http://www.workers.org/2005/world/italy-iraq-1013/
Int'l conference says:
'Let Iraqis speak!'
By John Catalinotto
Rome
Published Oct 6, 2005 9:57 PM
Anti-imperialist organizers from 15 European countries and elsewhere, including
the United States, helped build solidarity between the anti-war movement and
the Iraqi resistance at a working meeting held here on Oct. 1 and at a militant
public rally the next day before a standing-room-only crowd.
Awni al-Kalemji, spokesperson for
the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance in Europe.
WW photo: John Catalinotto
The Free Iraq Committee of Italy, which organized the events, and its
counterparts in other European countries aim at providing a platform in the
"West" for authentic representatives of the Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-led
occupation.
To move toward that goal, the working meeting decided to organize a European
tour for Haj Ali al-Qaysi, the hooded prisoner of Abu Ghraib who has become a
symbol of the brutal torture U.S. forces inflict on occupied Iraq.
A full-fledged conference had been planned for Oct. 1-2 in Chianciano, Italy,
that would have allowed the Iraqi representatives to speak and have launched
Haj Ali's tour. Representatives of six diverse civilian organizations active in
Iraq who give political support to the armed resistance had accepted
invitations to participate.
The Italian authorities, under pressure from the U.S. government, refused visas
to the resistance spokespeople for reasons of alleged national security. They
then used a bureaucratic maneuver at the last minute to deny a visa to Haj Ali,
claiming he needed a six-month resident permit from Jordan, not the three-month
one he had.
The Free Iraq Committee's struggle against these denials of democratic rights
aroused sympathy and solidarity for the event from the Italian peace movement,
rank-and-file union groups (COBAS) and many progressive individuals. The fight
for these rights will continue to be part of the focus of the struggle to hold,
as soon as possible, an important conference of that type either in another
European country or in Italy.
Rally applauds resistance
Iraqis who live in Europe and support the resistance spoke at the rally. The
key talk was by Awni al-Kalemji, spokesperson of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance
(IPA). To the cheers of the mostly Italian audience, al-Kalemji said that the
U.S. had lost the military battle for Iraq and that in the end the Iraqis would
defeat the occupation.
Al-Kalemji also spoke of the attempt to get in touch with the IPA's secretary,
Abduljabbar al-Kubaysi, a leading political figure among the over 100,000
Iraqis held in 200 U.S.-run prisons in Iraq. Neither his family nor any legal
representatives have been able to visit him, let alone to prepare his defense.
An international team of jurists and attorneys is protesting this illegal
seizure of al-Kubaysi by the U.S. occupation forces, and is attempting to get
access to him. Kawthar al-Kubaysi, his wife, was scheduled to speak at the Oct.
2 meeting but had to cancel to continue her attempts to reach her husband.
Another important speaker from the Arab countries was Abdulhaleem Kandil, a
spokesperson of Kifaya (Enough) in Egypt. This group supports the Iraqi
resistance and works in Egypt to extend the democratic rights of the people.
There are, he said, 20,000 political prisoners under the pro-U.S. Mubarak
regime in that country.
>From the United States, the Interna tional Action Center participated on the
>presiding committee of the conference and also described the recent upsurge in
>struggle in the U.S. following the "Camp Casey" actions and the reaction to
>Hurricane Katrina.
In addition, a student from San Francisco State College studying in Florence
described her group's actions in stopping recruiting on campus.
Among the well-known personalities speaking at the rally was Giovanni Fran zoni
of the Saint Paul base community in Italy. Franzoni is a former priest and
writer known for his contribution to Liberation Theology. Swedish author Jan
Myrdal and French philosopher George Labica sent statements of solidarity.
Impulse for Italian movement
Leonardo Mazzei of the Free Iraq Committee read a statement that the
delegations from 15 countries had agreed upon the day before. The goals
included the strengthening of a network of groups in the various countries
giving political support to the resistance; organizing a coordinated tour for
Haj Ali; and going forward with the attempt to hold a conference in Europe like
the one originally planned in Italy.
As the committee was making its report, the campaign had already made a big
breakthrough in Italy itself. When the conference was first proposed, the Free
Iraq Committee was isolated in the anti-war movement and got no favorable
publicity, even in the left media. On Oct. 1, however, the independent leftist
daily newspaper Il Manifesto ran a front-page story on the Italian government's
refusal to grant a visa to Haj Ali.
The organizers said that this shift meant that the question of solidarity with
the Iraqi resistance was now part of the discussion in the anti-war movement
and among the political parties.
Catalinotto represented the Interna tional Action Center at the conference.
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