PRESS RELEASE Voices UK [1]
27th October 2003
Contact: 0845 458 2564 or 0794 783 9992

Protestors challenge process of Iraq’s reconstruction
Slices of giant Iraq-shaped cake to be offered to delegates at the business conference ‘Reconstructing Iraq’

Monday 27th, from 8.30am, at 1 Whitehall Place: Campaigners concerned about the way the reconstruction of Iraq is proceeding will be protesting outside a conference entitled ‘Reconstructing Iraq’ today [2]. Delegates will be offered a slice of a giant Iraq-shaped cake as a symbol of the imminent carving up of the country. Protestors representing the corporations McDonalds, Olive Security and Bechtel, amongst others, will also bid for infrastructure sectors in a mock auction outside the conference.

The Conference takes place in the wake of the following recent developments:
- the announcement by the US Government of new laws permitting all of Iraq’s industries and services (other than oil, gas and minerals) to be sold off to foreign companies [3]
- allegations by a US Congressman that ‘waste and gold-plating’ of contracts are ‘enriching [corporations such as] Halliburton and Bechtel while … actually holding back the pace of reconstruction in Iraq’ [4].
- the Madrid Donors conference, at which more than half of the ‘donations’ were actually in the form of loans, which will add to Iraq’s already crippling debt - and in which a major motivation for country lenders appeared to be that of increasing the likelihood that their nation’s businesses would benefit[5]

“At this conference, and in the whole process of re-making the Iraqi economy, we are seeing governments, corporations and un-elected Iraqis set out what the future of Iraq’s economy will be”, said Gareth Evans, a spokesperson for Voices UK. “They have no democratic mandate to do this and there is no reason to believe that the interests of the people of Iraq are a central concern for them. In fact, the evidence suggests that there is already profiteering on a grand scale, that ordinary Iraqis aren’t seeing much of the billions of dollars that are being poured into the country, that there are escalating and unnecessary costs and that there is no accountability or transparency as to the use of the money.”

“There are also significant delays in the reconstruction process and Iraqis are bearing the burden”, Mr Evans continued. “The CPA’s Strategic Plan [6] for Iraq talks about restoring basic services and yet, according to the CPA’s own claims, it has taken them over five months to bring the electricity back to its pre-war level – a level which was, in any case, appalling because of the last 13 years of economic sanctions.”

Inside the conference, attendees will be treated to talks by representatives from the US Department of Commerce and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as well as presentations on the ‘UK Industry/ Army link’, ‘the potential legal obstacles to trade’, ‘removing currency from the country’, and ‘claiming ownership of Iraqi oil’[2]. Business Consultants Ernst and Young, the private security firm Olive Security [7] and HSBC are amongst the corporations sponsoring the event and leading sessions.

Photo opportunities: Delegates will be offered cake from 8.30am onwards.
There will be a special photo opportunity with the cake at 9.45am and the mock auction and other activities will take place until 12.30pm
Jean Lambert MEP will be speaking and available for interviews.
For more information contact 0845 458 2564 or 0794 783 9992

NOTES
[1] Voices UK is a group campaigning in solidarity with the people of Iraq. Between Feb. 1998 and May 2002 Voices UK sent 11 sanctions-breaking delegations to Iraq to protest the grave humanitarian impact on ordinary Iraqis of UN economic sanctions.
[2] For more information about the conference see
www.smi-online.co.uk/events/overview.asp?is=8&ref=1467
[3] See ‘Foreign firms to bid in huge Iraqi sale’, Guardian, 22 September.
[4] See ‘Spending on Iraq Sets Off Gold Rush’, Washington Post, 9th October.
[5] See Donor’s summit fails to convince, BBC, 24 October:
[6] ‘Achieving the Vision to Restore Full Sovereignty to the Iraqi People (Strategic Plan)’, the Coalition Provisional Authority’s Working Document as of October 1, 2003 can be read here.
[7] Olive Security is a British private security firm that worked in Iraq earlier this year providing security for Bechtel. Their web-site boasts that ‘All our consultants are former members of United Kingdom Special Forces.’

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