ACT TOGETHER: NO MORE WAR CRIMES IN IRAQ

"We buried many in the stadium for football until it became full. When you are burying you cannot stay long because [the Marines] will just shoot you"
- Iraqi doctor working in Fallujah, April 2004

A drama is taking place in total silence in Iraq, where the ... occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population"
- UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, October 2005

On 2 April 2004 US forces sealed off the Iraqi city of Fallujah in what became the first of two major assaults on the city. At least 572 civilians – including over 300 women and children – were killed in the subsequent siege (see www.rememberfallujah.org for more info).

Fighter bombers were used to attack residential areas, US snipers targeted ambulances and at least one US battalion had 'orders to shoot any male of military age on the streets after dark, armed or not' (New York Times, 14 April).

Since then, numerous other Iraqi towns and cities have been attacked by US-led forces for whom “mass detentions and indis-criminate torture appear to be the main tools” (Financial Times, 29 June 05). Thousands of Iraqis have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes. Hospitals have been attacked and white phosphorus used as a weapon. Unmanned Predator aircraft are now attacking targets in Iraq and Afghanistan "almost every day" (AP, 12 Dec 05).

Join us in Parliament Square on 2 April 2006 for a mass act of civil disobedience, reading the names of 1,000 Iraqis who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation and demanding:

• an immediate end to the US/UK military occupation of Iraq
• massive reparations and debt cancellation so that Iraqis can rebuild their country free from foreign interference
• prosecution of those responsible for war crimes

Please wear black if possible and come prepared for a long ceremony and possible arrest.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an “unauthorised” demonstration within 1km of Parliament. Under the new restrictions on protest contained in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (April 2005) participation in such an event is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1000. For more info come to the legal briefing or check back here shortly. There will be post action support for anyone arrested.

A Nonviolent Direct Action Workshop & Legal Briefing will take place on Saturday 1 April at The Front Studio, Diorama 1, 34 Osnaburgh St, London NW1. (tube Great Portland St). Times: 11.30am-4.30pm (NVDA workshop); 4.30pm-5.30pm (legal briefing). The workshop will be run by Seeds for Change (www.seedsforchange.org.uk).

Depending on demand crash-pad accommodation may be available on the evening of the 1st. Please contact us ASAP if you would be interested in this.

For more info: voices@voicesuk.org or 0845 458 2564.