From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: "International" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 19:36:08 -0500
To: "International" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Challenge IV arrives in Baghdad, Iraq
IRAQ SANCTIONS CHALLENGE
A Project of the International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, # 206 New York, NY 10011
(212) 633-6646 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
January 13th, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTN: ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Contact: Emily Benedetto, Emilie Gobe
(212) 633 - 6646
US DELEGATION HEADED BY FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY
GENERAL RAMSEY CLARK ARRIVES IN BAGHDAD IN
SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WITH IRAQI PEOPLE ON GULF
WAR ANNIVERSARY:
Group of 50 people delivers medicine in defiance of US -led UN
sanctions, denounces U.S. government for War Crimes and Crimes
Against Humanity for ten years of blockade and bombing
The International Action Center's (IAC) Fourth Iraq Sanctions
Challenge headed by former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark
arrived in Baghdad this afternoon, being among the first US
delegations to fly to Iraq since the imposition of sanctions in 1990.
They were greeted at the airport by enthusiastic applause and
cheering, and joined Iraqis in chanting "US and UN end the sanctions
now". The delegation is taking a political stance in opposition to the
ten years old sanctions and bombing that have killed nearly two million
people, holding this to be a Crime Against Humanity and a War
Crime.
At a press conference at the airport Ramsey Clark declared, "The US
must end the genocidal sanctions against Iraq. The whole world
demands that the sanctions be lifted completely and immediately".
This is the fourth Iraq Sanctions Challenge to travel to Iraq and the
first to have done so by air. In the past, they have been required to
travel overland by bus from Amman to Baghdad, a 20 hour trip,
because of the U.S. and British imposed no-fly zone, which prohibits
flights over two thirds of Iraq. The Challenge is part of the growing
opposition to the sanctions, which is taking a strong foothold
worldwide. More than 100 flights have entered Iraq in the last five
months.
The delegation brings together people from fifteen US states and
seven countries, including Canada, Japan, Lebanon, Greece, Britain,
Iceland and Palestine. It includes students, teachers, long time
activists, social workers, lawyers, and others committed to peace. As
part of their efforts to understand the consequences and defy the
sanctions, tomorrow the delegation plans to visit the Association of
Peace, Friendship, and Solidarity. On Jan. 16th, the tenth anniversary
of the beginning of the Gulf War, they will be participating in a
demonstration in Baghdad.
The Sanctions Challenge delegation is delivering over $1.5 million
worth of medicine and school supplies - basic necessities that have
been denied. As delegate and IAC co-coordinator Deirdre Sinnott
points out, "This medical aid is a gift to the Iraqi people, but we know
that this token from the United States does not bring back their
bustling economy. Before the embargo, Iraq was one of the most
prosperous nations in the region, and now the sanctions prevent the
Iraqi government from meeting the basic needs of its population. We
demand a complete end to the sanctions."
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
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