------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Feb. 13, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
KURDS TELL PENTAGON: "HANDS OFF IRAQ!" Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration against Pentagon war that took place around the world in late January was a Kurdish protest in Baghdad. Kurds traveled to the Iraqi capital from the cities of Sulaymania, Arbil and Dahouk in northern Iraq. Hundreds demonstrated outside the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on Jan. 28. (Arabia.com) They vowed to fight alongside their Iraqi sisters and brothers against U.S. military aggression. Their banners read, "Kurdish clans are human shield to protect Iraq." The Kurdish people share a distinct language and culture. They live in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. During the first Gulf War, the CIA cynically tried to manipulate their struggle for self-determination by working with some Kurdish groups as a weapon against the Iraqi government. It was cynical because the bloodiest repression against the Kurdish people has been carried out by a staunch U.S. ally--Turkey, which has waged a merciless war against this nationally oppressed people's right to self-determination. The CIA later abandoned its allies among the Kurds in 1991 because Turkey, a NATO member and important military outpost for the Pentagon, was viewed as more vital. Hushair Selim Bach, one of the Kurdish clan chiefs who journeyed to Baghdad on Jan. 28, told Arab News, "We oppose any U.S. presence in northern Iraq and vehemently condemn the practices of agents, who made out of this region a fertile ground to [Israeli] Mossad and the CIA." Those demonstrating outside the UN office called on the international community to stand up with Iraq in its "legitimate self-defense." --L.F. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
