Update to the Movement on Iraq Actions
We are calling for a shift in our tactical plans for October 1998 given the decision by the UN Security Council to cancel further reviews of the U.S./UN sanctions against Iraq. As people know we called for demonstrations and protests in cities between October 1-4 in order to exert pressure prior to the scheduled UN review of sanctions that was to take place in October. The October Review is now canceled. Thus, we are expanding our Call to Action to include a wide series of anti-sanctions events all around the country in October (aproximately betweeen October 1-14). In addition to the already scheduled demonstrations we want to encourage an additional focus on educational events, house meetings, teach-ins, etc. It is clear that we must not only intensify the protest actions of those who are already in the movement. But we must also energetically reach out to raise awareness to a broader number of people.
There are new important tools and resources that make this intensified educational campaign very accessible. We have 10,000 copies of the new book: Challenge to Genocide written by Ramsey Clark, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Sara Flounders, Ahmed El-Sherif, Kathy Kelly, Rania Masri, Monica Moorehead, Manzoor Ghori, Barbara Nimri Aziz, Brian Becker and others. This book is 250 pages long, has a beautiful cover and is packed full of information and analysis presented in an easy to read style. Each house meeting, for example, could be a way to promote this book among friends as well to have an important chance for discussion of the issues.
Also, the IAC is happy to announce the release of another new video: Let Iraq Live. Edited by Gloria LaRiva, this 30 minute video is a powerful and moving documentary on the Iraq Sanctions Challenge. It covers background material on the sanctions, the famous Town Hall Meeting confrontation at Ohio State, searing footage of the suffering in Iraq - all shot in the last few months, analysis and commentary by Ramsey Clark and others. Organizing video showings of this video - and selling or distributing copies of the video - is a powerful means to raise consciousness on the Iraq Sanctions Challenge.
Just a word about the UN Security Council decision of September 9 to cancel all further reviews of sanctions. We believe that that this decision reflects increasing pressure by the United States. At the height of the war crisis last February the US became isolated in its threat to wage new war against Iraq. Substantial momentum was building throughout the world for the sanctions to be lifted. Once the agreement was signed on Feb. 23rd between Kofi Annan and the Iraqi leadership, the world attention on Iraq began to ebb. Moreover, the United States and Richard Butler of UNSCOM started issuing provocatively negative reports about Iraq's so-called concealment of weapons of mass destruction and sending other signals indicating that the sanctions would not be lifted anytime soon. This of course was a great disappointment to Iraq. They had undoubtedly hoped that their agreement to allow UNSCOM inspectors to intrusively inspect Iraq's most sensitive sites would lead to a good faith offer to at least begin lifting the sanctions. In fact the opposite happened and the Iraqi side predictably halted some of the inspections. Now, the US is using Iraq's non-compliance as a pretext to maintain sanctions in perpetuity.
The bottom line message is this: we can not count for one second on the diplomatic maneuvers inside the UN or anywhere else. The US is engaged in a many-sided war against Iraq. It conceals the real motive of this war - namely, the desire to carry out a type of recolonization of Iraq and the entire oil-rich region. Learning the lesson of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war we must intensify our efforts to reach the people, building consciousness that leads to more and more direct action against this criminal policy.
Let's make sure the first two weeks of October bristle with activity to tell the truth about the sanctions.
International Action Center
39 West 14th St., #206
New York, NY 10011
212-633-6646 fax: 212-633-2889
iacenter@iacenter.org
http://www.iacenter.org
http://www.iacenter.org/iraqchallenge
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