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STOP KILLING IRAQIS

Clockwise from left: Mustafa Adnan (2) lost a leg when his house in Fallujah was shlled during the US attack on the city; young child injured in a US airstrike; Iraqi woman and her 16-month son, wounded during US bombing raid on Fallujah; Salah Falah (7) - his father was killed and his father was killed and his brother seriously injured during the US assault on Fallujah (images from AP, Reuters and Getty Images, November 2004)

Dear Prime Minister,

According to a high-ranking Red Cross official, “at least 800 civilians” were killed during November’s attack on Fallujah (Inter Press Service, 16 Nov). US forces also appear to have committed serious war crimes during the assault: the city was placed ‘under a strict night-time shoot-to-kill curfew’ (Times, 12 Nov); male refugees were prevented from leaving the combat zone (AP, 13 Nov); and US forces were filmed killing an unarmed, wounded Iraqi (Guardian, 16 Nov). Refugees reported that the US dropped cluster bombs and used phosphorus weapons that caused severe burns (IPS, 16 Nov).

A recent survey conducted by a team of public health researchers concluded that, ‘about 100,000 excess deaths, or more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and airstrikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths’ (Lancet online, 29 October). The same survey also found that ‘[m]ost individuals reportedly killed by coalition forces were women and children.’

This carnage must stop. I demand that US and British forces stop killing Iraqis and end their military occupation of Iraq.

SUPPORT THE TROOPS, GRANT THEM ASYLUM

Left to right: Brandon Hughey (18); David Sanders (20) and Jeremy Hinzman (25)

To: The Canadian High Commissioner
Mel Cappe
1 Grosvenor Square
London W1K 4AB

Dear High Commissioner,

Three US soldiers – Jeremy Hinzman (25), Brandon Hughey (18) and David Sanders (20) – are currently in Canada claiming asylum. They have refused to take part in the invasion and occupation of Iraq - an invasion that has been called “illegal” by the UN Secretary-General (BBC, 16 Sept ‘04) and which has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis. If they are returned to the US, they face lengthy periods of incarceration.

During the period 1965-1973 more than 50,000 draft-age Americans made their way to Canada, refusing to participate in another immoral war in Vietnam. At the time, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said: "Those who make the conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war... have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism."

Canada must not punish US war objectors for exercising their conscience and refusing to fight. Nor should it facilitate their persecution by returning them to the US. I call on the Canadian government to demonstrate its commitment to international law and basic human decency by making provision for US war objectors to have sanctuary in Canada.


Dear Prime Minister,

Clockwise from top left: Hosam Adnan, injured in a US attack on Sadr City, 23 Sept '04; an Iraqi civilian covers the body of his neighbour, killed in the crossfire during the US assault on Najaf, 12 Aug. '04; Nura (3), wounded during the US assault on Fallujah, is rushed to a public clinic by her father, 8 April '04; young girl, name unknown, injured during US airstrikes on Fallujah, 28 August '04.

In April US forces laid siege to the Iraqi town of Fallujah. In one week more than 600 were killed - 'the vast majority of the dead were women, children and the elderly' according to local doctors (Guardian, 12 April). Warplanes, fighter bombers and helicopter gunships were all used to attack the city (New York Times, 30 April). Ambulances were shot at and at least one battalion was given 'orders to shoot any male of military age on the streets after dark, armed or not' (NYT, 14 April)
In August US forces launched an assault on the city of Najaf. Roughly 400 civilians were killed according to the Iraqi health ministry (Independent, 9 Sept). "If we take fire from it, we destroy the whole building," an Army commander told the Washington Post (28 August). Meanwhile a British commanding officer in Basra told the Observer that his Company had "fired more rounds, killed more people and t[aken] more casualties" in August than during the invasion (5 Sept).

On 30 Sept US forces launched a massive assault on Samarra - the first in a new series of major offensives against Iraqi cities, including Fallujah. The US 'cut off power and water, and American snipers were said to be firing at anything that moved' (Independent on Sunday, 3 Oct).

This carnage must stop. I demand that US and British forces stop killing Iraqis and end their military occupation of Iraq.


Dear Prime Minister,

On 19 May 2004 the US military attacked the tiny Iraqi village of Mukaradeeb, killing 42 civilians who had been attending a wedding. More than a month later the US military - despite over-whelming evidence to the contrary - still claimed it had been 'a legitimate military target' (AP, 1 July) Mukaradeeb. Wood engraving by Emily Johns.

The US and UK governments claim that on the 28th June they transferred ‘full sovereignty’ to a so-called Iraqi Interim Government (IIG), ‘ending’ the occupation. In reality:

• The US/UK military occupation continues and the IIG has no meaningful control over the 145,000+ US/UK forces that remain in Iraq.
• The IIG was appointed by the US and its proxies and is headed by a ‘long-term protégé of the CIA and MI6’ (Observer, 30 May).
• The IIG’s key ministries are riddled with US advisers and it is forbidden from reversing any of the laws – including the illegal privatisation measures – passed by the US.
• Most power resides in the new US “embassy”, with 1700 staff and an annual budget of $1bn (AP, 21 March).

