-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: "International" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 20:59:42 -0500
To: "International" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Iraq Sanctions Challenge to travel Jan 12
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, NY, NY 10011
212-633-6646 fax: 212-633-2889
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.iacenter.org
Founder Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General
January 4, 2001
For Immediate release
Press Contact: Deirdre Sinnott
212-633-6646
RAMSEY CLARK�S SANCTIONS CHALLENGE IV:
DELEGATION SET TO DEFY U.S. POLICY ARRIVES IN
AMMAN ON THE WAY TO BAGHDAD, SAT. JANUARY 13, 2001
Defying U.S./UN sanctions, a group of over 50 delegates led by former U.S.
Attorney General Ramsey Clark will depart from the United States for the
Middle East on Jan. 12 and leave from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad, Iraq on Jan.
13. The delegation from the U.S. plans to arrive in Iraq to commemorate the
tenth anniversary of the U.S.-led Gulf War.
This is the fourth Iraq Sanctions Challenge by Clark�s International Action
Center. The 50 delegates include anti-war and anti- sanctions activists,
educators, students and members of religious groups. They will defy U.S./UN
imposed sanctions by taking supplies to Iraq without licence.
More than 1 million Iraqi people, mostly children and seniors, have died as
a result of 10 years of U.S./UN sanctions.
The delegates plan to fly on Royal Jordanian Airlines directly to Baghdad.
In recent months people from many countries, including UN Security Council
countries Russia, Britian and France, Spain, Greece and many Middle East
nations, have defied the U.S./British illegal ban on flights to Iraq.
Clark is known throughout the U.S. and the Middle East for his
ground-breaking work in the last 10 years of fighting the sanctions against
Iraq and for his overall solidarity with Middle Eastern people against
oppression from the U.S.
After visiting Iraq, delegates plan to visit a Palestinian refugee camp in
Amman, Jordan and then deliver medicines to the West Bank in solidarity
with the uprising against Israeli occupation. The trip is sponsored by the
International Action Center.
"We know that the amount of humanitarian aid we bring cannot truly meet the
needs of the Iraqi people," said delegate Sara Flounders, a co-director of
the IAC. "Only ending the sanctions and allowing Iraq to resume normal trade
relations can bring an end to the country's catastrophic economic
situation.
�On Dec. 20, in one of his first statements as George W. Bush's secretary of
state nominee, Gen. Colin Powell threatened tighter sanctions and increased
aggression against Iraq. Powell headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff under
Bush's father and commanded U.S. forces during the 1991 Gulf War.
"This demonstrates the great urgency for anti-war and anti- sanctions forces
to stand up and mobilize right now," Flounders commented. "We must send a
strong message to the incoming Bush administration that we won't tolerate
further aggression against the Iraqi people.
"Jan. 16-17 is the tenth anniversary of the start of one of the worst
massacres in history," Flounders continued. "More than 100,000 Iraqis were
killed while the United States lost about 141 personnel in the Gulf War.
The U.S. used an integrated strategy of massive bombing, more than 110,000
ariel sorties in 42 days, and tight economic sanctions in an effort to
permanently weaken Iraq. Washington's goal has always been to return Iraq
to semi-colonial bondage so that U.S. oil companies and banks can dominate
its vast oil resources."
Flounders said that the IAC is urging anti-sanctions activists to turn out
en masse for the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural protest in Washington with signs
and banners demanding an end to sanctions and to all U.S. aggression.
Groups participating in the Iraq Sanctions Challenge include International
Peace Project, Fellowship of Reconsilation, Student for Unity Portland
State University, Veterans for Peace, Shifa International, Committee in
Support of the Iraqi People, Fight Israeli State Terrorism (FIST), American
Muslims for Global Peace & Justice, Canadian Islamic Congress, Al Awda,
Bard Student Action Collective, Northhampton Committee to Lift the
Sanctions, Staten Island College Voice, Pax Christi, Arab Cultural
Assoication of Japan, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center and the
American Muslim Council. Almost half the delegates are students and
educators representing colleges and universities across the U.S.
For updates on the Iraq Sanctions Challenge or for information on planned
protests, visit the Web site www.iacenter.org or call (212) 633-6646.
International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 New York, NY 10011
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.iacenter.org CHECK OUT SITE
http://www.mumia2000.org phone: 212 633-6646 fax: 212 633-2889 *To make a
tax-deductible donation, go to http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
