This is not just about peace
This is not just about peace.
It is also about the people of Iraq, harrowed for decades by a fearsome dictatorship.
It is not easy to make clear-cut statements about Iraq these days without being equated with war-mongers or self-righteous US propaganda. From the peace movement’s perspective, there is no question that the United States, Britain and their present allies are attempting by all available means to achieve their aggressive goals in the Arab region under a cloak of "fighting terrorism". We do not cast doubt on the responsibility which the above-mentioned powers bear for many of the region’s problems. In fact, we believe the United States must take the blame, not only for facilitating the dictatorship in Iraq, but for actively supporting it. We remember well how, when the uprising against the regime began in 1991, the Americans granted the Iraqi air force access to Iraqi air space, enabling it to bomb the rebels. The results: numerous civilian massacres, ruined cities, scorched landscapes. That is the war that Saddam Hussein has been waging against the people of Iraq for 25 years, purely and simply to consolidate his own power.
When the uprising was crushed, the Iraqi people lost faith in the West. This experience of death is carved deep in the collective Iraqi memory. It is untenable for us, therefore, to accept uncritically the policy of the American administration and those who support it. At the same time, we are obliged to look on as the global peace movement is abused in a sham to mislead the Iraqi people into believing that its dictatorial regime has the support of millions around the world (cf. Iraqi press on 16 Feb 2003). Quote: "Global slap in the face for American axis of evil", "We have triumphed over evil", "The whole world extends solidarity to the Iraqi people and their wise leadership". The message of these extracts is surely clear enough. The Iraqi regime is always at pains to seize any opportunity to shore up its power. A regime that boasts 100% popular support continually makes people disappear, forcing families to pay for the cartridges required to kill their sons. A regime that boasts respect of women’s rights has women raped and forces them into prostitution, only to have them beheaded as a consequence. A regime which claims ethical legitimacy pursues ethnic cleansing against its own population, with forced evacuations of Arabs, Kurds and other minorities. A regime that vehemently proclaims rights for Palestinians tramples its own citizens underfoot.
These circumstances prompt us to take the floor and draw attention to the immeasurable sufferings of the Iraqi people under a bloody dictatorship which has deprived its citizens of their wealth and liberty. We are sick of being confronted with arguments which posit the present power structures in Iraq as a "guarantee of national unity" or of "security in the Middle East". We are fed up with being told again and again that Saddam’s regime assures the co-existence of Moslems, Christians and other religious groups, because we know the reverse is true. Since Saddam’s regime assumed power, more than 500,000 Christians and 3 million Shiites, Sunnis and atheists have fled the country. The regime which parades Christians among its government ministers has undertaken to turn all Iraqis, regardless of their religious or ethnic origins, into targets of its terror.
No, we do not want war. And we are well aware that war costs many lives. But nor can we tolerate the Iraqi people being subjected any longer to the brutality of a clan which will baulk at nothing. From the earliest years of their power, Saddam’s clan demonstrated to the populace how they intended to deal with purported adversaries by staging executions in public places. Over a million Iraqis have lost their lives under Saddam Hussein. Another four million have escaped abroad. The regime’s provocations of the international community and its non-compliance with the terms of the UN embargo have made life in Iraq increasingly difficult. Iraq’s rulers are letting their own people go hungry while they hoard the aid sent by the UN and other humanitarian organizations to use it for political purposes. And yet experience in Northern Iraq has shown that, even under tough conditions, it is quite possible to distribute this aid in a manner which at least alleviates popular misery. Saddam has made it clear to the people from the outset: "I am not suffering under this embargo. I – Allah be praised — have more than enough to eat. It is you who are suffering."
And again and again the dictator astounds the international public with new provocations whose consequences have to be borne by the Iraqi people.
We are weary of seeing Iraqis pay with their blood for the crimes of one dictator. Although many regard a comparison with the Nazi regime as inappropriate, we can observe many parallels. At present the Iraqi people are unable to topple this dictatorship themselves. The opposition in Iraq has been systematically wiped out. The world has looked on all too long while a criminal system has violated all the laws of humanity, smothering its own people with torture, murder and starvation. The use of chemical weapons against Iraqi citizens was quickly forgotten. Paradoxically, it was the present American President who recalled the use of chemical warfare by Saddam’s regime. We would recall in turn that the United States of America and many European states, including Germany, were involved in enabling Iraq to produce those weapons.
The fact that millions of people across the world have taken to the streets to protest against war and destruction deserves the greatest respect. The Europeans who are demonstrating against war are inspired by humanitarian values. Saddam’s regime, however, is determined to exploit this.
We are concerned that Saddam’s crimes are being forgotten in the process. We also lament the absence of expressions of solidarity with the Iraqi opposition, currently engaged in consolidating its ranks.
Hence our appeal:
Demonstrate against war! But talk, too, about the crimes of the regime! Join us in demanding that Saddam step down and that he and his lackeys be tried in court for crimes against humanity! Condemn the Papal audience for the criminal Tariq Aziz and call for his arrest to put an end to his heinous mission in Europe!
Contact:
Fakhria Saleh, tel: +49 30 2425976
e-mail: Fakhria50
compuserve
de (Fakhria50compuservede)
Or:
Saleh Hussain, tel: +49 30 62727682
e-mail: shsahude (shsahude)
Signatories:
Fakhria Saleh, journalist, Berlin
Renate Neupert, lawyer, Berlin
Mouayed Al-Rawi, writer, Berlin
Sargon Boulus, writer, San Francisco
Ismail Khalil, director, Berlin
Firyad Fadhil Omer, poet, Berlin
Sabri Hashim, novelist, Berlin
Taha Hussain, composer, Berlin
Saleh Hussain, writer/director, Berlin
Khalid Al-Maali, poet/publisher, Cologne
Fadhil Sudani, director, Copenhagen
Hazim Kamaledin, writer/director, Antwerp
Carlos Theus, writer, Antwerp
Emanuel Mais, writer, Kent
Latif Al-Habib, journalist, Berlin
Abdulkadir Al-Janabi, poet, Paris
Kassim Al-Saadi, artist, Holland
Kate Vanovitch, scholar/interpreter, Berlin/London
