Press Release Thursday 31 July 2003 12:00
Voices UK 0845 458 2564 / 0208 8806 6272 www.voicesuk.org

VIGIL to mark the 13th anniversary of the imposition of economic sanctions on Iraq, 6.30 - 8.00 opposite Downing St, Wednesday 6 August 2003

'Silent War' of economic sanctions finally over but the suffering of the Iraqi people continues

On the 22nd May 2003 - after 12½ long years of almost unimaginable suffering for
millions of ordinary Iraqis - the UN lifted the comprehensive economic sanctions it
imposed on Iraq on 6th August 1990.

These sanctions, supported most by the US and UK governments, devastated Iraq's
infrastructure, economy, and health and well-being of the population in what Save the
Children Fund called 'A silent war against Iraq's children' (1).

Sanctions contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and countless others were physically and mentally scared from the hardship of this period. Loss of quality of life and opportunity has blighted many lives.

Gabriel Carlyle, of Voices UK, said, "by any definition, such sanctions were a weapon of mass destruction. They were indiscriminately applied and actually led to the
consolidation of the Iraqi regime's power. They must never be allowed to happen again.
We are holding a memorial to those who died and suffered under sanctions opposite
Downing Street because this government, with the US, bears the lion's share of
responsibility for this murderous policy."

"Though sanctions have now been lifted and - according to Mr Bush - 'major combat
operations' have ended, the situation in Iraq remains desperate. The country is under
military occupation, with its political and economic future in the hands of foreign
governments and corporations. The destruction caused by the invasion and the lack of
planning for the post-invasion humanitarian situation has left Iraq in an even worse
situation than before the war. The country is now also littered with cluster bombs,
unexploded ordnance and depleted uranium."

Voices UK have campaigned for 5½ years against economic sanctions (at a time when the consequences of this barbaric policy were little acknowledged and reported) and the invasion of Iraq. This vigil will offer people a chance to remember the dead under sanctions, to reflect on the consequences of a policy, shaped and promoted by the British Government, that ranks among one of the greatest crimes against humanity of the last decades, and to express solidarity with the people of Iraq.

Contact: 0845 458 2564 / 0208 8806 6272 www.voicesuk.org

Notes
1. Save the Children Fund press release, 25 July 2000.