Since the occupation continues so will the abuses identified by Amnesty International (March 2004): civilians shot dead, arbitrary arrests, house demolitions and collective punishment, and the torture and ill-treatment of detainees – a pattern of repression that has dramatically escalated since April with the killing, by US/UK forces, of thousands of Iraqis, including hundreds of civilians (Guardian, 12 April, Washington Post, 26 June).

I demand that US and British forces stop killing Iraqis and end their military occupation of Iraq.

Dear Prime Minister,

In your speech before the US Congress in July ‘03 you stated that ‘Any time ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same… The rule of law not the rule of the secret police.’ Yet in August ‘03 the Washington Post reported that the US had ‘begun a covert campaign to recruit and train agents [from Saddam Hussein’s] once-dreaded intelligence services… an instrument loathed by most Iraqis and renowned across the Arab world for its casual use of torture, fear, intimidation, rape and imprisonment.’

The Sunday Telegraph has since reported that the US has budgeted up to $3bn over the next three years to fund a new secret police force for Iraq - including former members of Saddam’s intelligence services – and which ‘the Pentagon and CIA have told the White House… will allow America to maintain control over the direction of the country as sovereignty [sic] is handed over to the Iraqi people during the course of this year’ (4 Jan).

‘In Iran, the CIA helped equip and train the Iranian secret police, Savak, whose human rights abuses against its own citizens under the shah fueled the revolution that brought Shiite fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini to power’ (Washington Post, 11 Dec). Such a development must not be permitted to recur in Iraq.

Iraq’s people must be allowed to determine their own future free from foreign interference.

To Tony Blair

Sabrin (14), Ilaf (4) and Abbas (10) each lost a leg when a US rocket hit their family’s pick-up truck during the April advance on Baghdad. As of September, they had been unable to obtain even basic prostheses (Independent on Sunday, 7 Sept).

Since March 2003, an estimated 7750 Iraqi civilians have died, with a further 20,000 injured, as a result of the US/UK military invasion and occupation of Iraq (www.iraqbodycount.org). 1000 children have been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance (UNICEF, to 17 July). Yet there appears to be no US/UK government initiative specifically to aid the injured or relatives of the dead.

According to The Washington Post, “US officials have made clear to Iraqis that they do not intend to conduct a complete accounting of war damages, nor compensate those who say the occupying army owes them’ (31 May). A US military spokesman recently told The Guardian that Iraqis would only be paid compensation by the occupying forces ‘when it could be proved that soldiers had acted wrongfully or negligently during “non-combat activities” ’ (4 August, emphasis added).

I demand that the US/UK pay compensation to those Iraqis who have lost family members, houses or businesses and those injured as a result of the US/UK invasion and occupation.

THE FOLLOWING POSTCARDS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE

The US and UK governments claim that on 30 June they will hand over ‘sovereignty’ to a so-called Iraqi Interim Government (IIG), ‘ending’ the occupation. In reality:

• The US/UK military occupation will continue ‘indefinitely’ (Wash. Post, 22 April) and the US will remain in control of the Iraqi army
• The IIG will be a selected - not elected - body with no democratic mandate. It is not allowed to reverse any laws – including the illegal privatisation measures - that the occupying forces have passed
• The deadline for the first election is not until 31 Jan 2005 - if if ever materialises.
• The US will simply be moving to an ‘embassy’, with 1700 staff and an annual budget of $1bn, where ‘most power will reside’ (AP, 21 March)

Since the occupation will continue, so will the abuses identified by Amnesty International (March 2004): civilians shot dead, arbitrary arrests and indefinite detention without charge, house demolitions and collective punishment, and the torture and ill-treatment of detainees – a pattern that has dramatically escalated with the killing, by US forces, of hundreds of Iraqis in Fallujah, many of whom were civilians (Guardian, 12 April).

I demand that US and British forces stop killing Iraqis and end their military occupation of Iraq.

Dear Mr Blair,

This Mother's Day marks a year since the US and UK launched its war against Iraq. Although the war may be over, the mothers of Iraq are still affected by the aftermath.

Cluster bombs: According to Human Rights Watch, 13,000 cluster bombs were dropped during the war, often in highly populated residential areas. With a failure rate of 5-30%, these represent an ongoing threat to civilians, particularly children.

Depleted Uranium: US and UK forces used ammunition tipped with depleted uranium in densely populated areas. Depleted uranium is chemically toxic and weakly radioactive. It was used in the 1991 Gulf War and may be implicated in the large rise in cancers, and birth defects in Southern Iraq since then.

This Mother’s Day you can ease the suffering of Iraqi mothers by making their country a cleaner, safer place to raise their children. I urge you to set up an environmental programme to identify and clean up all affected areas immediately.

