, it really makes me take people seriously when they use toilet humour to describe their ideological position.

Fact no. 1: The thugs and terrorists are ostensibly the coalition forces who carried out this assault (one of many) on Iraq, without any sanction from the international community. They are currently holding around 10,000 people in prison in Iraq without legal representation, or without charge, or without trial. And they then have the gall to tell the people of Iraq they are liberated from tyranny? In this case, the central and most brutal thugs are the state-sponsored terrorists.

Fact no. 2: Contrary to Northern Eye's comment, I as a supporter of Anti-War Ireland regret the violence that has grown up in Iraq from resistance forces, as it merely causes more misery and bereavement. However, it doesn't surprise me in the least. Both the US and UK administrations must have known that their acts of terror would generate yet more resistance and recruiting for the militias now emerging in Iraq. This would happen in most societies where there is constant imperialistic bombardment with high-tech weaponry. It has happened in Ireland in recent history, when things were a lot more low-tech in that department. What the hell did they expect? It seemes to me as if the US/UK and their supporters were actively trying to stir up discontent in the Middle East. Which country is next? Will they use the importation of resistance fighters from, say, Syria as an excuse to "pre-emptively" strike that country too? This bombardment and the sanctions were about nothing more than an attempt to bend Iraq to the will of the American and British governments, for economic and ideological gain. It wasn't about respect for Iraqi culture or society, about which the invading forces have displayed a stunning ignorance. In the meantime, the cannon fodder, which consists of mainly working-class US citizens who joined the army as the only feasible way to get an education, are returning back to the US in body bags, through Shannon Airport. The military has tried to refuse to give medical assistance to returned soldiers who relate that they are suffering the after effects of DU exposure, as this would constitute an admission that they've used DU extensively in Iraq and left a lethal legacy there. No wonder there is an upsurge of conscientious objectors within the military. The first casualty of war is truth, as the saying goes.

by Sean G. Fri Apr 09, 2004 17:42

doesn't automatically mean siding with the armed resistance

and supporting the Iraqi resistance from here includes people involved in the Stop Esso campaign, or people who walk, or cycle, take the bus, or car pool, rather than drive a single passenger car everywhere, after all, what is motivating this occupying force?

gasoline

...but that's the boring part that requires a long term change in our lifestyle, not just occassional noise and flag waving.

by Northern Eye Fri Apr 09, 2004 17:57

I wish the violence wasn't happening either but it is and my heart lies witht the Iraqis. If the IR dosen't make that country ungovernable for the American invaders then they'll be all over the Mid East like a bad rash in a couple of years and still be controlling Iraq by proxy. People have to deal witht the fact that the Iraqis have decided that war is the only way to gain true freedom from outside interference. Tatics like the taking of innocent hostages are reprehensible but theres nothing we can do about it. The only way to avoid more incidents like this happening in the future is for the circumstances that allow this to manifest to be opposed. The American imperial adventure has let the genie out of the bottle and theres nothing can put it back in now.

by Sean G. Fri Apr 09, 2004 18:12

"People have to deal witht the fact that the Iraqis have decided that war is the only way to gain true freedom from outside interference."

That's not true. there's plenty of Iraqis resisting in other ways.
The US has no way of combatting non-violent resistance, whereas, with violent resistance, they are well trained and well armed.
It is the Pentagon that sees military force as the only way to decide things.
Even if it does become a new Vietnam, the US can hang in there for a long time as the sons of daughters of ordinary americans and ordinary Iraqis get killed.

If everyone just ceased to co-operate then it would be over a lot quicker. Strikes, boycotts etc will hit the White House gangsters (in the wallet), cos you sure as hell won't find Bush, Rummy or Wolfowitz taking the same risks as some 18 yr old from Alabama.

by Deirdre Clancy Fri Apr 09, 2004 19:38

Sean G. makes a few assumptions around my posting. First, the context in which the Iraqi resistance was being mentioned was clearly in terms of the armed resistance. I wasn't denying that any other type of resistance exits.

Second, please don't make assumptions about people's lifestyle. I don't drive a car and haven't for quite some time . Many people I know in the anti-war movement don't either. And the ones that do, often do because their work requires it and they limit their use of it. I would add that the people in anti-war Ireland have done a lot more than flag waving and posturing. My own involvement has constituted a fair bit more than that too, and has been long term and life changing.

Lifestyle changes aren't unnecessary; nobody needs to be told that. You are preaching to the converted here. However, cycling a bike isn't going to stop the occupation either. Everybody's contribution matters, no matter how small or large, and it's unfortunate that some people feel the need to make assumptions about what people do and don't do for the movement. This type of sanctimonious attitude is what turns people off joining activist groups.

by Anti-War Ireland supporter Fri Apr 09, 2004 19:41

It's all very well for people in the safety of their Irish homes to throw their eyes up to heaven at the 'violence' used by the armed resistance in Iraq, but what if you lived in Falluja and had the Americans blowing your family and friends to pieces?

They are an occupying force that don't even share the same culture as those they are repressing. Iraqis have the right to resist the presence of these foreign killers on their streets. Try to put yourself in their shoes.

by P. Hughes Sat Apr 10, 2004 05:14

More power to the people of Iraq for finally joining together to oppose the colonial regime in Baghdad.

For a year the occupation forces have divided booties between themselves and Israel, while systematically attempting to degrade and Americanise Iraqi culture.

What is developing in Fallujah and other areas is a revolution motivated by intense patriotism and admirable spiritual beliefs. The Iraqi people are taking what they REALLY want - not some shack propped up by the United States, not some liberal dictatorship plotting to turn Iraqi culture upside down - but a government by and for the Iraqi people based on their common religious and cultural heritage, free of pervasive foreign influence.

More power to them. If what's playing out in Fallujah and the West Bank is the essence of Western democracy, what do any of us have to look forward to?

by Sean G Thu Apr 15, 2004 21:33

Deirdre, my comments were in response to those of Apollyon and Northern Eye.
They weren't directed at you or anyone else , don't bite my head off, you picked up the wrong tone.

There's a lot of preaching to the converted going on here, but the comments are valid, and most people (activists or not) can and should reduce their dependence on gasoline.
I don't look down my nose at people for driving cars, gasoline is an addiction.
My orange fluffy hat is off to those who minimise the damage they do to the environment, and the support they give to the oil industry. It's not easy in the 21st century.
I got rid of my car a few years back, and I won't pretend I haven't been inconvenienced (or soaked in the rain, or puked on at the bus stop)

I do disagree with one thing you write though.

"cycling a bike isn't going to stop the occupation either" - If we all used the bike instead of the car when practical, then the occupation would be unprofitable.

What you and your 4 friends did was a great action and a necessary action in the face of a coming war. I have no criticism at all to make of that.
Rather than being sanctimonious or sneering at you, I was just commenting (not preaching) on how we can create the conditions to prevent the long occupations or even the next war for oil, by removing the INCENTIVE in the first place.
less dead people, less rich people and less activists in court.


Obviously, while we wait (and work) for those 'ideal' conditions we should do what we can given the situation at hand.