9th Anniversary of Gulf
War:
Thousands March in Iraq
Thousands of energetic and militant protesters marched in
Baghdad on January 17 to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the beginning of
the US war on Iraq.
The protesters, many of whom have experienced the
devastation of the Gulf War, the sanctions and the continued bombing of Iraq
first-hand, chanted "Down, down, USA," burned US flags, and carried a
coffin draped in US, British and Israeli flags. Protesters also chanted,
"Clinton Bush Albright, you cant hide; sanctions equal
genocide."
The demonstration included many students from around the
Middle East and Africa including Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan and Somalia, who are
able to study at no cost in Iraq. The students report widespread public
opposition throughout the Arab nations to US policy towards Iraq. The Iraq
Sanctions Challenge (ISC) participated in the demonstration, as did a Spanish
delegation of 120 members from the Campaign to Lift the Embargo on Iraq.
Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the head of the
ISC, said, "The sanctions are genocide, they weaken and permanently
debilitate the strongest of a society and kill the weakest and most
vulnerable." Infant and child mortality, along with other standard
indicators of poor public health, have risen sharply in Iraq since 1990. And in
a communiqué from Iraq, ISC delegate Sarah Sloan pointed out that
"the anti-imperialist sentiment at this demonstration shows why the US is
intent on continuing the war against Iraq through sanctions, bombing and covert
action". It might also be added that the British government too is
participating in the continued bombing of Iraq, and is one of the most ardent
champions of sanctions. The ISC delegation includes a participant from this
country.
The delegation of the ISC is spending five days in Iraq.
Before the demonstration, they visited the Amariyah shelter, a bunker destroyed
by US bombs during the Gulf War, killing over a thousand Iraqi civilians who
had sought shelter inside. On Tuesday, the delegation met with Sadun
Hammadi, the Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly, Tariq Aziz, the Deputy
Prime Minister, and the minister of History and Archaeology. Delegates are also
visiting hospitals, schools and universities, a water treatment plant, and the
city of Mosul in northern Iraq.