[Produced by Mothers Against the War, c/o The Eirene Centre, Clopton, Northants, NN14 3DZ. mothersagainstwar@disarm.org.uk]

The Iraqi people want democracy*. Why, then, do you and President Bush say that a new interim Iraqi government has to be chosen by an undemocratic process? You say the government must be chosen by a parliament, which must be chosen by regional “caucus” meetings (by 31 May). These “caucuses” are not to be elected by the Iraqi people, but are to be selected by committees set up by you and President Bush. Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph says, ‘The “caucus” process to select the provisional legislature will be far from democratic, and could undermine the legitimacy of the interim government.’ (26 Nov. 2003, p. 18)

The United States and Britain must end their occupation of Iraq. As a first step, I ask you to drop this undemocratic procedure. I urge you to listen to the Iraqi people, and to allow them to elect their own government.

* 90.3% of Iraqis polled by ORI in Oct & Nov 2003 were in favour of democracy. See here.

[Produced by Justice not Vengeance]

To Tony Blair

In February 2003 - before the invasion of Iraq had even begun - the US Government 'drafted sweeping plans to remake Iraq's economy ... based on free-market principles' (Wall Street Journal, 1st May). These plans include 'the mass privatisation of Iraqi industry' - including Iraq's oil sector - and 'fundamental tax reform'. Similar 'economic restructuring' elsewhere has led to corruption, massive job losses, poverty and gaping inequality.

US corporations such as Bechtel and Halliburton, with close links to the Bush administration, have already been awarded lucrative contracts for 'postwar reconstruction' and stand to profit still further now that the US and Britain control Iraq's oil revenues. The British Government are now encouraging UK companies to take part.

According to a senior US adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals, 'the privatisation of dozens of Iraqi companies is likely to begin within the next year' (Financial Times, 8 June). Yet it is unclear whether elections will even have taken place by then.

The future of Iraq's economy is a matter for the Iraqi people and not the US and British governments or US/UK corporations. I demand that Iraq's people be allowed to determine their own economic future - and to control their own natural resources - free from foreign interference.

To Tony Blair

Since the invasion of Iraq, US/UK forces have been accused of many human rights abuses. There are, “increasing reports of Iraqi men, women and even children being dragged from their homes at night by American patrols, or snatched off the streets and taken, hooded and manacled, to prison camps around the capital” (The Times, 9/07/03). Thousands have been detained without charge, effectively ‘disappeared’, including children as young as eleven.

Amnesty International have reported (23/07/03):
• routine lack of access to lawyers and family for lengthy periods - sometimes for many weeks.
• ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’, including lack of shelter, water and sanitation facilities.
• allegations of torture, deaths in custody and unlawful killing at demonstrations
• excessive use of force during searches, with destruction and confiscation of property, without justification or compensation.
• lack of legal accountability, reparations or redress for abuses suffered.

I demand that the US and British governments treat the Iraqi people and their culture with respect, abide by international human rights law and that all prisoners of war and civilians held without charge are released immediately.



To Tony Blair

The people of Iraq continue to suffer - and Iraq’s children continue to face ‘grave threats to their survival, health and general well-being’ (UNICEF, 2 May) - as a result of 12½ years of economic sanctions, the invasion and its aftermath.

According to Médicins Sans Frontières (2 May) the US/UK have ‘failed to meet [their] responsibility under international law to ensure that the health and well-being of the Iraqi people is being provided for.’

‘Insecurity and uncertainty persists across Iraq’ and hospitals, water plants and sewage systems – already under severe strain and under-resourced before the war began - ‘have been crippled by the conflict and looting. Hospitals are overwhelmed, diarrhoea is endemic and the death toll is mounting.’ (Joint statement by Save the Children, Oxfam and CAFOD, May 2)

I demand that the US and British governments fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and use all the resources at their disposal to end the current humanitarian crisis.



To Jack Straw

Saddam Hussein owes over $150bn in debts and ‘war reparations.’ Under current rules, the UN diverts 25% of Iraq’s oil revenues to pay ‘reparations’ for the invasion of Kuwait and the 1991 Gulf War.

The cost of rehabilitating Iraq’s essential infrastructure – vital to restoring public health in Iraq – has been estimated at $50 – $100 bn. Before the US/UK invasion, Iraq’s oil exports were worth roughly $10 - 12 bn a year. Clearly it would take decades for Iraq to pay Saddam debts and ‘reparations’, diverting critical resources needed to rebuild Iraq.

There is no moral reason why the Iraqi people should be forced to pay for actions taken by Saddam Hussein – the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Kuwait – over which they had no control and for which they have already suffered greatly.

I demand that ordinary Iraqis not be forced to pay Saddam Hussein's debts and 'reparations' for the 1991 Gulf War. These debts and 'reparations' must be cancelled.